As Catholic Charities prepares to launch Germaine’s Cafe, Executive Director Rick Birkel asks for the community to rally behind a project that promises to expand professional opportunities for men and women experiencing disabilities. His piece, including an overview of Germaine’s Cafe and what a food service business would look like at Catholic Charities, can be found in the Catholic Sentinel.
Archive
What Saint Germaine Can Teach Us About Recognizing God in Each Other's Suffering
By any measure, St. Germaine’s life seemed destined for suffering. As a young girl, she was sickly, and in addition to her deformed right arm, she suffered from scrofula, which left large open sores on her neck and face. When her father remarried after the death of her mother, Germaine’s stepmother banished her to the…
Catholic Charities Board Member Featured in "Lower Refugee Cap Concerns Catholic Groups"
Before joining the Catholic Charities Board of Directors, Francis Kham was a refugee. Today, he is an outspoken advocate for both the Portland Zomi community, of which he is a part, and refugee resettlement in general, which has been reduced from 80,000 in 2016 to just 18,000 today. Read the full story from the Catholic…
Case Management and Advocacy Pave the Road to Self-Sufficiency
What does it take to help someone move past the trauma and culture shock experienced by so many new arrivals? Agencies like Catholic Charities help refugees rebuild their lives and become participating members in our community through a myriad of services, ranging from case management to advocacy. Case Manager Supervisor Fowzia Abdulle has dedicated her…
Keep Oregon Open: The Welcoming Refugees Bill Passes, Sets National Example
After a nearly 8 months of uncertainty, Oregon House Bill 2508, AKA the Welcoming Refugees Bill, passed in late June, at the eleventh hour of the legislative session. The bill paves the way for the state’s three resettlement agencies, Catholic Charities among them, to continue serving refugees as they rebuild safe, sustainable lives for themselves…
Public Charge: What You Need to Know/Carga Pública: Lo Que Debe Saber
On October 3, Catholic Charities hosted a Facebook Live event in an attempt to clarify some of the misinformation going around about the recent public charge rule change. Kat Kelley (Director, Strategic Initiatives), John Herrera (Director, Immigration Legal Services), and Sarah Purce (Assistant Director, Immigration Legal Services) presented important information in English and Spanish: What…
Catholic Charities featured in "Amid immigration crackdown, undocumented domestic abuse victims fear reporting abuse, seeking assistance"
In her highly anticipated follow-up to “‘A blanket of fear’: How deportations affect children,” the Catholic Sentinel’s Katie Scott examines the relationship between undocumented immigrants and local police and why many survivors of domestic abuse don’t feel safe going to the police. Read the full article here or in the October 4 issue of the…
Catholic Charities Commits to Delivering 110 New Units of Affordable Housing to Low-Income Oregonians
Catholic Charities of Oregon is excited to partner with Related Northwest on Cathedral Village, a new rental housing development that will serve working families and some of Portland’s most vulnerable residents. The development in North Portland’s St. John’s Neighborhood was announced at a September 17 event at Portland City Hall and will leverage private equity…