A special collection will be held this weekend to benefit the Catholic Campaign for Human Development, a campaign started in 1978 by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.
The campaign works to break the cycle of poverty in communities across the country.
Funds collected during this weekend's national campaign will be divided between local and national programs, 75 percent of the collection goes to the national CCHD office and 25 percent remains within the diocese. Much of the money that is given to the national office will return to the diocese, too, in the form of national grants for programs. Last year the Diocese of Providence collected a total of $168,777.58. "We've been very fortunate that Catholics in the Diocese of Providence have been so generous over the years to CCHD," said John Barry, the secretary of social ministry, who administers the local fund for the diocese. "We've also been extremely fortunate over the years in that we've gotten a tremendous share of the national money back to the diocese," he added.
Barry sets up a review committee of priests and lay people to choose local programs that aid the poor to receive grants of up to $20,000. In order to be considered for a grant the program must be in line with Catholic teaching, and the people who benefit from the program have to be the same people who direct the program. "It has to be self-help," Barry said, "we have to see that the people whom the program is designed for have a majority say in how the program is run."
These programs include New Roots Providence, a Providence-based group that works with local parishes to provide technical assistance and training, and The Worker Center, a summer collaboration between Providence College and the Office of Community Service and Advocacy that helped set up a clearinghouse to help immigrants and low-wage workers find better jobs.
The Labor Co-Op is a local agency that benefits from national CCHD funds. The newly-created staffing agency works to place immigrants and other workers in jobs in industries like manufacturing and cleaning. The agency currently serves approximately 60 people, helping them to find work and providing training and English classes, if needed. The workers who are members of the Labor Co-Op pay a fee to join and are all partial owners of the agency. Carlos Clavell, the president and general manager of The Labor Co-Op, says his agency helps people to make a living in this country. Many people come to the agency "because they're having trouble finding work," or they "lose their job and they come to us," said Clavell.
The money they receive from CCHD is crucial for keeping The Labor Co-Op running, he said. "The money helps us develop knowledge between the members to understand what the co-op is, and training for some members. Some of them need English classes to help themselves grow in this country," he added.
The RI HUD Tenant Project also benefits from national CCHD funding. The group, started in August 2005, works to organize tenants of government-subsidized HUD (Housing and Urban Development) housing across Rhode Island. "We're working for the rights of tenants to live without fear and to live in safe, decent, sanitary housing," said Rachel Van Cleave, a tenant organizer for the project. She said the focus of the project now is to "form a statewide coalition where tenant associations can support each other." The project deals with tenants who are not always aware of their rights, "What we see is a great need for this type of organizing because over and over again when we speak to (tenants of) buildings, even (buildings) that have organized, we find that tenants are living in fear," she said. "We hear multiple stories of intimidation and eviction and retribution for organizing," she said, "our goal is to make sure that tenants know they have a right to organize and know they have a right to fight for decent, affordable housing."
The money the project receives from CCHD allows them to "stay afloat," Van Cleave said, it covers a portion of their administrative costs.
