Catholic Woman's League holds benefit luncheon

Intermountain Catholic

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Members of the Catholic Woman's League from throughout the Diocese of Salt Lake City model clothing from the Wight House for their annual benefit luncheon at Little America Hotel.IC photo by Christine Young

SALT LAKE CITY — Catholic Community Services (CCS) of Utah Refugee Resettlement Program and Self-Determination, Inc., were the beneficiaries of the annual Catholic Woman’s League (CWL) benefit luncheon March 10, at Little America Hotel in Salt Lake City.

Each year the CWL holds a benefit luncheon to raise funds for non-profit organizations within Utah who serve those in the community who are in need or organizations who offer a necessary service to the community.

CCS’ Immigration and Refugee Resettlement Program guides refugees toward self-reliance by providing pre-arrival services, needs assessments, community orientation, job development, housing, supportive counseling, referrals to health care, English as a Second Language classes, and other necessary services.

Aden Batar, director of Immigration and Refugee Resettlement Program, said CCS started resettling refugees early in the 1970s. At that time refugees were coming from Southeast Asia. As situations in world crises change each year, there are about 400 to 500 refugees resettled in Utah.

"This year as well as last we have had large groups of refugees from Myanmar, which used to be Burma, coming to Salt Lake City," said Batar. "These are refugees who have lived in refugee camps for decades in Thailand. The U. S. government is now giving them an opportunity to come to the United States to rebuild their lives."

Batar said there are also a lot of refugees coming from Somalia in East Africa. Many of them are coming from refugee camps in Kenya. Last year there were more than 200 of those refugees resettled, and there will be another large group who resettle in Utah this year. Most of them have medical disabilities. Some of them are elderly who require a lot of medical care, and children with needs as well.

"We are also bringing refugees from camps in Sudan, Uganda, and Egypt to Utah," said Batar. "We are continuing to bring refugees from Russia. The Russian group are called Meshketian Turks, and they are originally from Turkey. They have been denied their basic human rights by the Russian government. There are more than 10,000 of them who will be immigrating to the United States. There are already about 200 of them living in Utah, and we are expecting several hundred more."

Batar said these are the largest groups being resettled by CCS in Utah. There is also another group from Burundi coming to Utah. Burundi is close to Congo. These refugees have experienced war and ethnic cleansing, and are in refugee camps in Tanzania. This group is also coming with large families and a lot of medical difficulties. They have been traumatized as a result of the war and will need a lot mental health services, and other medical services. They will also need education for their children.

"We are also getting a lot of Cuban refugees escaping the difficulties of the Fidel Castro regime," said Batar. "We will be receiving refugees from Iraq later this year. There are 7,000 refugees in Jordan, Syria, and Turkey, and the U.S. government is now allowing them to come to the United States."

CCS looks for housing for the refugees according to the size of the family, rents the apartment, pays the first month’s rent and deposit, and fully furnishes the apartment with what a family needs to start a new life in Utah. That includes beds, furniture, linens, dishes, appliances, and clothing.

"The money we receive from the federal government is about $425 per person, which does not cover their needs," said Batar. "Everything else is provided through donations from the community. We also provide food the family can eat when they first arrive. We take them to apply for a Social Security card and to the welfare office for food stamps, and financial assistance. It is our goal to help them become self sufficient and American citizens."

Self-Determination, Inc., is a non-profit organization designed to assist adults who have mild to moderate cognitive disabilities with independent living skills, behavior skills, and employment.

"Self-Determination, Inc., was established in 1987," said Heather Burns, director. "The people we serve do not receive state or federal funding. We were created to provide assistance to help these individuals learn life skills. We charge a $320 a month fee.

The fee provides them with job coaching, apartment support, grocery shopping support, budgeting and banking assistance, and special activities.

"We help clients plan weekly menus and well-balanced meals, teach them grocery shopping skills such as comparison shopping, and we help them learn how to use a day planner to record appointments and work schedules," said Burns. "We help clients maintain checking and savings accounts, pay rent and other bills on time, and maintain a budget.

"We provide Friday Night Socials in which our clients go to movies, out to dinner, roller skating, or a have game night in one of the apartments," said Burns. "The apartments are in a small geographic location so the clients feel a sense of community. They visit each other in the evening and the apartments are within walking distance to our office. They provide a support system for each other and are friends with each other. We teach them how to figure out the bus schedules and provide them with a bus pass."

Burns said there are some people who have been in the program since it began 20 years ago. The $320 fee is a large amount, but if they were to seek services elsewhere it would cost them at least $1,000.

"Clients are able to keep themselves and others safe and determine when a situation is not safe," said Burns. "They feel a great sense of satisfaction being able to function independently with minimal support."