Amy Rennard

COMM 406

Blog #1

Catholic Charities and Their Mission

Last summer, since flooding devastated many communities in southern West Virginia, we
have seen individuals, churches, schools, nonprofits, businesses, and government agencies come
together and work tirelessly to clean homes, remove debris, and provide basic assistance like
meals or clothing. Catholic Charities and other social service agencies began disaster case work,
where they meet with survivors to assess needs and identify resources to meet the most
immediate needs. West Virginia is now in the earliest part of long-term recovery. The
coordination efforts being done in this early stage are imperative to reaching every survivor and
ensuring resources are available for the duration. Catholic Charities (CC) staff members
currently sit on multiple Long-Term Recovery Committees (LTRCs), which work to ensure that
recovery efforts are coordinated and collaborative. CC has begun helping some of the LTRCs
with two critical needs: the coordination of case information and disaster case management. My
mom is now working as the head coordinator of disaster case management in West Virginia,
which inspired me to choose this organization as the one I volunteer with.

A key need at this stage is the coordination of case information from the different sources that
have been working with survivors. CC staff have been pulling this information together and
entering it into a shared database, in addition to following up with survivor households to
prioritize those cases where preparing for winter is critical (e.g. purchasing and replacing
insulation, ductwork). As one can imagine, concise, updated case information for those affected
by the flooding is vital for the LTRCs and their partner agencies like CC to be effective and
efficient when disaster case management begins in earnest. Little do we know, or even pay
attention to, there is a disaster all around us all the time that involves the homelessness that many
people in our Morgantown community have to suffer with. CC is one of those organizations that
is constantly helping relieve this ongoing disaster.

As long-term recovery advances, more intensive disaster case management is crucial. People in
need of assistance are referred to their countys LTRC, which is coordinating the partner
agencys disaster case managers case assignments. Disaster case managers help survivor
households develop recovery plans that the LTRC uses to link partner agencies like CC to the
survivors to help with volunteer labor and funding for building materials, personal property
replacements (e.g. appliances), and contractors when projects require more skilled labor.

CC recognizes the complex and ever moving parts that are necessary to move people to full
recovery after a tragic disaster like the flooding and homelessness. By taking time to build key
partnerships and bolster the local coordination through the work of the LTRCs, CC is well-
positioned to help people in the long-term and return them to safe, secure, and stable housing as
they re-establish their lives.

Our mission is to alleviate poverty, distress, and injustice by providing comprehensive social
services to the poor and vulnerable, advocating for social justice, and calling all people of good
will, especially those of the Church, to service. In support of our universal mission, we are open
to all people regardless of their race, color, national origin, gender, religion, age, disability,
protected Veteran status, political beliefs, sexual orientation, socio-economic background, marital
or family status.

Their aim is to alleviate the languishing effects of poverty; responding to peoples basic human
needs of food, shelter, clothing; and to reduce poverty by offering opportunities to improve an
individuals or familys circumstances. Through compassionate care hope is engendered in those
served and those who join in serving. Planned giving unites personal and financial goals with
charitable giving objectives. In many cases they offer the donor the opportunity to make an
impactful gift to Catholic Charities West Virginia as it serves the poor and works to reduce
poverty in West Virginia.

Planned gifts provide vital support and stability for Catholic Charities WV now and in the future.
Planned charitable giving takes many forms; please consider an option that best suits your
family. Although not binding, Catholic Charities West Virginia would appreciate receiving your
completed confidential letter of intent as your planned gift. CC hopes that recognizing you as a
committed member of this community, will encourage you to do the same, as I was honored to
be a part of their mission of giving back.