USCCB - (MRS) - A USCCB/MRS Pastoral Implementation Diocesan Funding Program Grant Application

MRS > Migration Policy and Public Affair Office > A USCCB/MRS Pastoral Implementation Diocesan Funding Program Grant Application

Welcoming the Stranger Among Us: Unity in Diversity

Date: JANUARY 14, 2003

Diocese Name:	Roman Catholic Diocese of Youngstown, OHIO 144 W. Wood Street Youngstown, OH 44503 Phone: 330-744-8451 ext. 320 Fax: 330-742-6447 Email: bcorbin@youngstowndiocese.org
Program Tier:	I XXX II _____ III_____

REQUEST: $25,000.00

PURPOSE OF REQUEST:

To fund the position of Coordinator of the Pastoral Care for Migrants and Refugees for the Diocese of Youngstown, which will also support the efforts of the Tri-Diocesan Mobile Migrant Ministry Team (serving some counties in the Dioceses of Cleveland and Columbus).

This position will create and enhance the capacity of the Diocese of Youngstown, and its direct supervision of ministries and services for the Tri-Diocesan Mobile Migrant Ministry program, to coordinate in a more integrated and systematic manner the pastoral, liturgical/sacramental, social, legal, housing and health care ministries to and with Hispanic migrants and newcomers.

This position will be structurally located in the Office of Social Action/Department of Catholic Charities Services, which is the Office responsible for activities related to Migration and Refugee Services.

Submitted by: Brian R. Corbin, Diocesan Director, Migration and Refugee Services and Executive Director, Catholic Charities Services and Coordinator for Catholic Health Affairs

Needs Assessment: Describe the needs you are trying to meet in terms of a multicultural understanding and welcoming capacity within the local Church to newly arrived and ethnically diverse groups in your diocese.

Provide data to document the need. Explain how you determined what the need is. Focus on those to be served, not the organization.

The urban parishes of the Diocese of Youngstown,¹ from its earliest years, participated fully in the creation of ethnic and linguistic parishes in order to respond to the waves of newcomers responding to the booming industrial sectors of the region. The major mosaic in the Cathedral of St. Columba, installed in 1958, celebrates the multi-racial and ethnic history of the Diocese of Youngstown up to that point in history. The majority of newcomers in our history have been Catholics from Central and South Europe working in the steel, auto and rubber mills of the region. Few Southeast Asian or African refugees or migrants, however, opted to settle in the Diocese of Youngstown. The Spanish speaking US citizen community of Puerto Rican Catholics composed the major Hispanic influence in the Diocesan region, creating Sta. Rosa de Lima Parish (1961) to serve its needs.²

According to recent U.S. Bureau of Census data (2000), the demographic composition of the Diocese of Youngstown is:

White	Black	Amerin/Alas Nat.	Asian	Pacific Islander	Other
90.84%	8.45%	0.64%	0.66%	0.04%	0.72%

When statistics for Hispanics are segregated from the whole, there is an increase from 12,896 (1990) to 17,620 (2000) persons, representing an increase from 1.07% of the total population of the Diocese of Youngstown in 1990 to 1.22% of the population. These figures, of course, do not represent the persons who live in our territory who have not been counted or are undercounted. In Stark county alone over 3,000 Latinos were not counted by the census due to issues of documentation and fear.

The official census figures (2000) provide the Hispanic community's "country of origin" demographic in the following manner:

Country of Origin Mexican Puerto Rican Cuban Other Hispanic

Number of persons 4,601 8,004 444 4,571

Percent of Total 26.11% 45.4% 0.025% 25.9%

The official numbers, however, do not reveal the true story of change occurring in the Diocese of Youngstown, and in a region around the Diocese that incorporates territories in the Dioceses of Cleveland and Columbus. This major demographic shift of new comers and migrants required that the Diocese of Youngstown, along with its partners in the Dioceses of Columbus and Cleveland, join forces, and create the Tri-Diocesan Mobile Migrant Ministry Project. Five counties have been targeted for specific ministries and services to Hispanic newcomers and migrants. Our proposal will serve that need to bring together three dioceses (Cleveland, Columbus and Youngstown) in order to best serve the needs and hopes of the newcomer migrant communities.

Over the past decade there has been an ever-increasing number of Central Americans and Mexicans, along with citizens from other countries, arriving in the United States. It was recently reported that according to the 2000 census³ that close to one-fifth of all households in the United States speak a foreign language at home, and that the Hispanic community is now the largest ethnic group in our country. Further, it has been reported in the press that President Bush's working group on immigration is exploring a major restructuring of the immigration process. Policy makers are attempting to "regularize" Mexicans who have entered the US as migrant workers and compose the largest group of non-documented workers and new residents (approximately 2 to 3 million). We are anxiously awaiting the publication of the US-Mexican Bishops' Statement on Immigration to help us raise awareness of this issue here in our Diocese.

In recent news stories in July-August 2001⁴ reports were made regarding the struggles of newly arrived Central/South Americans/Mexicans. Many newcomers face hardships in their journeys across the border, sometimes leading to rape, robbery and even death.⁵ Other reports indicate that many of these newcomers are beginning to make their permanent home in the United States, while sending millions of US dollars back to their home countries/villages, now accounting for multi-billion international transactions of US dollars.

Other news reports discuss how these newcomers are now no longer working as migrant field hands in the agricultural-farming sector. Some are now employed full time in meat processing, small metal shops and fabricators, restaurants, hotels, and in the retail and general service business sectors. Stories are now being told about employer abuses for some along with stable and good jobs for many others.

