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Catholic Charities of Tennessee, Inc.30 White Bridge RoadNashville, TN 37205

Fall 2011 Service to People in Need www.cctenn.org

Employee Spotlight

A Shining Example

Tajah Bohannon is a shining example ofcombining a vibrant personality with anindefatigable work ethic.

A native Nashvillian, Tajah is the refugeecash assistance spe-cialist for the Ten-nessee Office forRefugees (TOR), a depar tmen t o fCatholic Charitieswhich administersfederal funding forrefugees in Ten-nessee. Tajah is re-sponsible for coordinating payment of refugeecash assistance checks to refugees and hasbeen successful in this position for the lastthree years.

“Tajah’s work is critical to making sureour office operates efficiently,” states HollyJohnson, director of TOR. “Refugees must re-ceive their cash assistance on time to placethem on a path toward self-sufficiency. TORstaff and our partners appreciate her ability tobe thorough and accurate, and also her posi-tive attitude and friendly demeanor.”

Other departments at Catholic Charitiesagree with Holly’s assessment. Tajah has beenemployed in a variety of positions and severalprograms during her 11 years at the agency.When one of those programs concluded, Hollywas quick to request that Tajah come to TOR.

“Tajah is one of the hardest workers Ihave ever met, but she is also a fun and de-lightful friend,” notes Holly.

A mother of a son just starting highschool, Tajah is modest about her talents.However, everyone who works with her knowsshe is a great mom, a devoted friend and agreatly admired coworker.

“Catholic Charities is a great place to beemployed. It is more like a family than a job.Care is shown to the employees as well as theclients,” Tajah explains. y

“Catholic Charities could not fulfill itsmission without the efforts of hun-dreds of volunteers,” said Bill Sin-

clair, executive director of Catholic Charitieswhen the agency honored eight people as 2011Volunteers of the Year on September 15. “Vol-unteers are involved in all areas of programming.Without the help of volunteers, it would be im-possible for us to meet the needs of the more69,000 people we serve each year in Middle Ten-nessee.”

He added, “These honorees are representa-tive of the many ways in which volunteers make adifference to Catholic Charities, its clients and thecommunity.”

Rhonda Borman, a licensed clinical socialworker, is the Social Services Child WelfareVolunteer of the Year, honored for volunteer-ing her knowledge and insights to Catholic Char-ities’ school and child welfare counselors formore than 10 years.

Margaret Connelly, the Loaves andFishes Volunteer of the Year, has been a reg-ular Monday volunteer at the Loaves and FishesCommunity Meals for the Hungry program formore than four years. She helps whereverneeded; one of her distinctive ministries is assist-ing guests who have special needs.

Minnie Horton, Administrative Serv-ices Volunteer of the Year, was recognizedfor her six years of service on the Board ofTrustees. She was chair of the Board’s ProgramOversight Committee for four of those years dur-ing a period of tremendous growth and change.

Sheila Kiley is the North Nashville Out-reach Volunteer of the Year. After retiringfrom Catholic Charities in 2006, she wanted tocontinue serving people in need. She has volun-teered more than 535 hours of service during thepast five years, manning the North Outreach Cen-ter reception desk and helping distribute lunchesto the homeless and clothing to anyone in need.

Julia Pickard, Caring Choices Volun-teer of the Year, helps the Material AssistanceProgram meet the basic needs of pregnant

Volunteers honored for devoted service

Catholic Charitiesprepares to celebrate

See page 4

Tajah Bohannon

Acts of Love, Goodwill and Kindness

Amazing Service & Devotion: Catholic Charities 2011 Volunteers of the Year are (left to right)Julia Pickard, Kristen Portanova, Minnie Horton, Margaret Connolly, Rhonda Borman and MaryRolando. Volunteers of the Year honorees Sheila Kiley and Ren Lu You were unavailable for thephoto. Photo by Catholic Charities staff member Mattie Callahan.

50years

(Volunteers continued on page 3)

Mary Falls will receive Spirit of Service Award atOctober 26 CelebrationMary B. Falls is a perfect match for the

criteria used to determine the annualSpirit of Service Award recipient ac-

cording to Paul Ney andDeborah Varallo, co-chairs of the 2011 Cele-bration of Mission toService. The award willbe presented to her dur-ing the Celebration onWednesday, October 26,6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.,at Hillwood Country

Club. The Celebration of Mission to Service sup-ports the work of Catholic Charities of Tennesseeand Saint Mary Villa Child Development Center.

