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Catholic Charities opts to keep reduced rates

By RENEE WEBB, Globe editor
(Email Renee)

It was about one year ago when Catholic Charities in the Diocese of Sioux City opted to reduce its fees by one-third in an effort to provide services to people at their greatest time of need.

Reflecting on the events of the agency and the nation’s economic climate this past year, the agency’s executive director, Jerry Eaton, is convinced now more than ever that they made the right decision.

“That decision helped to revitalize the whole agency and at a same time allowed us to meet a very real need of the people in the diocese,” Eaton said.

He stressed the fact that Catholic Charities would not have been able to do this without the support of Bishop R. Walker Nickless and the people of the diocese who gave generously to the special collection last June on the Feast of the Body and Blood of Christ that yielded over $80,000.

“That collection has more than offset any losses that we would have had,” Eaton said.

The bishop agreed that reducing fees was a good decision.

“One of the things that all of us have been aware of in the last several months is the financial crisis that is touching everyone,” Bishop Nickless said. “When a financial crisis happens, family stress and tension seems to get greater – there is a lot of worry, there is a lot of frustration, fear and anger. So many people don’t know where to go.”

Luckily, he said, here in the Diocese of Sioux City, Catholic Charities is a place where they can go for help and support. The agency provides individual, marital and family counseling services.

“The church needs to be there for them. The church is a place of support, help and comfort to many people in need who are experiencing stress in their lives,” Bishop Nickless said.

The Catholic Charities director also extended gratitude to Msgr. R. Mark Duchaine, vicar general of the diocese, for helping to raise awareness about the agency’s mission. He explained that it was the vicar general’s idea to have him meet with the presbyteral and pastoral councils.

“I am a strong believer in Catholic Charities and of the good work that its people do for so many in the Diocese of Sioux City, Catholic and non-Catholic alike,” said Msgr. Duchaine. “Insofar as I might have been an effective agent in helping to bring about last year’s decision to lower of the cost for counseling  by one-third, I can only say that I am grateful that the Holy Spirit provided the inspiration and that my head and heart were prepared to respond accordingly.”

The more those who hurt know about the services available to them through Catholic Charities, the vicar general added, “the better it is for all concerned since the help and healing they receive will enable them to live more peacefully and fruitfully.”

Keep reduced fees
Because the need continues, Catholic Charities plans to keep the reduced rates for their services and the agency will be able to do this without the need to hold a special collection this summer.

“There are a great number of people coming in and we are serving a new type of client. We are not just serving the really poor anymore, we are serving a lot of people in the middle and higher income levels who were impacted pretty severely by the losses in their investments in the stock market,” Eaton said. “A lot of the really poor people didn’t have those investments.”

The stress and worries about investments and job security, he added, spills over into their marriage and family relationships.

“In the last year, we saw an increase in marital counseling. Normally in Sioux City about 50 percent of our intakes would be for marital counseling and it jumped up to about 75 percent,” said Eaton, who added that when you help marriages, you help families. “There is nothing that adds stability to a society like a well-functioning family.”

With the reduced fees, he noted that some middle-income people who had been paying $50 for a session now pay $33. So the reduced fees help people of all income levels have the ability to seek counseling and that helps families stay together.

Eaton said that financial crisis has impacted everyone, even agencies like Catholic Charities. He added that in a time when many Catholic Charities agencies have had to reduce their services and layoff staff, the diocesan Catholic Charities has been able to expand services and cut the fees thanks to the help of the people of the diocese, the bishop, vicar general, the diocesan priests and others who helped spread the word about the mission and services of the agency.

“I want to thank Jerry Eaton for his care and concern about the people in our community that need help and counseling,” Bishop Nickless said. “Because of what he has done with the lowering of fees, many more families have been able to take advantage of their services. I am glad the church could help and be there for them.”

The bishop thanked the parishioners of the diocese who contributed to last summer’s collection because “you helped to make Catholic Charities’ work possible and it is greatly appreciated by many people.”

Bishop Nickless also thanked the staff of Catholic Charities who went without raises last year in order to be of services to others.

Client comments
The executive director has found that the clients are very pleased with their services.

Some of the comments include: “Past and present counseling is effective. I have recommended others and they are clients now.” “Everything my therapist and I have worked on is helping me.” “This place is full of great people – it is a loving, peaceful place to be.” “Knowing the support is there is always comforting. It is a great place for the community and surrounding areas. Great staff.”

While the needs of clients may not make headlines, Eaton said the needs are very genuine.

“We feed our clients with the respect, honor and dignity they deserve,” he said. “We cloth our clients with understanding and care for what happens to them. We shelter them with a belief in them and their own ability to become happy, healthy and successful. Their needs may not make headline news but their circumstances put them in a situation of very real need for our services.”

The reduced rates, he stressed, are working: both for the agency and for the clients.

“That’s why it is important to stay at that rate,” Eaton said. “It’s working well enough that we don’t need a special collection to make up the difference.”