$ Ohio Study/Trends – Ohio Catholic Rural Life Conference Report

It has become increasingly clear that Ohio, and especially the Diocese of Youngstown, is not immune from these national trends. This was confirmed through a research report provided by the Immigrant Worker Project⁶ of the Ohio Catholic Rural Life Conference.⁷ That report, along with data collected from the Rural Opportunities, Inc., noted the following demographic trends⁸ in our Diocese of Youngstown region pertaining to newcomer (5 years or less in the region) migrant Hispanic workers:

Diocesan County AREAS NUMBER

Stark County 2700-3000

Ashtabula County 1500

Columbiana County 350

Mahoning County 250

The demographic reports also note that a larger percent of these newcomers are increasingly becoming permanent residents of our area.

The Immigrant Worker Project/Tri-Diocesan report further noted that Stark County in the Diocese of Youngstown is becoming a major center for Hispanic newcomers, accessing Canton as a major urban area serving a five (5) county area. According to this report, the communities served by the Diocese of Columbus around the Stark access area (namely Millersburg, Dover and New Philadelphia) include about 1500-1700 new comers; the communities served by the Diocese of Cleveland around the Stark access area (namely Orrville, Wooster and Ashland) account for an additional 1200-1650 seasonal and permanent workers from South/Central America. In other words, besides the newcomer population of Stark county itself, there are an additional 2,700-3,350 Hispanic newcomers who may perceive Stark County/Canton as their major metropolitan area for socialization, health care, social services and retail opportunities.⁹

All three diocesan areas, especially in Stark and Ashtabula counties in the Diocese of Youngstown, have seen an immense population boom during the last five years. This boom originated with the increased labor needs of the poultry industry that tapped into the more traditional migrant communities in Hartville and Columbiana for workers. Currently there has been a rapid increase in Hispanic/Latino employment in lumberyards, mushroom processing, light manufacturing (plastics), dairy farms, and expanded agricultural production (nursery and fruit).¹⁰

The wage structure for these workers in these industries are as follows:¹¹

Occupation Salary Range/Hour

Slaughter House $7.00-$9.50

Light Manufacturing $5.50-$9.00

Nursery/Orchard $5.50-$7.00

Service Industries $7.00-$13.00

Dairy Farms $6.00-$12.00

The Tri-Diocesan report asserts some trends regarding this newcomer population:

Growth in local family business and farms throughout the region has and will continue to provide jobs for the Hispanic/Latino population as they look to these communities for workers. In particular, there has been a steady increase in employment in dairy farms in the Cleveland Diocese and in the slaughterhouse industry in the Youngstown Diocese.
Light manufacturing, particularly lumber, has increasingly turned to Hispanic/Latino labor in the Tri-Diocesan region. This has had the greatest effect on increased population growth in the Cleveland and Youngstown Dioceses.
The population residing in the Diocese of Columbus will continue to be dominated by employment in the poultry industry, despite the recent layoffs at Case Farms. The three major poultry producers in this region currently have plans for expansion that could create 135 new work positions. Furthermore, Tyson Foods has expressed interest and intent (to their Kentucky employees) on moving into this region. If this occurs the Tri-Diocesan area should be prepared to receive potentially 700-1000 new Hispanic/Latino workers.¹²

Unlike other Ohio Hispanic/Latino communities, the people in the Tri-Diocesan region, according to the report, are not predominately from one country of origin (see Chart).

Country of Origin	Percent in Tri-Diocesan Region¹³
Mexico	40%
Guatemala	35%
El Salvador and/or Honduras	10%
Other Latin/South American countries	15%

The majority of the individuals who migrate to the Tri-Diocesan region are male, with nearly 40% of this population being under 19 years of age. A greater number of families, as well, per year have migrated into the region. This increase is a result of the efforts of community members to re-unify their families. Currently there are 120-150 families living in the region. The increase in families has challenged local institutions such as schools, health services and social welfare agencies, as well as parishes, as they must work to meet the specific needs of the Latino/Hispanic communities.¹⁴

General and Specific Areas of Need Identified

In our needs assessment and planning, the various Ministry Teams --Diocese of Youngstown MRS Team, the Tri-Diocesan Mobile Migrant Ministry Team, and the Sisters of Charity Foundation of Canton Hispanic Ministry focus group -- relied on direct input from the Hispanic migrant and newcomer leadership as organized through a nationally funded Catholic Campaign for Human Development grant to the Immigrant Worker Project, and through a small MRS grant to our leadership training program sponsored by Detroit-Mexican Jesuit Provinces' Instituto Cultural de Liderazgo en el Medio-Oeste (ILCM). Catholic related service providers were also engaged in this analysis.

The general and specific areas of need include:

GENERAL AREA OF NEED:

To build the capacity of the Diocese of Youngstown, and its related Tri-Diocesan Mobile Migrant Ministry, to coordinate, integrate and plan ministries and services to and with Hispanic newcomers and migrant workers.

SPECIFIC AREAS OF NEED:

Pastoral, Sacramental, Catechetical and Liturgical Services (up to 78% of the migrant population was baptized Roman Catholic)

Housing – short term/permanent; affordable; safe.

Social Services (including day care services, emergency assistance, counseling)

Health care services

Translation Services (especially legal and medical)

Domestic violence prevention and response

Immigration/Legal services

Literacy/Computer Training

Social Justice/Advocacy

Socialization/community building

Transportation to employment, training, socialization and Church activities

Employment opportunities, training, and worker rights

Fears related to racial profiling incidents

Loneliness and isolation
Needs of current Catholic Parishioners: awareness of the changes in demographics and need to remember their past family/ethnic groups' experience of being a newcomer to the U.S.

In all these identified areas, language translation and language trained and culturally sensitive staff are important to serve this newcomer population.

