By LESLIE EIKLEBERRY
Salina Post
The digital sign atop the Catholic Charities of Northern Kansas building in Salina aptly reflects the mission of the organization. In addition to sharing some of the many services Catholic Charities provides, it also simply states "You are loved."
On Thursday, the organization showcased its Salina facility at 1500 S. Ninth Street, and services provided during a public open house. Catholic Charities personnel were on hand to provide tours and visit with guests about the many things the organization does to help those in need.
Development Coordinator Megan Spilker said the services provided by Catholic Charities of Northern Kansas are divided into the following six groups.
●Financial and housing assistance
●Pregnancy support and adoption
●Immigration legal services
●Personal care and basic needs
●Counseling services
●The organization's thrift store in Salina
Additionally, the organization operates offices in Hays and Manhattan. Those offices provide the same services, minus the thrift store.
Through the three offices in Salina, Hays, and Manhattan, Catholic Charities of Northern Kansas is able to serve people of all beliefs in a 31-county area.
"We serve all humans as long as their needs fit a service we have to offer," said Megan Robl, executive director.
Financial and housing assistance
A variety of services are provided under the financial and housing assistance umbrella.
"We help folks with rent and utilities, sometimes prescriptions. We have a Homeless Prevention and Rapid Rehousing Fund that we use with the city in Salina. And then we have special funds throughout our whole 31-county service area," Spilker said.
Special funds include the following.
●Catastrophic Illness Fund
●Disability Assistance Fund
●Mary Dolan Youth Fund
●Disaster Response Fund
Pregnancy support and adoption
Through the pregnancy support program, Catholic Charities assists women who are pregnant and until their babies turn six months old.
"Our therapist walks with them through those months, gets them things that they may need, especially basic needs like baby bottles, towels. If they need breast pumps, that's another option as well," Spilker said.
Additionally, the organization helps with adoptions.
"We just had one, which was very exciting," Spilker said.
Immigration legal services
Family unity is a focus of the immigration legal services program by helping people in Mexico reunite with family members who are already here, Spilker said.
Additionally, the program provides DACA, citizenship, translation, adjustment of status, and asylum services.
Personal care and basic needs
Both food and hygiene items are distributed from the facility. Additionally, vans also take food and hygiene items to 24 rural communities once a month, Robl said.
"We're Catholic Charities of Northern Kansas, so we've been really pushing ourselves to push those boundaries beyond the communities where we have an office and go to the people who are in need and bring those services to them," Robl said.
Spilker said that once a month in Salina and Hays people can apply for gas vouchers and bus passes. Additionally, people can apply for clothing vouchers at all three office locations.
In connection with the pregnancy support and adoption program, Catholic Charities also provides a diaper program that people can apply for up until their children turn age three.
"They can get diapers and wipes once a month," Spilker said.
Counseling services
Catholic Services also provides counseling services on a sliding fee scale for individuals, couples, and families.
The thrift store in Salina
The Catholic Charities thrift store is located within the organization's Salina facility. A door leading directly to the thrift store is located on the south side of the building toward the west end.
The thrift store, which holds a myriad of treasures waiting to be discovered, is open from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday and Wednesday, 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Tuesday and Thursday, and 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Friday.
Spilker said clothing vouchers given out by Catholic Charities in Salina go to the thrift store, while similar vouchers in Hays and Manhattan go to local thrift stores in those cities.
The Salina thrift store accepts donations of clothing, household goods, and decor, however, appliances and furniture are not accepted.
Serving rural Kansas
In addition to taking van loads of food and hygiene products to 24 rural communities in the 31-county area, Catholic Charities also can connect at other times via the organization's website or telephone with place-bound persons in need.
"Our service area is kind of divided in three, so each office covers a certain territory within the whole region," Robl said.
She explained that someone in a rural area who is not able to travel to the appropriate Catholic Charities office can call that office instead.
"We can do a lot of that processing over the phone or through email," Robl said.
While a number of the organization's applications are on the website, Spilker noted that community partners in the rural areas have copies of Catholic Charities' applications that persons in need can access.
Funding the many services provided
Catholic Charities of Northern Kansas relies on a variety of funding to provide all of its services. Robl said that funding sources include both federal and state grant programs, as well as thrift store sales. Additionally, Catholic Charities submits grant applications to the United Way, various community foundations, and some private foundations. The organization also is participating in the Greater Salina Community Foundation's Match Madness.
The majority of programs, however, are funded through general donations.
"We have lots of generous folks out in the community who help make all of these things possible," Robl said.
To learn more about Catholic Charities of Northern Kansas, visit the organization's website at ccnks.org.