“The Spirit of Service Award is presented tosomeone who has been a significant contributorto the well-being of the clients served by Catholic

Charities and Saint Mary Villa, and reflects theagencies’ values of love, goodwill, kindness, learn-ing and laughter,” said Ney. “Mary Falls personifiesall of these values.”

Mary’s service to the community, especiallyto Catholic Charities and Saint Mary Villa, is longand significant. She is a past member, secretaryand chair of the board of both Catholic Charitiesand Saint Mary Villa.

“She was deeply involved with the leadershipof both agencies about a decade ago, when theagencies were in the midst of significant transi-tion,” explained Bill Sinclair, Catholic Charities’executive director.

In addition to her service to the two agencies,she is a past board member and secretary of theVisitation Hospital Foundation of Haiti. She hasalso served as a board member and officer for

Mary Falls

(Mary Falls continued on page 3)

All Catholic students in grades 7-12 inmiddle Tennessee are invited to enterthe 2011-2012 Multi-Media Youth

Arts Contest presented by the Catholic Cam-paign for Human Development (CCHD) andsponsored locally by Catholic Charities.Theme for the contest is, Put Faith in Ac-tion! Uproot Poverty Together. CatholicCharities sponsors the contest as part of itsadvocacy efforts and support of various anti-poverty initiatives.

Entries can take a variety of forms inthe categories of visual and literary arts in-cluding painting, short story, poem, song orphotography. Contest rules are available on-line for students and teachers atwww.usccb.org/artcontest. Entries must bereceived by Catholic Charities by February17, 2012.

For additional information, please visitwww.usccb.org/cchd/contest.shtml y

Page 2 Service to People in Need www.cctenn.org

Bullying doesn’t only happen on the playground or in school hall-ways. It happens on the internet, too.Cyberbullying is just what it sounds like: bullying through internet

applications and technologies such as instant messaging (IM), socialnetworking sites, and cell phones. It can start with a rumor, a photo ora forwarded message and then spiral out of control.

Cyberbullying hurts many people; reports indicate that approxi-mately one-third of online teens, ages 12-17, have experienced cyber-bullying.[1] Mary*, an 8th grade student at a school in the Diocese ofNashville, was one of them.

When Mary started receiving intimidating, rude text messages fromanother student, it af-fected every part of herlife – her grades, herhealth, and her relation-ships with family andfriends. She contactedthe Catholic Charitiescounselor at her school.Working together, Mary,her family, the schooland the counselor were able to put a stop to the cyberbullying. New issue addressed by counselors

Since 1976, the Catholic Charities School Counseling Programhas helped thousands of students and families find their way duringtimes of emotional upheaval and loss, and physical and mentalproblems. Last year, more than 2,000 people were assisted by CatholicCharities school counselors. Because of technology, school counselorsnow also help students, parents and teachers address issues such ascyberbullying.

Frankly, it is a challenge. Counselors – like parents – are

“technology immigrants;” technology is their second language. On theother hand, students are “technology natives”; they have always knownabout Facebook, chat rooms, websites, instant messaging, and emailing.

However, while students may possess technical knowledge, theylack the maturity and experience to understand and handle the personalsafety threats created by technology – including cyberbullying.

“Mary’s situation had a happy outcome. She knew to tell herparents immediately when cyberbullying began and to also contact herschool counselor for support and advice,” said Mary Hemminger,director of children and youth programs at Catholic Charities.“Fortunately, the issue was resolved quickly because her parents had

informed themselvesand Mary about the risksinvolved with socialmedia. Mary knew howto respond.”

There are manypositive uses oftechnology and socialnetworking; however,there are also many

risks. Catholic Charities school counselors conduct programsthroughout the year to help parents, teachers and school staffunderstand the risks in the tech world and know how to respond. Coun-selors have found www.netsmartz.org is a valuable resource.

“Technology and social media constantly change and present newrisks. It is important for adults to stay informed so they can help whenproblems occur,” said Hemminger. y* This name is fictitious for confidentiality reasons. The situation described isreal.[1] Cyberbullying and Online Teens. Pew Internet and American Life Project,

2007.