Explain your current activities in relation to the identified needs and what the challenges are in meeting these needs.

Current Activities

Pastoral Services

Newcomer migrant workers have always been part of the landscape of the agricultural areas of the Diocese of Youngstown. Catholic Charities provided, over the past 15 years, small annual grants to the Hartville Migrant Center in Stark County to assist in their seasonal ecumenical ministry. The diocesan Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD) provided a grant to Rural Opportunities, Inc. working in Stark County. Several parishes, along with Fr. Ralph Friedrich (a retired priest), have provided long-term material and spiritual care for many of the families involved in the Hartville Center.

The Stark County area has seen a major increase in newcomer/migrant workers. Parishes and Catholic Institutions have begun to respond in individual and collaborative means. All Saints Parish in Canton, through the leadership of Fr. Thomas Bishop, offers its site for celebrations and participation in the Tri-Diocesan Migrant Ministry Mobile Liturgy process. All Saints has currently hired a part time pastoral outreach worker to assist in this ministry.¹⁵ This is coupled with a weekly Spanish Mass at All Saints Parish, where an average of 45 persons attend. Recently, at one of these Masses, five persons were brought into the Church through the administration of the Sacrament of Baptism, and another dozen persons are being prepared for reception of the Sacraments. St. Joan of Arc Parish in Canton sponsored a Tri-Diocesan Mobile Migrant Ministry celebration on December 12, 2002 to celebrate the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe. Over 200 persons attended this joint liturgical and social event.

Mother of Sorrows Parish in Ashtabula has entered into the migrant ministry area by hiring a bi-lingual pastoral worker and is working in the general community providing services to that community, including a clothing bank, soup kitchen with food pantry, and a limited financial aid. The parish offers weekly mass celebrated by Fr. Kevin Peters and offers a complete sacramental program including religious education for pre-kinder to post-communion. The average weekly mass attendance is seventy five (75) persons with the service ministries of lector, Eucharistic minister, usher and choir provided by the local Hispanic community. On a demographic level, the majority of Hispanic participants in the particular parish are Mexicans, many coming from Leon, Guanajuato, Mexico. Some of the residents are seasonal migrants, but many have become more permanent residents.

St. Patrick's Parish and Sta. Rosa de Lima Parish, both in Youngstown, have focused some of their outreach efforts to newcomer Hispanic persons/families in the Mahoning, Trumbull and Columbiana counties area. St. Patrick's Parish obtained a 2002 grant from the USCCB Committee on Home Missions in order to extend its outreach to migrant workers in the area of the city of Youngstown; a 2003 grant to continue the work at St. Patrick's Parish through the Committee on Home Missions is pending. A retired pastor from Sta. Rosa de Lima, Fr. Thomas Carney, MSC, has offered some bi-lingual pastoral services to the Tri-Diocesan region.

Funds through a 2001 grant ($1,200.00) from the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Refugees (MRS/PCMR) of the USCCB Migration and Refugee Services to the Tri-Diocesan Mobile Migrant Ministry team were secured in order to purchase a Mass kit sensitive to the linguistic and cultural heritage of these newcomers. In order to combine efforts in a more coordinated effort, eight (8) priests from the three Dioceses have worked together to develop a liturgical and ministerial schedule for the year to meet some of the immediate religious and socialization needs of the Hispanic migrant workers in the Tri-Diocesan region. The Diocesan Social Action/MRS Office served as lead agent for this grant.

A new MRS/PCMR grant for $1,200.00 has been secured in January 2002 for the Tri-Diocesan Mobile Migrant Ministry, which will be divided equitably between the three dioceses, in order to engage leaders of the Hispanic migrant community to participate in a training sponsored by the Tri-Diocesan Team, the Immigrant Worker Project, and the Instituto Cultural de Liderazgo en el Medio-Oeste (ILCM) (a joint effort between the Jesuit Provinces of Detroit and Mexico).

Social and Outreach Services

Catholic Charities of Stark County established the Centro de San Jose el Trabajador in October 2001, wherein the statewide CCHD funded Immigrant Worker Project serves as staff for English as a Second Language class (ESL) and computer skill trainings. The Catholic Charities van has been utilized for outreach for this population. In the Stark County area, the Centro de San Jose el Trabajador serves over 60 clients a week, providing ESL, computer training, housing services, emergency services, counseling, and general information and referral services.

Throughout the Canton and Massillon areas some home visits have been conducted by members of the Immigrant Worker Project team and All Saints Parish as a means to invite people to the different events, see what needs the people have, and aid in determining how we can help them.¹⁶ Holy Spirit Parish in Uniontown and Little Flower Parish in North Canton have actively worked with the Hartville Migrant Council in childcare and clothing/food drives.¹⁷

The Diocesan Social Action/MRS Office has met with representatives from the Hartville Migrant Council to discuss common areas of concern and have begun to develop a relationship for mutual service to the newcomer community in that area of Stark County. Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Youngstown has provided the Hartville Migrant Council with several annual grants of approximately $3,000-$4,000 for the past several years. Further, the Diocesan MRS director has met with representatives from Rural Opportunities, Inc. to discuss mutual housing concerns and have agreed to explore the possibility of working together in the future to deal with the temporary and permanent housing needs of this population.¹⁸

In May 2002, based on various levels of research and training, the Office of Social Action/Migration and Refugee Services of the Diocese of Youngstown instituted its legal services program by the creation and joining of MRS/CLINIC. Since May 2002, two preliminary offices have been developed – one at the Centro de San Jose el Trabajador in Canton and one at Our Mother of Sorrows Parish in Ashtabula. To date, over 600 cases have been reviewed with over 150 active cases now pending. Bishop Tobin, the Ordinary of the Diocese of Youngstown, has donated proceeds of his royalties of his published book to the CLINIC Library Fund, in order to fund on-going legal materials and resources at our CLINIC sites. The program director, Jeff Stewart has been working in the field of immigration since 1982 starting with Central American asylum cases; he currently is working to establish both centers as recognized sites. Sister Suzanne Susany, OSF, of Mother of Sorrows Parish, Jillian Settle of the Immigrant Workers Project, and Teresa Brooks of the Hartville Migrant Center are undergoing training to obtain the first level of BIA accreditation by attending various trainings including those sponsored by CLINIC.

