New Hope celebrates its successes this holiday

The joy of the season materialized recently as two once-homeless moms celebrated their family, thanked their benefactors and edged into the new year with a sense of pride and accomplishment.

The two mothers and their children, all under the wing of Catholic Charities' New Hope Program and therefore usually anonymous to those offering aid and support, agreed to attend a recent Christmas dinner party in their honor in Schaumburg. Members of the St. Hubert Peace and Justice Committee showered the families with gifts of winter clothing, boots, toys and grocery store gift cards to help them stock their pantries and provided their guests of honor with a Christmas feast.

The single mothers expressed their gratefulness for being provided with second chances, opportunities available because of the partnership of Catholic Charities with the combined peace and justice committees of nine northwest suburban Catholic parishes.

Entering New Hope because of an unhealthy relationship, one of the mothers has two youngsters, ages 4 and 1. She has a part-time job and regularly works with a job mentor to land a full-time position.

With a job that affords her to work from home, the second mother survives as a single parent to a 14-year-old boy, paid some of her debts and began a regular savings program. She intends to take an exam to apply for a position as a federal court interpreter.

Nine Northwest Suburban Roman Catholic parishes, which form a cluster in the Archdiocese of Chicago, work in unison year-round under the auspices of Catholic Charities to support the needy, tend to justice issues and raise funds for the two families.

Catholic Charities personnel, including social worker Jeremiah Whapoe and program director Millicent Ntiamoah, oversee the income from parishes and say most contribute $250 a month to cover two families' rent payments.

St. Hubert chair couple Bob Healy and his wife, Peg O'Herron, pointed out that the parishes also provide a car if needed and someone from one of the parishes "makes sure the car is mechanically fit."

So far 12 families went through the process since the program took shape in 2002 with the initiating four parishes of St. Hubert, Hoffman Estates; Church of the Holy Spirit, St. Marcelline and St. Matthew, all in Schaumburg, As time progressed, the other cluster parishes of St. James, Arlington Heights; Holy Family, Inverness; St. Peter Damian, Bartlett; St. Anne, Barrington; and St. Ansgar, Hanover Park, joined the effort.

With a rehabilitation success rate of 99 percent, according to the chair couple, the program has two stages that sometimes includes free housing for a maximum of nine months. The second stage calls for partially subsidized housing for up to 24 months. Catholic Charities goes on to offer intensive case management, life skills training, budgeting and savings plans and job placement and referrals along with after-care services.

O'Herron said the high rate of success is because Catholic Charities chooses folks who are highly motivated to improve their lives and works closely with the families.

"The parishes take turns to provide assistance at Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter and back to school," Bob Healy said. "It just happens that this year it is St. Hubert's turn to provide Christmas for our two families. The point is, it definitely is a year-round and joint effort by all the parishes in the cluster."

That dedication and joint effort makes for a successful outcome.

"Our other 10 families graduated from the system and are on their own," Healy said.