Catholic Charities of San Bernardino and Riverside Counties

Recently, history repeated itself in the form of an insightful donor providing seed money to a desperately needed service. Over 20 years ago Catholic Charities sought to establish a new Counseling Program prompted by the overwhelming need in the two-county area due to the lack of accessible counseling for families in crisis. The initial seed funding was provided to Catholic Charities by The Congregation of the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word, Houston, Texas.

The $40,000 two-year grant provided capital needed to fund the initial stages of the new counseling services, which has since crystallized into a sizable program that served over 5,550 households in 2009-2010, and offering a myriad of desperately needed counseling services.

Once again, the Sisters of Charity have partnered with Catholic Charities to fill a gap in needed services in the community with a $50,000 Dubuis Grant for a “Teen & Young Adult” Counseling Program. (The Sisters of Charity are also responsible for funding the construction of the St. Bernadine Community Hospital over a 100 years ago).

“We are blessed to have this money for this program.” commented Ken F. Sawa, CEO of Catholic Charities. “Doubly so, because with the economic situation causing the shutdown of Parks and Recreation programs, community centers, and youth programs funds are scarce. The Sisters of Charity have stepped up again for a population that doesn’t get the help it really needs.”

The “Teen & Young Adult” Counseling Program fills a gap for the 13 to 24 year old youth. Currently, Catholic Charities provides many counseling programs that address families with youth up to age 18. However, this program will dedicate a good portion of the grant to an area of great need which is the low-income youth between the ages of 18 to 24 year old. This transitional age group typically deals with especially difficult issues such as substance abuse, depression, unhealthy relationships and/or other phase of life adjustments.

The grant money will provide counseling for a minimum of two hundred young adults. These youth will receive intensive professional counseling services that may include crisis intervention or longer term counseling. Crisis intervention services usually involve 1-4 sessions that focus on the immediate crisis and coping skills whereas long term counseling can continue up to several months.

“This program provides essential, direct services to teens and young adults because non-psychiatric counseling services are virtually unaffordable for these young people who are uninsured, under-insured, or those ineligible for Medi-Cal,” said Gary McMane, Director of Counseling for Catholic Charities. “There are no safety nets or benefits for so many youths who are unemployed, underemployed and not lucky enough to be covered by their parents’ insurance. Young adulthood can be extremely stressful for many reasons. A therapist can be very helpful as young people transition from their youth into full adulthood.”

The “Teen & Young Adult” Counseling Program is a two-county wide program open to the public. Services are provided by master's degree level therapists at a variety of locations throughout San Bernardino & Riverside Counties. For more eligibility call Kathy Long at (909) 388-1239, x.401