What are now known as Catholic Charities “agencies” came into being in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s largely to centralize and make more efficient the provision of social services, much as our churches now come together in communities to form an emergency service entity like a soup kitchen or food pantry. And, though the history of Catholic Charities is rooted in the social ministry of the Roman Catholic Church, the agencies are dedicated to serving all people based on their need, regardless of religion.  

 

In 1979, Rev. Charles Mulligan (who was then what is now equivalent to the Diocesan Director of Catholic Charities) prepared for the newly arrived Bishop Matthew Clark a plan for the future of Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Rochester, NY.

 

This plan envisioned the need to create Catholic human services entities in other parts of the Diocese beyond Rochester and Monroe County. What is now Catholic Charities of the Southern Tier, covering a five County area, was established in 1980 and what is now Catholic Charities of the Finger Lakes, also covering a five County area, was established in 1982. Each entity, under local Board leadership, has developed its unique set of services in response to community need and in collaboration with existing agencies.

 

In 1985, Bishop Clark and the Diocesan Board adopted and then refined in 1992, a decentralized system of governance embracing its regional Catholic Charities entities.

 

Interestingly enough, the earliest providers of Catholic social services were the parishes themselves focusing on financial problems, marriage and family problems, care of the young and the old. So, it was appropriate that parish priests were instrumental in planting the seeds for Catholic Charities of Livingston County.

 

In 1992 Sr. Nancy O’Brien, RSM was hired by Catholic Family Center out of Rochester to work with the poor in rural Livingston County. Fr. Jim Hewes, Wes Kennison, Rev. Daniel Condon and Dr. William Derby saw a need for outreach in the rural communities they served and were instrumental in getting Sr. Nancy assigned to Livingston County.   Her first office was at the rectory at St. Patrick’s Church in Mt. Morris, where a corner of the basement served as the storage area for donated items. “In our rural pastoral ministry, we see many individuals and families for whom compassionate human care services are unavailable or inaccessible,” noted Rev. Daniel Condon, then pastor of St. Patrick’s, Mt. Morris.

 

From 1992 to early 1995, the Rural Outreach ministry grew and led to discussions about the feasibility of creating a regional office of Catholic Charities in the county.

 

The Diocesan Board of Catholic Charities appointed at its May, 1993 meeting, the “Steuben Livingston Project Committee” to a do needs assessment and make recommendations on how Catholic Charities might better serve these communities. Although it was initially envisioned to create a new Steuben-Livingston Catholic Charities office, the committee recommended and the Diocesan Board approved, exploring an effort in Livingston County only. This decision was made because of the large geographical area of the two counties taken together, numerous differences between the counties, the relatively large number of agencies already in Steuben County, and the relatively small number of agencies in Livingston County. Jack Balinsky, who became Diocesan Director of Catholic Charities in the early 1990’s, was instrumental in shepherding discussions of a regional presence south of Rochester. 

 

By the summer of 1995 the pastors of all 11 Roman Catholic parishes in Livingston County had endorsed opening a local office of Catholic Charities and had made a three-year commitment to develop $100,000 in funding so that a permanent presence of outreach to the poor would be realized in their county.   

 

For the next year, local leadership including Frs. Dan Condon, Bill Trott and Bill Gordonier, and lay leaders including Bill Derby, Jim Dollard and Mabel Treadwell, worked with staff coordinator Moe Tierney, who came out of retirement from his leadership position in Diocesan Catholic Charities (he served 1977-1991) to meet this challenge. With required funding commitments in hand, the building of some local support, and great enthusiasm, Catholic Charities of Livingston County was created as a formal subsidiary of Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Rochester in 1995.

 

On October 24, 1995 the office of Catholic Charities of Livingston County opened at 10 Clinton Street in the Village of Mt. Morris. The event was marked by an open house at the office and a liturgy at St. Patrick’s Church with Bishop Matthew Clark presiding.

 

In its infancy, Catholic Charities of Livingston County had two effective programs which became the foundation for a sustained presence in the region: Rural Outreach provided basic emergency services to the poor and Community of Caring provided counseling and direct services to at-risk pregnant and parenting women living in poverty.

