The Need is Still Unmet
At 53, Paul Little has been through many Schools of Hard Knocks.
He dropped out of the eighth grade to help support his mother and six younger siblings. He sold drugs on street corners. He worked construction. He went to prison. He’s now unemployed and living in a shelter for recovering addicts and alcoholics.
And he’s back in school.
One recent morning, Little and 16 other students were wrestling with a math problem:
Janet owes $1,800. She agrees to pay $300 on the first of the month and $150 on the first of each succeeding month. How many months will it take her to pay off the loan?
Little tinkered with a pencil as instructor Johann Ducharme roamed the classroom, helping where help was needed.
Little built a few fractions. He did some subtraction. Triumphantly, he wrote down the figure “11” and circled it.
He smiled.
The scene was the downtown Washington headquarters of Catholic Charities, one of the oldest social services organizations in the metropolitan area. The GED Prep class that Paul Little is taking is one of dozens of programs that Catholic Charities has run in the community for more than 80 years.
Donors to United Way of the National Capital Area supply about eight percent of Catholic Charities’ annual budget, or about $375,000 during the current fiscal year, according to President and CEO Ed Orzechowski.
“United Way is an extremely important relationship for us,” Orzechowski said. The need for support from United Way donors (and other donors) has never been greater, according to Orzechowski and Carol Shannon, Executive Director of the Catholic Charities Foundation. “We are serving what I call The New Poor,” said Orzechowski.
These are people who have never needed or sought help before.
“All of a sudden, they’ve lost their home,” Orzechowski said. “Then a spiraling effect starts to happen. The crush of need is so high. We don’t have the staff to handle it.”
Orzechowski and his organization often talk about The Cry Factor. First-time visitors to Catholic Charities’ eight family centers often weep when they first seek help. “They’re embarrassed,” said Shannon. “Their families are truly suffering.”
Catholic Charities has seen a 36 percent increase in applications for help since the recession started to surge, Orzechowski said. The organization serves people from 80 countries, offering everything from emergency food, to loans that will keep utilities from being cut off, to bankruptcy advice from a squadron of attorneys (many of them volunteers).
The results are not perfect. Johann Ducharme, the GED instructor, estimates that no more than one-third of his students will pass the GED exam. “That’s a discouragement,” Ducharme admits. But one-third is better than none.
For Paul Little, GED training is a lifeline he knows he should have grabbed decades earlier. “Any job you try to get these days, you need a GED,” he said. “You want to work at McDonalds, the first thing they ask you is, ‘Do you have a GED?’“
If Catholic Charities ever got a surge of donations from United Way? “We’d hire the staff we need,” said Ed Orzechowski. “The need is still huge. The need is still unmet."
He dropped out of the eighth grade to help support his mother and six younger siblings. He sold drugs on street corners. He worked construction. He went to prison. He’s now unemployed and living in a shelter for recovering addicts and alcoholics.
And he’s back in school.
One recent morning, Little and 16 other students were wrestling with a math problem:
Janet owes $1,800. She agrees to pay $300 on the first of the month and $150 on the first of each succeeding month. How many months will it take her to pay off the loan?
Little tinkered with a pencil as instructor Johann Ducharme roamed the classroom, helping where help was needed.
Little built a few fractions. He did some subtraction. Triumphantly, he wrote down the figure “11” and circled it.
He smiled.
The scene was the downtown Washington headquarters of Catholic Charities, one of the oldest social services organizations in the metropolitan area. The GED Prep class that Paul Little is taking is one of dozens of programs that Catholic Charities has run in the community for more than 80 years.
Donors to United Way of the National Capital Area supply about eight percent of Catholic Charities’ annual budget, or about $375,000 during the current fiscal year, according to President and CEO Ed Orzechowski.
“United Way is an extremely important relationship for us,” Orzechowski said. The need for support from United Way donors (and other donors) has never been greater, according to Orzechowski and Carol Shannon, Executive Director of the Catholic Charities Foundation. “We are serving what I call The New Poor,” said Orzechowski.
These are people who have never needed or sought help before.
“All of a sudden, they’ve lost their home,” Orzechowski said. “Then a spiraling effect starts to happen. The crush of need is so high. We don’t have the staff to handle it.”
Orzechowski and his organization often talk about The Cry Factor. First-time visitors to Catholic Charities’ eight family centers often weep when they first seek help. “They’re embarrassed,” said Shannon. “Their families are truly suffering.”
Catholic Charities has seen a 36 percent increase in applications for help since the recession started to surge, Orzechowski said. The organization serves people from 80 countries, offering everything from emergency food, to loans that will keep utilities from being cut off, to bankruptcy advice from a squadron of attorneys (many of them volunteers).
The results are not perfect. Johann Ducharme, the GED instructor, estimates that no more than one-third of his students will pass the GED exam. “That’s a discouragement,” Ducharme admits. But one-third is better than none.
For Paul Little, GED training is a lifeline he knows he should have grabbed decades earlier. “Any job you try to get these days, you need a GED,” he said. “You want to work at McDonalds, the first thing they ask you is, ‘Do you have a GED?’“
If Catholic Charities ever got a surge of donations from United Way? “We’d hire the staff we need,” said Ed Orzechowski. “The need is still huge. The need is still unmet."
posted by Bob Levey's United Way at
1:38 PM
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