CCHD Grants Awarded to Local Organizations Working for Justice

$90,000 in grants from the Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD) has been awarded to seven local community-based, self-help groups for the Diocese of San Jose!

Since it was established by the U.S. Catholic bishops in 1970, CCHD has assisted people to rise out of poverty through empowerment programs that foster self-sufficiency. The funds available for grants are raised by an annual collection in all parishes in the United States. A quarter of the funds are retained by dioceses and are available for local grants to smaller projects or new groups. All groups must meet the grant criteria by working toward institutional change and involving low-income people in the decision-making processes. All grants are reviewed by a diocesan CCHD grant allocation committee of experienced community leaders and recommended by the bishop. This year, the following groups were awarded funding:

National Grants:

• Community Homeless Alliance Network (CHAM) - $15,000
• Low Income Self-Help Center (LISHC) - $15,000
• Services, Immigrant Rights, and Education Network (SIREN) - $30,000

Local Grants:

• Day Worker Center - $9,000
• Eastside Neighborhood Center - $9,000
• San Jose ACORN - $2,000
• Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition - $10,000

These groups are working to educate the community and empower the poor in areas related to homelessness, affordable housing, access to health care, quality education for children, support of immigrants and immigration law reform, fair employment for day workers, and protection of the environment and workers against toxic agents. These projects have helped low-income people to change their lives by creating opportunity where none existed before and providing the means for them to find solutions to their community's problems.

For information on how you can help support CCHD and the annual appeal in November, contact Linda Batton at batton@dsj.org.

Statistics and information on poverty in the United States and a poverty quiz is available on the website www.povertyusa.org. Take a look!