With a goal to reach as many as possible, one Catholic Charities regional site rededicated

By Bill Doyle | CFP Correspondent

In an effort to make Catholic Charities of Worcester County services more well know in the Southbridge area, its regional office was rededicated by Bishop McManus, June 20.

Timothy McMahon, executive director of Catholic Charities Worcester County, said the Southbridge office hadn’t been getting a lot of traffic for the past year or two despite a great need in the region.

“It’s frustrating, knowing that it’s a community in need and we haven’t been able to reach them recently,” Mr. McMahon said.

At the rededication, Mr. McMahon said the mission of the four Catholic Charities regional offices is to provide the basic necessities to get through the day, including food, clothing and rental assistance. About 40 people were on hand.

“We decided to do a rededication of the office and invite the community in to see all the work that we will be doing,” McMahon said. “It was just kind of like starting over.”

Mr. McMahon said it was the first rededication of a Catholic Charities office in his eight years as executive director.

“I thought it went really well,” Mr. McMahon said. “There was a lot of energy there.”

“I was very happy with the response,” said Hope Wilson, the Southbridge area administrator.

Partners in Charity funds $300,000 of the $1 million annual budget for all of the four Catholic Charities regional offices. Grants and donations account for the rest. Mr. McMahon said the United Way funds about 20 percent of the budget for the Southbridge office.

Mrs. Wilson took over as area administrator on March 10 and Aida Castillo was hired as assistant manager on March 27.

Food Share used to run a small food bank for Catholic Charities in Southbridge, but Mr. McMahon said it left after Catholic Charities wanted to expand hours and serve more people. For about six months, the food bank was closed.

The food pantry and clothing closet reopened on Monday, June 23, three days after the rededication, and Mrs. Wilson said five families in need showed up.

“Our goal is to feed as many people as possible,” Mrs. Wilson said.

To meet that goal, Mrs. Wilson said she will seek donations. Donations can be made online at ccworc.org. To drop off items, call the Southbridge office at 508-765-5936.

The food pantry is open from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. each Thursday, but walk-ins are welcomed from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. on weekdays.

“If they come in and tell us they’re hungry, we’re going to have them take some food,” she said.

McMahon estimated that the Southbridge office serves 80-100 people each month in a number of ways. In addition to food and clothing, the office offers case management, including determining people’s needs and making referrals to different organizations. The office helps people fill out applications for housing and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly known as food stamps). The office also provides diapers and wipes to those in need. A limited amount of money is available to provide assistance to those who fall behind in paying their rent or utility bills. Help finding a bed in a homeless shelter is also available.

In the fall, Catholic Charities distributes backpacks to students about to start school.

In 1969, Mary Jane Pioppi deeded her family’s former home at 79 Elm Street in Southbridge to the Bishop of Worcester to be used as an office for Catholic Charities. She had been very active in Catholic Charities. Her late husband, Dr. Nerio William Pioppi, had also used the building for his medical office.

The Pioppis’ son, William, and his wife Genevieve, attended the rededication. William presented Mr. McMahon with the original key to the back door of the building.

Mrs. Wilson said she plans to reach out to local churches to make them aware of the services that the office provides. In addition to Southbridge, the office also services Dudley, Webster, Oxford, Charlton, Sturbridge, Spencer, Brookfield, West Brookfield, East Brookfield, North Brookfield, Warren, New Braintree, Oakham, Hardwick and Barre.

Mrs. Wilson, 64, recently sold literacy materials, but Tony Havens, a fellow parishioner at St. John Paul II Parish, urged her to apply for the opening at Catholic Charities in Southbridge. She had converted from Episcopalian to Catholicism last year and she did apply.

“I have a heart for helping others so that part of the job was very, very appealing to me,” she said.

Mrs. Wilson said the main focus is to provide a welcoming environment and to offer services and referrals in a respectful, dignified manner.

“We, most of all, do not want anyone to feel self-conscious about needing assistance,” she said.

Mrs. Wilson said the words of Jesus in Matthew 25:35 are crucial to the mission of Catholic Charities: “I was hungry, and you gave me something to eat. I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me in.  I was naked and you clothed me.”

“These are words that motivate us each day in our work for Catholic Charities,” she said.
The main office of Catholic Charities Worcester County is located in West Boylston.

Southbridge is one of four emergency service offices, joining those in Worcester, Leominster and Milford. Southbridge serves the fewest people, but Catholic Charities would like to add to that number so long as there is a need.