SPRINGFIELD – Catholic Community Services, which supported nearly 18,000 people last fiscal year, faces significant challenges as federal funding cuts threaten to limit essential food and housing assistance programs for families in need.
The nonprofit supports all families in Lane County by offering food, essential items, housing assistance, and immigration services. Though it has roots in the Catholic religion, the nonprofit states it serves everyone, regardless of their religious beliefs, race, ethnicity, age, sex, gender identity, or other characteristics.
In the last fiscal year, CCS has assisted 17,980 individuals and distributed 38,748 food boxes. Families can visit the Springfield and Eugene locations each week to pick up food, receiving a total of two food boxes per week.
At least, they used to be able to.
“That’s going to be changing in September, because we have been very short of food,” Tami Kinman, associate director. “We’re starting to have to cut back on how many times people are going to be able to come in. Our numbers won’t be quite as high as this level next year. It doesn’t mean that need still isn’t there.”
Executive Director Lorri Perreault said that a 100% increase in people using the food pantry over the last three fiscal years. The decline of food sources will lead to CCS limiting food boxes to only one a week.
“We need to start slowing it down a bit so that at least everyone who comes will leave with food, and once a week is better than nothing,” she said.
CCS operates a clothing closet that recorded 4,375 visits last year, distributing a total of 47,059 articles of clothing. These items included shoes, jackets, blankets, towels, swimsuits, and hats.
During the quarterly Help and Hope Tour, held at the Springfield location on Aug. 20, Nicole Wilbur, the associate director of supportive services, showcased a newly renovated room featuring four sets of washers and dryers to assist with laundry needs.
In terms of energy assistance, CCS’s program reported significant numbers.
Last year, 5,237 households received rent and deposit assistance, totaling $2.7 million in support. This year, CCS has received additional funding through the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP).
The energy assistance program is also facing tighter restrictions due to federal limits.
“That program helps so many people across our country, and it is definitely on the chopping block,” Perreault said. “This would be so detrimental to these households here in Lane County.”
Wilbur shared statistics on housing services from the past year. CCS assisted 342 households. Of those, 39 families benefited from the OASIS drop-in center and emergency shelter. The OASIS program offers unhoused families with minor children a safe environment, case management, community resources, laundry facilities, showers, and a kitchen for meal preparation.
Additionally, nearly 50 unhoused families used the extreme weather program, spending a total of 854 nights in hotels instead of on the streets during severe weather.
“With our housing assistance, we were able to spend over $800,000 preventing homelessness,” Wilbur said. “Some programs pay a month or two of rent in the future to give them time to stabilize and find new employment.”
CCS has a staff of 61, reflecting a steady increase over the past few years. The team is highly diverse, speaking thirteen different languages and having varied lived experiences, which allows them to be particularly receptive and compassionate towards the clients they serve, according to Perreault.
CCS relies on government contracts, private donations, and funding grants for its operations.
“Our operating budget for this fiscal year is $5,310,000. About 79% of that revenue comes from the government, and that piece of it is definitely going to be effective for us,” Perreault said. “We do not yet have solid funding numbers from our government contracts, so we are certain that we are going to see some cuts there.”
The Springfield location is at 1025 G St., and the Eugene location is at 1464 W. 6th Ave. For more information about programs, ways to get help, or to volunteer, go to ccslc.org.