 

 

The first director of the agency was Dr. Richard C. Merges who served in 1995 until health issues forced his retirement. During spring and summer 1996, Moe Tierney and Paul Pickering from the Diocesan Office of Catholic Charities took turns as acting directors of the agency until Timothy McMahon, MSW took the reins as Executive Director in August 1996. McMahon had worked for the State of New York for 28 years before coming to Catholic Charities of Livingston County.

 

In July 1997, another program was added to CCLC (as the agency became known). It was the HOPE Youth Mentoring Program which was funded jointly by Livingston County Department of Social Services and the county’s Office of Mental Health. And, in November 1997, CCLC received a state Community Services Block Grant and a Rochester Area Community Foundation grant to begin a program of supportive housing called Partnership for Success.

 

By December 1997, the agency had outgrown its cramped quarters and moved around the block to 10 Chapel Street.

 

At the end of 1998, the temporary funding for Community of Caring ran out and the program’s services were suspended. Around the same time, however, Livingston County Office of Mental Health approved money to support the Host Home Program for runaway and homeless teens over the age of 16 years. Jackie Klube was the programs’ coordinator.

 

Frustrated by the agency’s inability to effectively meet the needs of the county’s Spanish speaking population, Hispanic Outreach was conceived and in 1998 Roberto Andino, a bi-lingual native of Puerto Rico, became the program’s first coordinator. By January 1999, the first-ever local Hispanic/Latino traditional event was produced in collaboration with the Mt. Morris School District. The “Three Kings” celebration was a big success and continues to be produced each winter.

 

In May 1999, CCLC received a second grant from the Rochester Area Community Foundation to create a part-time counseling and support program for pregnant and parenting teens. The Livingston County Youth Bureau also added funding support.   And, by July (with the help of a state grant) CCLC resurrected Community of Caring and hired Carol Bauman as part-time coordinator.

 

The year 2000 was a busy one for the agency: a Dansville satellite office was opened and operated 2 days a week; Susan Bell was hired to run the Partnership for Success program; Maria O’Hearn took over Hispanic Outreach and the Auto Dream program began through funding by area legislators. Auto Dream was a partnership between Genesee Valley B.O.C.E.S., the Department of Social Services and CCLC. The program  helped people transition off of public assistance with the help of technical training and a donated vehicle. Auto Dream then became the Wheels for Work program with subsidies from the New York State Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance.

 

On October 11, 2000, Catholic Charities of Livingston County celebrated its 5^th anniversary. The agency had become a visible and active member of the human services provider community forging strong partnerships and creating sound working relationships with the Office for the Aging, Protective Services for Adults, the Department of Social Services, The Department of Health, the Office of Mental Health, and the Livingston County Housing Task Force, among others.

 

By 2001, Catholic Charities of Livingston County was successfully operating six active programs: Rural Outreach, Community of Caring, Hispanic Outreach, HOPE Youth Mentoring, Partnership for Success, and Wheels for Work. However, the agency’s Board and Executive Director saw more opportunities for service to the poor.

 

In 2003, with seed funding from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Faith in Action was inaugurated in Livingston County. Faith in Action is a volunteer-driven ecumenical program, created with support by the Livingston County Coalition of Churches. Faith in Action fills a major gap in services for poor elderly and disabled persons in Livingston County. The program provides transportation to necessary medical appointments, home visits, residence safety checks, errands and respite care.

 

2004 saw the retirement of Executive Director Tim McMahon and the beginning of new agency leadership by Joseph DiMino, former Monro Muffler VP and business manager of Our Lady of the Lakes Catholic Community. 

 

 

 

 

 

Catholic Charities of Livingston County has 10 active programs serving the needs of homeless and very low income families and individuals, the working poor and the most vulnerable in society by providing direct assistance, advocating for social and economic justice and encouraging self-sufficiency through education and support. The agency provides:

 

 

In the first year of operation as an agency, CCLC served 55 individuals. Today, our programs collectively serve more than 3,200 people living in poverty throughout Livingston County. All services are provided free of charge on a non-discriminatory, non-sectarian basis.