Four San Diego anti-poverty organizations received a combined $70,000 from the Catholic Church last month.
The Catholic Campaign for Human Development on Sept. 12 awarded $20,000 grants each to the Interfaith Committee for Worker Justice in San Diego, the San Diego Organizing Project , Civic Renewal Project, and the United African-American Ministerial Action Council. A $10,000 grant was presented to the Community Housing of North County.
The money was raised by American Catholics and distributed through the Church’s 30-year-old program to fight poverty in the United States.
Nationally, the Catholic Campaign for Human Development distributed just over $10 million to 366 projects.
“The campaign attempts to help people to help themselves,” said the Rev. Robert J. Vitillo, executive director of the Catholic Campaign, via E-mail. “When poor people are trained and empowered to suggest practical solutions for their social problems, they often propose community-based programs and solutions which benefit the whole of society , not just themselves.”
The interfaith committee advocates policies that promote the living wage , a wage that doesn’t go exclusively to paying bills but is something they can live on , among hotel workers and janitors.
The San Diego Organizing Project addresses the issue of health care for the uninsured by strengthening community clinics and developing congregation-based models for health education.
The United African-American Ministerial Action Council is a network of 30 African-American congregations that work with law enforcement and education officials to reduce the incarceration rate for African-American males.
The Community Housing organization plans to develop a resident association in the Crown Heights district of Oceanside and finance a community of micro-entrepreneurs who will sell food and products in the neighborhood.
The number of organizations chosen in San Diego is representative of an area with “many needs and challenges,” Vitillo said.
“The projects being supported in the San Diego area address serious needs among those who are poor , living wages, accessibility to affordable health care, better relationships with law enforcement officials and improvement of the educational system,” he said.