Internet bullying: school counselors help

WISHLIST

Father Ryan High School studentJoe Garrett won a Grand Prize inlocal competition and 3rd Place innational competition this year.

Recognizing cyberbullying

There are many types of cyberbullying[2]. Happy-Slapping meansrecording someone being harassed or bullied in a way that usuallyinvolves physical abuse, then posting the video online for public view-

ing. Photoshopping involves doctoring digital images so that a person isplaced in a compromising or embarrassing situation. Rumor Spreadingcyberbullying spreads gossip through e-mail, text messaging or social net-working sites. Another type of cyberbullying is Physical Threat, whichmeans sending messages threatening a person’s physical safety. Have youheard of Flaming and Trolling? It means sending or posting hostile mes-sages intended to “inflame” the emotions of others.

Catholic Charities school counselors have found this simple demon-stration is helpful in explaining how cyberbullying works.

Show your child a clear pitcher of water. Point out that the water isclear or colorless. Have your child mix in the powdered juice. Whatis happening to the water? Has anyone ever said unkind thingsabout you to someone else online or in the real world? Just like thejuice mix quickly changed the water’s color, rumors can quicklyspread on the Internet. Sometimes people say mean or untrue thingsabout other people online. The gossip and lies quickly travel fromone person’s computer to another, like the juice mix quickly spreadand dissolved in the water. There’s no way to stop rumors fromspreading, and their effects can be permanent. The water perma-nently changed color, and the reputation of a person who is a victimof cyberbullying can be permanently changed. If you are ever cy-berbullied it is important not to respond, save the evidence, and tella trusted adult.

Additional ideas and tools to explain cyberbullying and other personalsafety issues related to technology can be found at www.netsmartz.org y[2] Excerpts from http://www.netsmartz.org/Cyberbullying. For more information aboutcyberbullying, please visit this website.

Loaves and Fishes • Men’s white socks• Winter hats & glovesPlease contact Wendy Overlock at 615-256-7256Angel Tree• Wrapping paper & ribbon• Tape & boxesPlease contact Megan Stack at 615-760-1031North Nashville• Diapers (all sizes)• Body soap, deodorant & tissues• Laundry soap & dish soapPlease contact Dee Dee Searcy at 615-242-1554Caring Choices• Baby formula• Diapers in all sizes for Nashville office• Wipes• Gift cards for mothers in need• Pak n’ Play portable play pensPlease contact Scott Gubala at 615-352-3089Refugee Services• Twin sheet sets (urgently needed)• Blankets of all sizes • Kitchen items: silverware, pots & pans,cooking utensils, etc.• Cleaning products• Personal care items (soap, tooth-brushes, toothpaste, toilet paper, etc.)Please contact Robin Norris at 615-760-2766 or rnorris@cctenn.org or rsdonations@cctenn.org

Geriatrics• Low-sodium canned food for low-in-come elderly• Ensure• Daytime volunteers• Kroger gift cards• Depends (all sizes) Please contact Lynn Herman at 615-760-4408Hispanic Family Services• School supplies• Personal care items (shampoo, tooth-paste, lotion, etc.)• Baby items including diapers & clothesPlease contact Anais Riggs at615-445-8310, ext. 222Child Welfare Services• Art supplies including individual paintsets• Basic Legos• Play-Doh in small individual sizes• Miniature toys and family play sets (different ethnicities)Please contact Marie Gilland at 615-354-9506 Plaza Comunitaria• English-Spanish dictionaries • Laser color printer for internal work• Color paper, sticky notes, Scissors, tapeholders • Pencils, Pens, Sharpies (Black and Red)• Binders, folders, hanging folders (lettersize)Please contact Terry Horgan at 615-445-8310

Through its International Adoption Program, CatholicCharities of Tennessee has helped many Middle Ten-nessee families maneuver through the complex and con-

fusing international adoption processes which vary greatly bycountry. For more than 25 years, families adopting from China,Russia, Ethiopia, and many other countries have received assis-tance from Catholic Charitieswith completion of the homestudies as well as educationand other support.

