CAT-07201 Annual Report_029.indd - Catholic Charities of the ...

witnessed debates carrying negative religious
overtones challenging the right of Catholic
agencies to serve the poor. These agencies
responded by asking Cardinal Hayes to bring
together Catholic services within the New York
Archdiocese under a single umbrella to confront
prejudice and promote mutual support. Midway
through World War I in 1917, a special Act
of the New York State Legislature incorporated
The Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of
New York. On May 14, 1920, its doors officially
opened. This federation already served as the
largest caretaker for orphaned and unwanted
children, providing dependent and institutional
care for over 10,000 youngsters.
The Great Depression and World
War II: Strengthening Families
and Resolving Crises
By 1932 and the Great Depression, one-third of
New York City’s factories closed and nearly one
out of every two men lost their jobs. Catholic
Charities stood shoulder-to-shoulder with the
downtrodden, broadening and expanding
services to meet the nation’s growing needs. Its
annual reports describe the “weary grind of the
unemployed in their unremitting search for an
honest day’s work,” the dispossess notices, the
short rations, the doubling up of two, three and
four families living in a single tenement and “the
haunting fear that while today is bad tomorrow
may be worse.” With government safety nets
still in the planning stages, Catholic Charities
became a crucial provider of emergency meals,
financial assistance and expanded programs for
the elderly. Claire and Elizabeth Sullivan, relatives
of television personality Ed Sullivan, founded
Casita Maria to help the unemployed secure jobs
and housing. The Catholic Youth Organization
(CYO) was created to offer children and teens
a break from the relentless heat and hardships
of New York through fresh-air camps,
community centers, sports, recreational
and after-school activities.
World War II’s death toll and devastation
sparked further growth in Catholic Charities.
Employment services and job programs were
added to bolster returning veterans and vital
care was provided for widows and wives.
Growing numbers of unsupervised youth
escaped delinquency, thanks to expanded
programs and vocational counseling provided
by Cardinal McCloskey Services and other
Catholic Charities agencies.
The Cold War: Sustaining the
Physically and Emotionally Challenged
The onset of the Cold War ushered in a time
of fear and insecurity. This spurred Catholic
Charities to broaden its mental health services,
offering psychiatric clinics for children and
professional counseling for families. An
innovator during a time when children with
mental retardation were often sent to institutions
and forgotten, Catholic Charities opened
the Kennedy Child Study Center in the 1950s.
Its programs provided early intervention
and special education, taught basic skills and
built the foundation for more independent
lives. The Guidance Institute pioneered the
first day camp for disabled children and
the Catholic Guild for the Blind extended
counseling services. Astor Home for Children
was established in Rhinebeck in Dutchess
County as a residential-treatment center for
the seriously emotionally disturbed and later
expanded to the Bronx.
In 1958, in a rented East Harlem storefront,
a small group of nuns opened a pioneering
program, Little Sisters of the Assumption
Family Health Services. The menu of services
—coordinated case management services,
information and referrals, day care and
drug-abuse counseling—stood as a
precursor of community-based services
still emulated today.
The Great Depression:
Expanding help
for the unemployed 1936
Catholic Youth
Organization
established
World War II
1946
Cardinal McCloskey
Services founded
Vietnam War—modernizing
hospitals and health care,
leading the war on poverty
1969
Covenant House
began on the
Lower East Side
Refugee and immigration
services expand
1981
Beacon
of Hope
annual report 2007
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