The Catholic Consortium of Stark County, composed of representatives of Catholic health care, social welfare, education and parishes in Stark County, have prioritized Hispanic/Latino ministry as an area of concern. Members of the Consortium have assisted in the ESL classes offered by the Immigrant Worker Project team, and have offered assistance to All Saints Parish in their liturgical and sacramental ministries. Catholic Charities of Stark County has offered its multi-passenger van to help transport persons to attend the weekly ESL classes and Spanish Masses held at All Saints. Consortium members have worked together to look at the social, educational and health care needs of these newcomers. Walsh University has recently announced an effort to engage students in Hispanic pastoral ministry, while local Catholic high schools and Walsh have offered students to serve as translators and ESL aids.

The Social Action Office is working with parishes in the Stark and Ashtabula county areas exploring their outreach and responses to Hispanic/Latino workers in our region. Several parishioners have offered their services in developing these ministries.

Catholic Charities Housing Opportunities corporation (CCHO) has begun to explore possibilities of ownership/management of various multi-family or single family units to help permanently house these newcomers. The Office of Social Action/Catholic Campaign for Human Development obtained a summer internship grant from the National Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD) in Summer 2002 to obtain survey research on the housing needs of Hispanic migrants in the Tri-Diocesan area, with a special focus on Stark County.¹⁹ Ms. Angela Lancianese, a senior at Walsh University (the only Catholic university in the Diocese of Youngstown) was hired during the summer months to work with CCHO and the Immigrant Worker Project leadership to provide the research. Ms. Lancianese submitted her report, "Stark County Immigrant Housing Assessment and Cooperative Housing as a Possible Solution," (December 14, 2002) to the Diocese and project leadership, and to her sociology class for credit. In that report, she ascertained by interviewing 61 migrants that many Hispanic migrants experience blockages to housing due to affordability, legalization status, and lack of transportation. Her report continues to suggest that forms of cooperative ownership be explored. This model is in keeping with historical cultural sensitivities and Catholic social teaching as espoused by the Catholic Charities USA Policy Paper on Housing.

The Catholic-Lutheran Covenant Commission (covering the Diocese of Youngstown and the local regional Lutheran Synod) recommended to the Bishops in their 3-5 Year Action Plan a goal to work together to respond to the housing, immigration/legalization, and employment needs of Hispanic/Latino workers. Stark County seems to be positioned to have both Catholic and Lutheran Parishes and Catholic Charities/Lutheran Social Services to work together to respond to the social welfare needs of individuals and families from this target population.

The Tri-Diocesan Migrant Coordinating Committee/Ohio Rural Life Conference has been meeting on a regular basis. Our three representatives to this group, at this time, include Fr. Tom Dyer, Sister Edwardine Baznik, SJSM, and Brian Corbin. During the summer of 2001, a seminarian intern, Chris Luoni, worked with the Committee by assisting in the preparation of a Tri-Diocesan report and proposal for a Mobile Ministry Team. This Mobile Ministry Team, which would serve approximately five counties which include areas of the Dioceses of Youngstown, Columbus and Cleveland, would act as a coordinating team for the pastoral, catechetical, sacramental, employment, and social welfare arm of the three Dioceses. This Mobile Migrant Ministry Team would network the efforts of the three Dioceses in order to share resources, plan common efforts, and help each Diocese focus on leveraging its own resources to meet the needs of these newcomers. The Tri-Diocesan Mobile Migrant Ministry Team would work in partnership with the statewide Immigrant Worker Project but would serve the area of the Tri-Diocesan region most impacted. This is a continuing priority for ministry design and delivery of services.

CRS-Health Care Partnership and Regional Catholic Health Care Services

Two Catholic health care systems – Mercy Medical Center (a member of the Sisters of Charity of St. Augustine Health System) and Humility of Mary Health Partners (a member of Catholic Healthcare Partners) serve the six counties of the Diocese of Youngstown and the five counties of the Tri-Diocesan region. Both of these Catholic health care systems have responded to the acute and preventive health care needs of migrants and their families over the course of the past several years. Both Catholic health systems have representatives on the Diocese of Youngstown MRS Migrant Ministry Team that is coordinating our efforts.

The Sisters of Charity Foundation of Canton has been very generous in providing some seed monies and grants to various Catholic activities involved in migrant ministry. Staff of the Sisters of Charity Foundation of Canton has convened various pastoral, social and health care ministries in Stark County in order to plan coordinated efforts and outreach to the migrant populations.

Since both Catholic health care systems have been involved in the urgent and preventive care of migrants, and have noticed an increase in medical needs and obstacles to access (especially appropriate translation services and culturally sensitive processes), the Diocese of Youngstown has engaged the services of Catholic Relief Services Global Partnership Office (Baltimore, MD) and its Latin American/Caribbean Health, Water and Sanitation Division (Guatemala City, Guatemala, C.A.) to develop a partnership.