In late 2007, the UnitedStates ratified The HagueConvention on Protection ofChildren and Co-operation inRespect of IntercountryAdoption and the Intercoun-try Adoption Act. It became effective in the United States onApril 1, 2008.

It established that the Council on Accreditation would eval-uate agencies in the United States that place children from othercountries for adoption. Agencies such as Catholic Charities wereable to operate as supervised providers for placing agencies that

had been accredited and to continue to complete home studiesand post-placement supervisory reports.

This spring, China decreed that it would no longer accepthome studies from agencies that were not accredited. As othercountries are expected to follow suit, this would leave MiddleTennessee families with very few options to turn to for assistance

in completing an interna-tional adoption. Therefore,Catholic Charities made thestrategic decision to embarkon the lengthy process of ap-plying for accreditation.

A four-member com-mittee consisting of a Boardmember and staff is at workto address the detailed

preparations required prior to accreditation being achieved;their goal for accreditation is March 2012.

“We look forward to achieving this accreditation. It willrecognize and reconfirm the quality of the adoption servicesthat Catholic Charities provides to families,” said Julie Bolles,international adoption coordinator. y

Agency’s international adoptionteam preps for Hague accreditation

The Hague Adoption Conventionprocess provides additional protections

to prospective adoptive parents,children and birthparents.

The U.S. Department of State

Opportunity for Catholic students

“”

Dress for Success, Project Reflect Educational Programs, and Nashville’s Table,now part of Second Harvest.

Mary currently is secretary and chair-elect of the Alive Hospice boardand she chairs its Governance and Nominating Committee.She is also board secretary and chair of the Governanceand Nominating Committee for St. Thomas Health Serv-ices.

Mary makes a difference in local parishes, too. For 11years, she served on the Cathedral of the Incarnation parish pastoral counciland for several years was adult education small faith communities co-chair atthe parish. She is now a parishioner at Christ the King with her husband Nailland their three children, Catherine, Andrew and Christopher. At Christ the King,she is the 7th grade catechist and a Room in the Inn volunteer.

“Mary is remarkable in so many ways,” added Mike Miller, executive di-

rector of Saint Mary Villa. “She brings impressive insight, intelligence and ded-ication to every project in which she is involved. Her energy and enthusiasm in-spire others to serve. Both of our agencies are so grateful to have benefited fromher service over the years.”

Sinclair and Miller both expressed appreciation to the members of the Cel-ebration of Mission to Service committee. Committee mem-bers are Frank Caruso, Chris Donnelly, Debora Glennon,Kathy Griffin, Mike Hogrefe, David Johnson, Jim O’Neill,Eleanor Parkes, Mary Rolando, Pat Shepherd, and LaurenWagner, who represent the boards of the two agencies. Also

on the committee are Catholic Charities staff members Mark Barry, Isabel Car-rillo, Laura Jumonville, Shirley Lopehandia and Richard Neal.

Tickets to the October 26 Celebration benefit reception are $500 per per-son; $1,000 per couple. Tickets can be purchased through the Catholic Char-ities’ website, www.cctenn.org, or by contacting Isabel Carrillo at615.760.4428 or icarrillo@cctenn.org. y

www.cctenn.org Service to People in Need Page 3

Thank You• Thank you to Mary Rolando, NedSpitzer, Shandy Husmann, and RuthLomo for their dedicated service and expertguidance to the Tennessee Office forRefugees;• Janie Busbee, Mother to MotherCharity, for car seats and pak-n-plays do-nated to Caring Choices; St. Mark Church,Manchester, and St. Henry Church,Nashville, for their support of the pregnancycounseling program; Our Lady of theLake, Hendersonville, and LighthouseMissionary Baptist Church, Lawrence-burg, for their support of the Adoption Sup-port and Preservation Program;• Alex Dedman, YMCA of Middle Ten-nessee, for 19 computer keyboards & miceand Anthem Career College for six com-plete computers, five sets of speakers, andtwo extra monitors and keyboards donatedto Refugee Services;• M-FUGE and CSM for providing manygroups of volunteers to Loaves & Fishes thissummer; Kenny Mullins for providinghome grown vegetables for Loaves & Fishesguests to enjoy; Community Food Advo-cates for opportunity to start a communityfood garden;• Americorps volunteers for their servicewith the Living at Home Program and theAdult Day Program; HCA Community Vol-unteers for their Community Outreach Dayservice in the Adult Day Program area;Group Cares and Ensworth High Schoolstudents for sprucing up the homes andyards of Living at Home clients;• St. Henry Parish for its support of theDress a Child program of North NashvilleOutreach;• Jim Hagaman, Carmichael Towers;Vicki Diestlekamp, Let’s Get Moving;and James and Scott, Mary Queen of An-gels, for generous furniture donations toRefugee Services;• Tim Stewart and Micah Weedman,Belmont University, for a day of service atthe Refugee Services warehouse. y

