​Catholic Charities, Seton Home, and St. PJ’s Home receive $140,000 in assistance from San Antonio A

Catholic Charities, Seton Home, and St. PJ’s Home receive $140,000 in assistance from San Antonio Area Foundation

Catholic Charities, Seton Home, and St. PJ’s Home each received grants from the San Antonio Area Foundation on April 22 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic in order to supplement programs and services with increased expenditures.

For Catholic Charities, their $40,000 grant will serve several purposes.

First, funds will supplement the St. Stephen’s CARE Center and the USDA-certified Mobile Relief Unit Food Pantries to meet the demand of food insecurity for those financially impacted by the pandemic. In the weeks since COVID-19 affected San Antonio residents, the food pantries are serving thousands of pounds of food to hundreds of clients on a daily basis.

Second, funds will be used to support health and safety measures for staff and clients following the recommendations set by the Centers of Disease Control across multiple locations throughout the city.

Finally, as Catholic Charities experienced increased demands across all programs, funds will supplement direct service expenses.

Catholic Charities President/CEO J. Antonio Fernandez said, “We are always so grateful to the San Antonio Area Foundation and the United Way of San Antonio and Bexar County for supporting our mission. We are serving thousands of clients daily, old and new, across all of our programs. We are also committed to a safe environment for our staff to deliver services and our clients to seek help.”

Seton Home’s $50,000 grant will ensure the safety and good health of pregnant and parenting teen mothers and their babies.

Funding will support Seton Home’s ability to continue to provide normalcy activities and programs for our moms and babies who have been sheltered in place along with the rest of the local community. School closures and the inability of residents to leave campus have moms actively learning while spending significant amounts of time inside, which makes funding for a variety of online classes, including those for recreation and creative activities, more important than ever. Additionally, funds will be used to support health and safety measures for staff and residents following the recommendations set by the Centers for Disease Control.

Seton Home Executive Director Gladys Gonzalez said, “It is of utmost importance that our home is a safe and healthy place for our mothers and babies to heal following a trauma. As we ask our mothers to stay on campus, we have teenagers anxious to move around and be active, so we have additional responsibilities for our staff to provide inside activities to keep our mothers and babies moving forward in an engaging, thoughtful, and purposeful manner.”

For St. Peter-St. Joseph Children’s Home, the $50,000 grant will help maintain the campus as a safe sanctuary for children following a trauma.

Funding will support needs and activities for children during the stay home proclamation. The campus is closed, children are not physically attending schools, visitors are not allowed on campus to deliver meals, and volunteers are restricted from activities. Therefore, additional funds are required to support additional meals, cleaning services, and other requirements to keep children safe and healthy. Funds will also be used to support health and safety measure for staff and Children following recommendations set by the Centers for Disease Control.

Gonzalez, who also serves as executive director of St. PJ’s, stated, “Our community has always been very supportive and active on our campus providing meals, supplies, and fun-filled activities for our kids. It takes all of us to make a difference in the life of a child. Thanks to the San Antonio Area Foundation for stepping in on behalf of the community ensuring our children are safe and healthy and also engaged in meaningful interactions and activities with our staff.”

Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of San Antonio serves all people, regardless of race, religion, or national origin, from birth to natural death, through a network of comprehensive programs that include basic needs, family and children’s services, legal services, refugee resettlement, counseling, pregnant and parenting education, and senior services.