Representatives from CRS Global Partnership Office and its Latin American/Caribbean Health, Water and Sanitation Division visited the Diocese of Youngstown on November 13-15, 2002.²⁰ At that meeting, a proposal for a long-term partnership between the Diocese of Youngstown and CRS was explored and agreed upon. This long-term partnership will concentrate on the following areas:

build the capacity of both the Diocese of Youngstown (Catholic health services, Catholic Charities, Catholic institutions) and CRS' health strategy in Central America/Caribbean to study and respond to communicable diseases, especially tuberculosis, sexually transmitted diseases, and HIV+/AIDS;
focus this partnership primarily in the Dominican Republic with an educational component in Guatemala. (Mercy Medical Center already has an annual mission to the Dominican Republic and has seen a substantial increase in Guatemalans working and living in their service area.) The Dominican Republic focus will be on programming in the areas of STDs, Tb and Migration. The Guatemala focus will be on educational/training opportunities for health care staff, resident physicians, migration and cultural education.

Through your grant to the Diocese of Youngstown to fund this capacity building request, we want to invite PCMR/MRS to be a "general" partner with the Diocese of Youngstown and CRS in this health care partnership.

Challenges

There are many challenges to the Diocese of Youngstown, its CRS health partnership, and to the pastoral, social and outreach services of Catholic Charities and parishes regarding its outreach and ministry to migrants and newcomers in our diocese and in the Tri-Diocesan region. The following challenges are generic in order to better plan our diocesan outcomes:

Organizing, on both the Diocesan and Tri-Diocesan levels, the Church's fragmented social, health, and pastoral outreach to Hispanic migrant workers/newcomers.

Supporting and expanding the number of parishes involved in outreach, pastoral care, and liturgical and sacramental services to migrants and newcomers.

Removing barriers faced by migrants and newcomers in their access to the Church's ministries of health care, housing, legal and social services.

Outcomes-Based Objectives: In terms of impact for newly arrived and ethnically diverse communities, describe how the intervention you propose will create the capacity within your diocese to meet their needs described above.

How will the situation described in the needs assessment change?

As discussed above, one of the Diocese's major challenges is to provide overall organizing and coordination of the Church's ministry and outreach to and with Hispanic newcomers and migrants in the Diocese of Youngstown and for the Tri-Diocesan Mobile Migrant Ministry Team.

The overall objective of this grant application is to fund the position of the Diocese of Youngstown Coordinator of the Pastoral Care for Migrants and Refugees (PCMR). This office will be structurally located in the Office of Social Action, Department of Catholic Charities, which is the Diocesan office responsible for Migration and Refugee Services. The Diocesan Director of Social Action (who is also the Executive Director of Catholic Charities Services and Coordinator of Catholic Health Affairs) will be the supervising staff. A culturally sensitive, bi-lingual pastoral leader will be the targeted candidate for this position.

This position, if funded by this grant, will create and enhance the capacity of the Diocese of Youngstown, and its direct supervision of ministries and services for the Tri-Diocesan Mobile Migrant Ministry program, to coordinate in a more integrated and systematic manner the pastoral, liturgical/sacramental, social, legal, housing and health care ministries to and with Hispanic migrants and newcomers.

Though there are many excellent projects and ministries occurring in Diocesan parishes, Catholic Charities and Catholic health care systems, along with partner parishes in the surrounding Tri-Diocesan area, the need for better planning and systemic integration between the ministries and services, and dioceses, have been identified as an on-going and critical need. It is the hope and plan that with funding from MRS that the Diocese of Youngstown, along with support from the Dioceses of Cleveland and Columbus, will be able to institutionalize this office in the Diocese of Youngstown in order to provide that leadership in the implementation of our diocesan and tri-diocesan strategic initiative and outcomes.
What is the expected impact of the program?
1. The Diocese of Youngstown's capacity to serve its Hispanic newcomers and migrants, along with service and leadership to the Tri-Diocesan Mobile Migrant Ministry, will be increased by identifying and hiring a trained leader to provide support and coordination to the multi-faceted pastoral, liturgical-sacramental, social, legal and health care needs of these newcomers and migrants.
2. Parishes and other Catholic institutions (e.g., Catholic elementary, secondary and post secondary schools; lay organizations) of the Diocese of Youngstown, and of the surrounding Tri-Diocesan region, will become more involved in understanding the demographic changes occurring, and will provide a more welcoming environment and support the work of the core parishes and institutions involved in this ministry.
3. The CRS-Diocesan Health Care Partnership will be firmly developed and institutionalized so that the health care needs of migrants will be culturally sensitive and appropriately responded to, and barriers to access, in our control, will be removed.
State the objectives as specific, measurable outcomes of your planned activities, not to be confused with the activities themselves.
(Describe how you will measure your outcome objective and what information will indicate if the objective was met or not, i.e., ethnic communities will be brought more fully into the life of the parish as measured by: number of new ethnic lay leaders; parish leadership and ethnic communities survey, etc.)

According to the 2002-2005 Action Plan of the Office of Social Action, Strategic Initiative II, objective C, (see diocesan action plan) the following outcomes will be achieved:

OUTCOME ONE: Establish and expand an Office for the Pastoral Care for Migrants and Refugees that will serve the Diocese of Youngstown and serve as a leader/manager for the Tri-Diocesan Mobile Migrant Ministry Team.

Measurement/information:

A culturally sensitive, bi-lingual person (either clergy or religious preferred) will be hired.
The Diocese of Youngstown MRS Team and the Tri-Diocesan Mobile Migrant Ministry Team will accept such person as a leader and manager of this project.
Parishes and Catholic institutions already involved with outreach ministries to migrants and newcomers will accept this person as a coordinator and leader.
A three, six and twelve month "360 degree" review of this person and position will be developed and implemented by the Executive Director of Catholic Charities Services to determine work plan changes and general direction and acceptance of this position for long term institutionalization.

