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As the needs of our community increase, the services at Catholic Charities’ St. Martin de Porres/Christ Child North Center are expanding.
Through emergency food pantry, senior services, family enrichment, computer resources, community support and advocacy, and referral services, Catholic Charities is educating and empowering families and seniors to improve their quality of life. Two programs growing exponentially due to community need are the emergency food pantry and senior services.
Emergency Food Pantry
Catholic Charities has two emergency food pantries. In south Omaha, the community is served by the Juan Diego Center. In north Omaha, it is the St. Martin de Porres Center. The focus of Catholic Charities’ food pantry at St. Martin de Porres is to make healthy foods including fresh fruits and vegetables available to the north Omaha community.
“Many health issues, including childhood obesity, are attributed to poverty,” said Marilyn Sims, Program Director for St. Martin de Porres and Christ Child North. “It is critical to ensure that families who need our services are receiving a healthy, well-balanced diet.”
Thanks to many generous community supporters, including St. Wenceslaus, St. Pius X, Crown Marketing, Dougherty Brokerage Company and Tyson Foods, Catholic Charities is able to offer fresh bread, a variety of meats, quality soup, and fresh fruits and vegetables.
Catholic Charities is also busy preparing for their annual Hunger Doesn’t Take a Vacation Campaign. The summer months are some of the busiest for the food pantry and additional funding is needed. “Hunger is something that is year round in many households,” Sims said. “We want to let the public know that the need is not just during the holidays. It is every single day for the families that we serve.”
Omaha-area parishes are encouraged to support Catholic Charities during the Hunger Doesn’t Take a Vacation campaign through monetary donations. The parish collection will take place on Father’s Day weekend, June 19-20.
The presence of Catholic Charities’ food pantries in both communities is more important than ever. St. Martin de Porres has seen a 15 to 20 percent increase over previous years and is seeing more families than ever who have never utilized a pantry service.
“I am so thankful for Catholic Charities. I was recently having problems paying my bills and realized one day, I had no food left in my cupboard to feed my family,” a recent client said. “Even though I was unable to get off work before St. Martin’s closed, they arranged to open the pantry after hours so I could provide a nutritious dinner for my children.”
Senior Services
Three times a week, more than 80 local seniors come together at Christ Child North to improve their lives through education, physical activity and community involvement. Catholic Charities educates the group on issues and challenges impacting seniors today, including Medicare, Social Security, fall and accident prevention, financial management, tax preparation and numerous health issues. They also stress the importance of community involvement and becoming advocates for themselves and others.
Personal health is an important focus at Christ Child North. In addition to a walking club three times a week, seniors also have the opportunity to learn more about a variety of health issues. Creighton University students visit the group once a week to do blood pressure checks.
“Giving seniors a call to action to take care of themselves is important to us,” Sims said. “Group members also encourage each other to take care of themselves and get checked regularly for common illnesses, as we have several cancer survivors participating.”
Seniors are encouraged to elicit change in the community. Staff members teach the group how to write to their elected officials, visit city council meetings and become a part of the process. A group of seniors will be visiting the Unicameral on April 13 to see the government in action.
“Our goal is to energize a group of people who have a whole lot left to give,” Sims added. “We want to remind them that they do make a difference in our community.” |