Old talents becomenew refuge for womenMany refugees arrive in the United States with talents and skills – such as

sewing, farming and weaving – that don’t necessarily translate to theAmerican labor market. Women refugees, in particular, face challenges

entering the workforce, whether due to a lack of education or childcare or Englishlanguage skills. However, the Women’s Alliance Group and Refuge Handicrafts, bothlaunched earlier this year by Catholic Charities Refugee Services, are now turningthe culture-based skills of refugee women into opportunities and helping them over-come challenges.

With funding through the Tennessee Office for Refugees, the Women’s AllianceGroup provides training that helps refugee women develop the business skills theyneed to be self-sufficient. Specifically, the Women’s Alliance Group provides financialand budget skills training, connects the women to additional ESL classes, and pro-vides them with business management guidance through Refuge Handicrafts. RefugeHandicrafts is also a tool and brand to market the products the women produce,including beautiful handmade throw pillows and hot pads that are sold at theNashville Farmers’ Market and other outlets.

Not only is the Women’s Alliance Group helping women repurpose their skills,it also works in collaboration with local businesses to find new ways to use olditems. For example, one group of women created children’s and women’s sunhatsfrom up-cycled men’s shirts. The sunhats are for sale at The Green Wagon in EastNashville.

Through the Women’s Alliance Group and Refugee Handicrafts, Catholic Char-ities hopes to bring peace and refuge to women who were once refugees, help themrealize their strengths, and empower them to succeed in their new home.

Refuge Handicrafts continually explores new ways to make items available forsale as it develops new products. To view and order items made by refugee women,

visit www.facebook.com/refugehandicrafts. Refuge Handicrafts needs donations of sewing machines, irons and sewing no-

tions. To donate items, please contact Robin Norris, at 615-760-2766. y

Mary Hliang from Burma (center), a client of Catholic Charities RefugeeServices, discusses items created by refugee women with Andrea Prince(left) and Abdirahman Hussein, staff members who work with the Women’sAlliance Group, when they visit the Refuge Handicrafts display booth atNashville Farmers’ Market.

1,000 angelswish & wait

On Friday, November 4, theCatholic Charities’ Angel Treewill display the Christmas

wishes – and basic needs – of chil-dren, families and the elderly. It is an-ticipated more than 1,000 wishes willbe placed on the 2011 Angel Tree uponreferral from Catholic Charities staffmembers and various public agencies.Families in severe need also receivefood baskets, and household and per-sonal care staples.

The need for assistance increaseseach year; unfortunately, the need forhelp will be great this Christmas. It isonly through the generosity ofchurches, community organizations,businesses and individuals that CatholicCharities is able to meet the basicneeds and Christmas wishes of somany.

Angel gifts must be returned nolater than Wednesday, December 14, toCatholic Charities’ office at 30 WhiteBridge Road, Nashville, TN 37205. Forinformation on how to adopt aChristmas angel, please contactMegan Stack at 615-760-1031 ormstack@cctenn.org. Thank you. y

Volunteers (continued from page 1)women and new mothers. Twice a month for more than two years, she hasanswered the program’s phone and followed up on messages regardingrequests for items such as diapers or inquiries about donations and pre-pared assistance bags for clients.

Mary Rolando is the Tennessee Office for Refugees Volunteerof the Year, honored for her role in creating this new department. Herskill and talent for effective communication have been invaluable in launch-ing this program that links TOR with state agencies and partner organiza-tions across Tennessee.

Ren Lu You, a native of Shanghai, China, is the Refugee ServicesVolunteer of the Year. For the past 18 months, he has volunteered hisfinancial planning knowledge and experience to help newly arrivingrefugees. He works with clients from many different backgrounds who maylack formal education and usually speak little or no English, helping themacquire skills essential to their financial security and success in a newcountry.