OUTCOME TWO: Double the number of parishes that actively welcome new immigrants/migrants from Central and South America.

Measurement/information:

Currently five parishes are directly involved in welcoming newcomers and migrants (All Saints/St. Anthony's in Canton, Holy Spirit in Uniontown/Hartsville, Mother of Sorrows in Ashtabula, Sta. Rosa de Lima in Youngstown and St. Patrick's in Youngstown).
By December 2005, at least five more parishes will actively be involved in welcoming newcomers and migrants.
By December 2005, double the number of parishes indirectly involved (currently St. Paul's in North Canton, St. Joan of Arc in Canton, Little Flower in North Canton, St. Michael's in Canton, Assumption Parish in Geneva) in welcoming newcomers and migrants to match the number of active parishes.
Sponsored on-going Spanish classes to pastoral leaders in which clergy, religious and lay persons are actively learning Spanish culture and language.

OUTCOME THREE: Provide direct health, social, legal and pastoral service to Immigrants and newcomers.

Measurement/information:

The CRS-Diocese of Youngstown Health Partnership has been created, with a sponsored trip by representatives of Diocese of Youngstown and Tri-Diocesan pastoral and health care leaders to visit Guatemala and the Dominican Republic to learn about culturally sensitive manners of health care delivery, and to learn more about migrant health care needs related to communicable diseases, sexually transmitted diseases and HIV+/AIDS.
A formal list-serve between health care providers in both Catholic health care systems in the Diocese of Youngstown, and the CRS Latin America/Caribbean Health, Water and Sanitation Division has been created and maintained in order to share information in migrant health care needs especially related to Tb, HIV+/AIDS and other STDs.
All Catholic hospitals and Catholic Charities agencies have bi-lingual signage and information/materials for newcomer clients.
Diocesan MRS/CLINIC enables two to four more persons to be trained as BIA certified agents.
Double the number of parish leaders (currently only 5-10 clergy, religious and lay persons are fluent in Spanish) who are fluent in Spanish and who are involved in direct pastoral, sacramental and liturgical services to migrants/newcomers.

Approach: Describe the methods and/or activities you propose to implement. These activities should be consistent with your Diocesan Action Plan devised following the MRS Regional Training Program. Demonstrate how these activities will augment those currently conducted in your diocese to address the needs and the challenges involved. Describe how support from the diocese and parishes will help you overcome these challenges and achieve your objectives.

The Diocesan Action Plan will encourage the following activities in order to implement our commitment to minister with and to Hispanic newcomers and migrants:

OUTCOME ONE:

Hire a coordinator for the Office of Pastoral Care for Migrants and Refugees (PCMR) in the Office of Social Action/Department of Catholic Charities Services.
This PCMR coordinator will be responsible for the provision of leadership to the Diocese of Youngstown MRS Migrant Ministry Team, the Tri-Diocesan Mobile Migrant Ministry Team, and ensure that the Diocesan Action Plan is completed.

OUTCOME TWO:

Plan related activities around the celebration of the 60th Anniversary of the Diocese of Youngstown that incorporates the on-going story of newcomers to the Diocese of Youngstown.
Offer parish training using the Bishops' statement "Welcoming the Stranger Among Us: Unity in Diversity."
Develop and coordinate a variety of Spanish language and Hispanic culture courses for pastoral leaders.
Promote educational materials to parishes for National Migration Week.
Support the efforts of the parishes already engaged in outreach to migrants and newcomers, through resources, convening and assistance as requested.

OUTCOME THREE:

Establish/expand the Diocese of Youngstown-Catholic Relief Services Health Partnership.
Support and expand the Catholic Charities Centro de San Jose el Trabajador.
Support and expand the Catholic Charities CLINIC Legal Immigration Project.
Provide support to the Tri-Diocesan Mobile Migrant Ministry Team.

These related activities of the Diocesan Action Plan, implemented under the leadership of the newly hired and established Office of Pastoral Care for Migrants and Refugees, in coordination with the Diocese of Youngstown MRS Team and the Tri-Diocesan Mobile Migrant Ministry Team, will enable the Diocese of Youngstown to augment its on-going work with Hispanic migrants and newcomers by:

Institutionalizing an office to help coordinate and systemically integrate our Diocesan and Tri-Diocesan pastoral, liturgical-sacramental, legal, social services, housing and health care ministries.
Awakening and sensitizing parishioners and parish leaders regarding the demographic changes occurring in our diocesan region in light of the on-going newcomer history of the Diocese of Youngstown using the 60th anniversary of the Diocese of Youngstown as an organizing moment for educational and conscience raising efforts.
Creating a formal network of parishioners and parish leaders involved in welcoming Hispanic migrants and newcomers into their parish by understanding the theology of Ecclesia in America through the USCCB Statements on" Welcoming the Stranger Among Us: Unity in Diversity" and the Joint USCCB-Mexican Bishops' Statement on Immigration.
Establishing a cadre of Church leaders who better appreciate and understand the Hispanic culture and have acquired some language skills for better communications.
Sustaining a networked team of local and Central American/Caribbean based Catholic health care providers in their acute care services and preventive outreach and education to Hispanic migrant workers in a culturally sensitive manner.

