This Year's Project: Creating an inviting space for our youngest mental health clients
About Our Organization
Catholic Charities provides mental health services and financial assistance to all individuals, children, couples and families. We work to empower them and provide hope, thereby strengthening our communities.
Current Project: Creating an inviting space for our youngest mental health clients
Children love new books – and a fun place to read!
Catholic Charities received a Little Library made by the Carpenters Union Local 948 as part of the "0-3 Prime for Life” partnership amongst D2: Worldwide, SHIP, and the Siouxland Community Foundation to encourage parents to put down electronics and read to their kids.
Our children pick a book from the Little Library to read while waiting for a mental health appointment. And, they get to take it home!
Our Little Library brings such joy. Built with love and personalized for Catholic Charities, it came with stain-glass windows painted on each side and stocked with books to get us started. Nearly all the books have gone home with kids, and it is time to replenish!
Your Big Give gift will buy books in multiple languages for youth of all ages and reading levels. It will also purchase 2 kid-sized chairs in animal designs for our waiting room for them to sit in while they read. Vote on our Facebook post to tell us your favorite chair designs…panda, bird, kitty or bear. We hope to purchase 2.
Whether reading together or on their own, books stimulate brain activity and provide a sense of calm before therapy or while waiting during a family member's session. Reading is a great way to nurture the relationship between parent and child.
42% of our families are living in poverty. 37% of our clients are children.
Our $3,153 Goal includes funds for 2 chairs ($1,153) and 400 books in different languages and reading levels.
Thank you to several of our Board of Directors, including John Baker & CW Suter Services, for their commitment to match the first $1,300 given. So great!
Catholic Charities invites your generosity to our project and the other SBG organizations today!
School-Based Therapy Program Needs
Project Details
Mental health concerns in our schools continue to grow. Did you know?
1 in 5 school-aged children have a social/emotional learning condition (National Alliance on Mental Health)
50% of lifetime mental illness cases begin by age 14 (NAMI)
In Iowa and Nebraska, Suicide is the 2nd leading case of death for kids (US Poison Center)
Catholic Charities licensed, professional therapists provide on-site therapy at Siouxland schools and offer free mental health assessments for any school-age child.
Therapists work with school staff to identify and address mental health concerns early to improve individual student's well-being, school safety and make a better learning environment for all students.
Your 2022 Siouxland Big Give donation will purchase therapy games, books and projects for therapists to use with the school children. You will also help cover the cost of providing critically needed, free mental health assessments for kids who are stuggling.
Thank you for ensuring children and adolesents can access quality mental health care no matter their family's faith, background or ability to pay.
Suicide Support Group
Project Details
Catholic Charities has started a Suicide Support Group, offered at no cost to anyone in the area impacted by the suicide of a family member or friend. Your gift will help cover the costs for the licensed mental health counselors to lead the group and provide care to those involved. The first, 6-week support group session will begin in November and then repeated for new members several times per year, as often as needed.
Did you know? Suicide continues to be a leading cause of death in our area, particularly among younger Iowans. Suicide is more common than homicide in the state of Iowa, and can affect anyone regardless of age, location, or other factors.
Mental Health Services for Kids Affected by Covid-19
Project Details
Siouxland Big Give dollars will cover therapy costs for Siouxland children and teens needing mental health services when their family qualifies for our sliding-fee scale, which is based on the federal poverty guidelines. If there is financial need, families are offered Charity Care Dollars to cover the what they cannot afford. There are times Catholic Charities provides counseling with no cost to a family.
You will help children who otherwise would not have access to mental health services because their family lacks insurance or Medicaid and cannot pay. Your gift is more vital than ever because of the significant increase in youth needing counseling for mental health issues brought on or enhanced by Covid-19.
Social isolation, school disruptions, parent's marital issues, abuse, pornography addiction, behavioral issues, fear of uncertainty, anxiety about getting sick and grieving the death of loved ones are some of what our therapists are helping children and teens through right now.
Even though some insurance co-pays have been waived throughout the pandemic, furloughs and job eliminations have led to lost insurance coverage and lost income for many families, decreasing their ability to pay for needed mental health care.
Siouxland Big Give resources will assure help for all children and teens who need it. You will keep families, schools and our Siouxland communities healthier and safe!
Families in Crisis Fund
Project Details
Catholic Charities will dedicate 2019 Siouxland Big Give gifts to help individuals and families in crisis situations. These crises often result in a lack of food, difficulties paying the rent or electricity bill, inability to pay for needed medication, or other basic needs not being met. Catholic Charities offers financial support for such crises when funds are available and will always connect people to additional community resource partners at their times of need.
Pathways to Hope & Healing
Project Details
Gifts received from Siouxland Give in 2018 were directed to the Pathways to Hope & Healing which provides FREE mental health assessments to any school-age child. Children can be identified by school personnel or a parent as kids who are at-risk or just beginning to struggle. The goal ofthe program is to intervene early before serious problems develop. A licensed mental health counselor meets with the child and parent, assesses what is going on, and then makes recommendations.
Thanks in part to Siouxland Give, Catholic Charities served 321 children, 20% under the age of 10, during the 2018-19 fiscal year. The most common diagnois for which children were treated were anxiety and PTSD.
Together, we made a difference in the lives of kids and families in our community!