Catholic Charities receives grant for family emergency shelter |
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Friday, 25 December 2009 00:00 |
TOLEDO—The Board of Trustees of the Oswald Supporting Organization of the Toledo Community Foundation has approved a grant to Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Toledo to support renovation efforts at its La Posada Family Emergency Shelter in Toledo.
The grant of $15,750 is primarily to be used to acquire new beds for clients and new flooring for the 10-bedroom facility.
La Posada provides temporary housing, case management and related emergency assistance to homeless families in Toledo. Services are provided to approximately 150 people per year through La Posada.
Families are welcome to stay at the shelter for up to 60 days while they transition to stable, permanent housing. An estimated one-third of the residents are families made up of married couples with children; nearly half are families headed by single mothers; and the remainder of residents are pregnant women who typically give birth while residing at the shelter.
Funding from this award also is to purchase infant car seats for mothers of infants residing at La Posada. The shelter typically provides infant car seats to these mothers, but a significant increase in the number of resident children under the age of four years and infants in the past year has made it necessary for the shelter to seek additional support to ensure the safety of these young residents.
“Over the past year, there has been a significant increase in the need for the services that we provide to the community,” says Bill Sanford, director of Catholic Charities. “Programs and services that we provide at the La Posada Family Emergency Shelter are vital in supporting many area families who have lost their homes. Not only will this grant allow us to purchase new beds for our residents, but the timing of this award means that we will be able to be at full capacity again by Christmas.”
Catholic Charities has experienced great success in transitioning its residents at the La Posada Family Emergency Shelter from temporary to permanent housing. In the last program year, the shelter was home to 40 families. Of those residents who stayed at the shelter for a minimum of 30 days, all transitioned into permanent supportive housing programs or into a home or apartment of their own.
“The success of the services that we provide at La Posada would not be possible without all the generous support we have received from our community,” says Mr. Sanford. “Over the past five years, through a combination of volunteer efforts and financial support from local foundations, we have been able to renovate the kitchen, the resident rooms, repair the front porch, add a handicapped-accessible ramp, replace windows and install new siding at the home. The support from our community has just been overwhelming.”
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Last Updated on Wednesday, 02 June 2010 19:15 |