During the past two years, after the publication of the Catholic Conference of Ohio's Pastoral Statement, The Diocese of Youngstown Health and Human Services Commission, composed of the CEOs of the Catholic health care and social services agencies, along with members of the Catholic Consortium of Stark County²¹ and various parishes, have worked diligently to respond to the growing needs of Hispanic migrant workers and newcomers from Central and South America. Our Diocese of Youngstown collaborative work relates directly to the efforts of two other Dioceses (Columbus and Cleveland) with whom we share geographic boundaries pertaining specifically to this ministry to Hispanic migrant workers and newcomers. Representatives from each of the three Dioceses serve as the coordinating committee for ministries and services to newcomers in a five county area that comprises counties from each of the three dioceses. This is the Tri-Diocesan Mobile Migrant Ministry Project.

The Diocese of Youngstown MRS Migrant Ministry Committee was created in early 2002, chaired by the Executive Director of Catholic Charities Services, in order to assist the social service/health care agencies, parishes, and various Chancery offices and Catholic institutions, to work together by sharing information, supporting each other, and visioning future outreach to this population. Over the course of the past several months, before and after the MRS training in Milwaukee, the various Teams have identified areas of common concern experienced by many migrant workers and newcomers.

Though our numbers may seem low compared to other dioceses and regions, we have discovered that the Diocese of Youngstown and the Tri-Diocesan region has witnessed explosive growth in this new population over the past five (5) years, and have just begun to organize resources for outreach and ministry. Some areas of common concern we wish to expand our work include:

Continuing to provide and coordinate pastoral and social/health outreach to Hispanic newcomers and migrants who may not know of, or are afraid to access, the services of the Church in the community.
Ensuring that newcomers and migrant workers continue to feel "welcome" into the parishes and social/health care agencies of the Church so that these newcomers see the Church as a gatekeeper and home for them.
Educating Catholic leaders and parishioners on the changes in demographics rapidly occurring in our Diocesan and Tri-Diocesan region and to awaken their consciousness to continue to be a "welcoming" community.
Responding on the parish and institutional levels to the specific needs of Hispanic migrant workers and newcomers, especially to young males, with some families, who face hard work, sometimes unsafe working conditions, general social isolation, cross-border family separation, fear, racial profiling, and outright and subtle prejudice.

This Diocesan Action Plan builds on the experience and expertise of various pastoral ministers and Church institutional leaders engaged in direct service and outreach to the Hispanic migrant and newcomer community, in collaboration with Hispanic migrant worker leaders connected to the Diocese and to the Immigrant Worker Project. The on-going role of the active and supportive parishes and the work of Catholic Charities and Catholic health care systems are indispensable. This Action Plan is an outcome of the long-term critical and strategic thinking of the Diocese of Youngstown MRS Migrant Ministry Team and the Tri-Diocesan Mobile Migrant Ministry Team. These outcomes, activities and actions involve these actors directly and build on their expertise, wisdom, hopes and challenges.

Budget: Please submit a line-item budget and a brief narrative summary that details the requested amount and projected expenditures, e.g., staff to manage the program, their duties and related material and operational costs. The amount awarded will be based on need; therefore, the amount requested must be justified and the need stated. Discuss the availability of other resources in your diocese to share in the funding of this initiative.

MRS Diocesan Grant
Tier One: Diocesan Capacity
Diocese of Youngstown, OH


REVENUE

National MRS Grant	$25,000.00
Diocesan Match
*Tri-Diocesan Fund	$22,000.00
DOY Social Action	$ 3,000.00
TOTAL	$50,000.00

EXPENSES

Salary (full time)	$31,000.00
Benefits	$ 9,300.00
Office exp	$ 3,000.00
Stark rent	$ 2,000.00
Phone	$ 1,200.00
Travel	$ 2,400.00
Training	$ 1,000.00
Misc.	$ 100.00
TOTAL	$50,000.00

BUDGET NOTES:
Revenue

Tri-Diocesan Fund: In FY2002, the Dioceses of Cleveland, Columbus and Youngstown provided monies to a common account to provide resources for the Tri-Diocesan Mobile Migrant Ministry Program. Those monies are held by the Catholic Conference of Ohio. The Diocese of Youngstown provided $22,000.00 to this account as our diocesan share. This money has not been utilized as of this date. This MRS national application for a Tier I Diocesan Capacity grant will be matched by our Diocese of Youngstown contribution to the Tri-Diocesan Account and will be drawn down in monthly installments as a match. Though this position will assist in providing overall coordination for the Tri-Diocesan ministry, the major focus will be on serving the counties of the Diocese of Youngstown, so therefore all of the common account cannot be used for this purpose. It is also the hope that the remainder of the common account can be used for future years matching monies for this coordinator position.
DOY Social Action: The Office of Social Action will request monies from the Diocesan Office of Missions as a small grant to this project. If that grant is not available, monies from the local Catholic Campaign for Human Development will be assessed. Also, part of the in-kind contribution from the Office of Social Action will be to provide materials and resources, and to apply for other grants for future years funding in order to continue this office.

Expenses
Salary: It is assumed that this position will be full time; either clergy, deacon or religious person.
Benefits: projected health care benefits, pension, workers' compensation, FICA, etc.
Office Expenses: resources, printing
Stark rent: monies for rental of office space in Stark County (either parish or Charities office)
Phone: purchase/use of cell phone and fax
Travel: reimbursement of car usage at current diocesan rate (0.36 per mile) and air travel for training if needed.
Training: attendance at MRS/PCMR meeting if possible
Misc.: other unaccounted for expenses, dues.