Kristen Portanova, a senior at Ravenwood High School in Brent-wood, received the I Care Award, presented each year to someone age18 or younger who provides outstanding community service. At Holy Fam-ily Church, she volunteers as a catechist for the church’s Wednesday after-noon religious education program, assists with the parish’s annualconfirmation and first communion retreats, and works in the parish’s nurs-ery on Sunday mornings. y

Mary Falls (continued from page 1)

Mary is remarkable in so many ways.“ ”

$138,000 preventative healthgrant awarded to TennesseeOffice for RefugeesThe Tennessee Office for Refugees, the department of Catholic Charities of Ten-

nessee charged with the coordination and administration of the statewiderefugee program in Tennessee, was recently awarded a $138,000 grant by the

federal Office of Refugee Resettlement under its Refugee Preventative Health Discre-tionary Grant Program. The grant will be used by the Tennessee Office of Refugees(TOR) for its innovative preventative health program, said Holly Johnson, director ofTOR.

TOR will track measurable outcomes of its preventative health program’s variousareas of service which will provide valuable data about the effectiveness of the inter-ventions and a replicable model for service delivery across the nation.

The TOR program focuses on supporting refugee health through advocacy forand scheduling of follow up care after the initial health screening; orientation to theAmerican health care system and preventative health measures – particularly in theareas of nutrition and mental health care; and access to a nurse line during eveningsand weekends for consultation on health related issues. A Health Navigator will behoused at each resettlement agency in Tennessee to assist refugees in managing chronicand urgent health conditions as well as to provide necessary information and guidanceso that refugees are equipped to address health and wellness issues on their own.

Approximately 1,600 refugees found a new home in Tennessee last year. y

Page 4 Service to People in Need www.cctenn.org

Our MissionFollowing the example of Christ, Catholic

Charities of the Diocese of Nashville advocatesfor and provides services which enhance andenrich the quality of life for people in need.

Catholic Charities of Tennessee, Inc. provides its servicesin accordance with the Rights under Title VI of the CivilRights Act of 1964 that prohibits discrimination on the

basis of race, color or national origin.

Catholic Charities of Tennessee, Inc. is a licensed childplacement agency of the State of Tennessee.

For Information:615-352-3087 or www.cctenn.orgContributions can be made online at

www.cctenn.org

Planning begins for 50th anniversary celebration

On July 17, 1962, Catholic Charities of Tennessee was establishedwith a $100 donation from the Diocese of Nashville and a $1,000loan. Its first major initiative was to provide care for 25 Cuban fam-

ilies and 43 children arriving in the U.S.without their parents, all fleeing the revolu-tion in that country.

A team of Catholic Charities boardmembers, volunteers and staff is now atwork, planning events to celebrate theagency’s 50th anniversary. Centerpiece of thecelebration will be a Mass of Thanksgivingat the Cathedral of the Incarnation on July17, 2012, exactly 50 years from the day of the agency’s founding. Additionalevents and activities will take place before and after the anniversary date.

“This anniversary should be a celebration for not only the Catholiccommunity, but for all Middle Tennesseans,” said Bill Sinclair, executivedirector of the agency. “Catholic Charities annually serves more than 69,000people of many religions, races, cultures and ethnic groups living in the 38

counties of Middle Tennessee. It is difficult to comprehend how many peo-ple have actually been served over the past 50 years and to count the waysthat our staff and volunteers have served them.”

He added, “It is our hope and inten-tion that the 50th anniversary celebrationserves as a springboard for the community,providing a call to action and service.”

The 50th Anniversary Planning Com-mission currently includes chair MarkBarry, director of marketing at CatholicCharities; community and Board volunteersNancy Anness, Michael Corbett, Chris Don-

nelly, Father Mark Hunt, Paul Ney and Bill Towle; and staff members ScottGubala, Lisa McGovern, Fran Rajotte, Gigi Rose, Bill Sinclair, and DeasreeWilliams.

