Bilingual (English/Spanish) Short- and Long-term Assistance to Vulnerable Populations
The CMC is truly grateful for the funding from the Wisconsin Partnership Program which allowed us to adapt and successfully offer programs during the worst of the pandemic.
– Laura Green, Grants and Volunteer Coordinator at the Catholic Multicultural Center
At a Glance
The Catholic Multicultural Center (CMC) is a social service agency in Madison that offers support to those in need of assistance with meeting basic needs and spiritual and educational growth. It served some of Madison’s most vulnerable people, including those who were amongst the hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic facing housing, food, and job insecurity. In order to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 among its English and Spanish-speaking clients, the CMC sought to address their clients’ immediate needs for food and hygiene supplies and assist those seeking employment or unemployment benefits.
This project allowed the CMC to continue offering crucial social services throughout the pandemic. The CMC served 810 households through its food pantry over the duration of the project and distributed 213,471 pounds of food – double the amount in 2019. The personal essentials pantry served 769 total households from May to December in 2020 and 205 households from January to April in 2021, distributing a total of 7,071 personal hygiene items. The jobs office successfully assisted an average of 61 individuals per month throughout the project, with 18 individuals referred to an employer to apply for work, and 15 individuals gaining employment on average each month.
The Challenge
During the pandemic, many social services—including running a food pantry, distributing personal care items, and employment search assistance—became more labor intensive and challenging for the CMC staff. Language and cultural barriers, coupled with immigration status, made an already difficult situation even more challenging for the local Spanish-speaking community to navigate on their own. Thus, the CMC had to reimagine its programs to keep them running, while protecting the health of staff and community members needing assistance.
Project Goals
The grantee’s goal was to adapt its work to safely and successfully serve clients throughout the pandemic by providing emergency food assistance, helping clients meet basic hygiene needs, and offering assistance to clients seeking employment or unemployment benefits. The CMC historically has been a primary source of aid for the local Latino community, and continued to serve in this capacity during COVID-19 by offering services in both English and Spanish and by providing additional resource navigation for Spanish-speakers.
Results
The CMC was able to adapt to assist with their clients’ most prominent needs throughout the course of the pandemic. The food pantry served an average of 154 unduplicated households per month, 502 households in total, from April to December 2020 as well as 308 households through food pantry delivery services. It had a total of 2,724 visits in 2020 and distributed 213,471 pounds of food throughout the year. The personal essentials pantry served 769 total households from May to December 2020 and 5,643 items were distributed. From January to April 2021 the pantry served 205 total households, and 1,428 items were given away. The jobs office assisted 61 individuals per month from May 2020 to March 2021; 18 individuals were referred to an employer to apply for work each month, and 125 individuals gained employment in total over the course of the project. Program staff and volunteers provided assistance a total of 676 times during the project period.
After quickly adapting to offer the food pantry and personal essentials from the parking lot and the employment search assistance by phone, these methods were easily sustained for the entirety of the grant.
Looking to the Future
Although the COVID-19 situation is constantly evolving, the CMC is navigating how to transition its programs back to normal operations. During the first full week of June 2021, the CMC opened the employment search assistance office for in-person, by-appointment meetings. The food pantry and personal essentials pantry are transitioning more slowly due to space constraints and social distancing considerations. Following the grant period, the CMC will continue to gain financial support for the baseline operating costs of these programs through small grants and private donations to the organization.
Lasting Impact
As the pandemic evolved and impacted how the CMC’s served its community and clients, this grant enhanced its ability to successfully adapt to changing conditions and unforeseen community needs, underscoring an important lesson: to successfully serve the community, an agency must be able to adapt to whatever conditions and needs are prevalent at the time.