Job Description:

DEPARTMENT OF CATHOLIC CHARITIES

JOB TITLE: Coordinator, MRS/ Pastoral Care for Migrants and Refugees (PCMR)

PURPOSE: Coordinate the provision of sacramental, pastoral care, liturgical, catechetical and other social/health care services to newcomers and migrants throughout the Diocese of Youngstown, in collaboration with the Tri-Diocesan Mobile Migrant Ministry Team.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

This Coordinator will be responsible for the following areas:

To coordinate the Diocese of Youngstown MRS Action Plan, as contained in the Office of Social Action, Action Plan, Strategic Initiative II.
To coordinate the provision of services to migrants and new comers, in the Diocese of Youngstown and with the Tri-Diocesan Migrant Mobile Ministry Team.
(if clergy person) To provide sacramental ministry for parishes of the Diocese of Youngstown when available and as assigned.
To coordinate the provision of training to pastoral and Church leadership for ministry to newcomers, migrants and refugees in the Diocese of Youngstown and in the Tri-Diocesan Migrant Mobile Ministry area.
To network with the regional representative and national staff of MRS/PCMR.
To network with the clergy and pastoral leaders in the Diocese of Youngstown and with the Tri-Diocesan Migrant Mobile Ministry Team to plan a calendar of events for liturgical and sacramental celebrations.
To coordinate with the staff of the Immigrant Worker Project regarding staff scheduling and projects.

STATUS: Full Time with health care benefits

QUALIFICIATIONS:

Bi-lingual and appropriately trained in Hispanic culture.
Ability to travel in a diocesan area and its surrounding communities.
Preferred: ordained clergy in the Catholic Church and/or an appropriately trained religious or lay person
Minimum: Bachelor degree or equivalent experience.

PRIMARY OFFICES: Canton and Ashtabula, and Wooster

POSITION HELD BY:
ACCOUNTABLITY: To Executive Director of Catholic Charities Services
To Diocesan Director of Migration and Refugee Services

DATE APPROVED: April 9, 2002 PREPARED BY: Brian Corbin

Please submit your application along with your completed Diocesan Action Plan and bishop's letter of support to Attn: Pastoral Implementation Grants, Migration and Refugee Services, USCCB, 3211 4th St., NE, Washington, DC 20017 or by fax to 202/541-3351. For assistance, contact Ms. Amy Newlon, MRS/PCMR, at 202/541-5408 (or Anewlon@usccb.org).

Notes

The Diocese of Youngstown was founded in 1943 from the Diocese of Cleveland; this year, 2003, is the 60th Anniversary of the Diocese of Youngstown.
Catholic Charities during the late 1950s and early 1960s worked with Sta. Rosa de Lima Parish to create OCCHA (Organicion Cultura y Civica Hispana Americana) to serve the social and educational needs of the Puerto Rican community and families from some other South and Central America countries. Catholic Charities continues today to provide small grants to OCCHA for their work in the Mahoning Valley.
See reports in The New York Times, August 5 and 6, 2001
See The New York Times, Canton Repository for examples
See Chaos on the U.S.-Mexico Border: A Report on Migrant Crossing Deaths, Immigrant Families and Subsistence-Level Laborers, Report 5, Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc., Washington, DC, 2001).
This Catholic Conference of Ohio Rural Life Project later became incorporated in the State of Ohio as the Immigrant Worker Project, and has received substantial funding from the Dioceses of Cleveland, Columbus, and Youngstown, the national Catholic Campaign for Human Development, the Sisters of Charity Foundation of Canton, and through two small PCMR grants from the USCCB/MRS office. (Thank You).
The Catholic Conference of Ohio published their analysis of this changing demographic data and the role of the Church in welcoming newcomers, in their Pastoral Statement, "God's Welcoming Presence: A Call to Stand in Solidarity with Ohio's Immigrants," (January 2001).
See Ohio Migrant Census, 1999 report analysis by Ralph Sinistro, Rural Opportunities, memo August 8, 2001; and see Tri-Diocesan Mobile Ministry Report, The Ohio Catholic Rural Life Conference, We Gather and Stand Together Project, Jeff Stewart and Chris Luoni, July 26, 2001, p. 3.
During a meeting on November 20, 2002 between Brian Corbin and Fr. Gabriel Rodriquez of Casa Parroquial, Aquacatan, Diocese of Huehuetenago, Guatemala, it was discussed that approximately 900 of the parishioners of his parish reside in our tri-diocesan region.
Stewart and Luoni., op.cit. p. 4.
Ibid. p. 5.
Ibid., p. 4.
Ibid., p. 5.
Ibid. p. 5.
All Saints Parish in Stark County and Mother of Sorrows Parish in Ashtabula County have recently applied for a 2003 USCCB Committee on Home Missions monies to expand their pastoral outreach ministries to newcomers and migrant workers.
See Tri-Diocesan Report, p. 6 ff.
Charita M. Goshay, "A Head Start…for Migrant Children," Canton Repository, July 10, 2001, pp. B1, B3.
Catholic Charities Housing Opportunities (CCHO) representatives will continue this line of communication to respond to this mutual concern.
See Tri-Diocesan Mobile Ministry Report, The Ohio Catholic Rural Life Conference, We Gather and Stand Together Project, Jeff Stewart and Chris Luoni, July 26, 2001, p. 5, and John Seewer, "'Invisible' immigrants rebuilding lives in rural Ohio," Canton Repository, July 15, 2001, p. B-8; Charita Goshay, "The Latin-American Dream," Canton Repository, July 24, 2001, pp. B1-B2; and, see similar article in the Youngstown Vindicator, July 14, 2001.
The CRS representatives on this site visit were Kim Burgo (CRS-Baltimore) and Dr. Rolando Figueroa, MD (CRS-RTA, Guatemala).
The Sisters of Charity Foundation of Canton has been critical in helping to convene Catholic leaders in Stark County to plan and network on this ministry. The Foundation has provided seed grants to some parishes and to the Immigrant Worker Project.