“The Planning Commission is developing a variety of ideas to makethe anniversary celebration meaningful, engaging, educational, and excit-ing,” said Barry. With support of the United States Department of State/Bureau

of Population, Refugees and Migration

In Their Own WordsAngels found at Adult Day Programby Steve Hayes,The Human Capital Group, Inc.Brentwood

Almost four years ago, my parents came tolive with me, my wife and our five children.Dad was recovering from several long-

standing medical challenges and had recentlybeen diagnosed with Parkinson’s. Mom was over-whelmed as she tried to care for him and managetheir household.

After they moved in with us, we watched Dadprogressively decline. We began to think heneeded nursing home care.

Just when we thought there was no other op-tion, “angels” arrived in the form of Catholic Char-ities’ Adult Day Program. Dad is now doing betterthan I have seen him in over 10 years because ofthe loving staff, amazing volunteers, and a programfocused on love, dignity and respect. He hasfriends, independence, and mental and emotionalstimulation. Most of all, he has a reason and a willto live.

Words cannot express how grateful we areto the “angels” at Catholic Charities! yEditor’s Note: For more information about the Adult Day Pro-gram, please contact Lynn Herman at 615-352-3087 or lherman@cctenn.org.

Tom Hayes, left, and his son, Steve Hayes

New job training center helps refugeesEssam Saad, a native of Egypt,

is one of the thousands ofrefugees from more than 35

countries who Catholic Charities ofTennessee has welcomed since1962. As has been true for othernewly arrived refugees, he is eagerto work.

However, finding meaningfulemployment quickly after arrival isa challenge according to MeganStack, Catholic Charities’ Family As-sistance & Community Employment(FACE) director.

“Most new arrivals are not im-mediately ready to enter the locallabor market. They need time toadjust to a new language as well asa new social environment and newemployment cultures and prac-tices,” she explained.

The May 2011 opening of theRefugee Job Training Center ishelping solve this problem. In a“real world” work environment,Saad and other newly arrivedrefugees are involved in meaningfulwork, receive job training, andlearn American work practices andexpectations. They also earn a modest income.

The light manufacturing and fulfillment work performed at the Cen-ter includes cutting, sewing and assembly. Recent projects involvedsewing banners and producing specialized industrial cleaning products.Located near downtown Nashville, theCenter is close to Nashville MTA busroutes often used by refugees to movearound the city.

“The Refugee Job Training Centercan serve as many as 25 new refugeearrivals at a time,” said Henry Crane,the Center’s production manager. “Noone is expected to be in the programfor more than three months.”

Over a year’s time, up to 100 clients may participate in the trainingprogram, earning income while also getting ready to take the next stepout into the local labor market.

The refugee trainees are exposed to a variety of skills critical forsuccess in the workplace, including how to function in an environmentin which English is the primary business language. They learn how toreceive and follow specific directions including customer-provided spec-ifications. They also learn about teamwork and how to provide guidance

and direction to others. They gain understanding of productionprocesses, especially those involving light manufacturing or fulfillment.

“The job here is very good,” said Saad, who has become one of theCenter’s sewing experts. However, he does long for a job with more

hours which would result in higher in-come. Participants in job trainingprograms are limited to working 30hours per week.

A better job will come, explainedCandice Horton, a job skills trainer.“The purpose of the Center is to makesure that refugee clients have theskills necessary for gainful employ-ment and longevity,” she said. An-

other benefit is that they can add current, local work experience totheir resumes.

Saad’s dream job would involve air conditioning work; he has morethan 20 years of experience and has worked as a supervisor in this field.

“Employers value refugees as employees, especially because of theirstrong work ethic,” noted Stack. “Time and again, they prove themselvesto be eager and dependable employees. They are also proving themselvesto be eager learners at the Refugee Job Training Center.” y

Henry Crane, production manager for the Refugee Job Training Center (center) provides instructions forbanner sewing to Jean Winumire from Burundi (left) and Essam Saad from Egypt. Over a year’s time, up to100 refugee clients may participate in the Center’s training program, earning income while also gettingready to take the next step out into the local labor market.

For more information on how Refugee JobTraining Center clients might be able tomeet your organization’s needs, contact

Megan Stack (615-760-1031 ormstack@cctenn.org) or Mark Barry

(615-406-8868 or mbarry@cctenn.org).

It is our hope and intention that the 50th anniversary celebrationserves as a springboard for the community, providing a call to

action and service.

“”