Catholic Charities
Livingston County

History

A Brief History

Catholic Charities of Livingston County, New York

1992

Sr. Nancy O'Brien, RSM was hired by Catholic Family Center 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 our rural communities 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, using a corner of the basement as the storage area for donated items.  "In our rural pastoral ministry, we see many individuals and families for who compassionate human care services are unavailable or inaccessible," noted Rev. Condon, then pastor of St. Patrick's, Mt. Morris. 

1992-1995

The Rural Outreach ministry grew and led to discussions about the feasibility of creating a regional office of Catholic Charities in the county.  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.  On October 24, 1995 the office of Catholic Charities of Livingston County (CCLC) opened at 10 Clinton Street in the Village of Mt. Morris.  The event was marked by an open house at the office and liturgy at St. Patrick's church with Bishop Matthew Clark presiding. 

In its infancy, CCLC 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. 

1997

In July of this year, HOPE Youth Mentoring started, to match trained adult mentors with at risk children between the ages of 6-14 year old.  In November of 1997, a program of supportive housing called Partnership for Success began.  By December 1997, the agency had outgrown its cramped quarters and moved around the block to 10 Chapel Street. 

1998-2006

Over the next several years, the agency continued to collaborate with local and state agencies to develop six new programs: 


  1. Hispanic Outreach began in 1998, to provide translation and interpretation service for the growing Latino community, especially for the Mt. Morris School District.
  2. With funding from NYS Office of Temporary & Disability Assistance, Wheels for Work started in 2001, to provide assistance with private transportation expenses.
  3. In collaboration with the Livingston County Coalition of Churches, Faith in Action was inaugurated in 2003, serving poor elderly and disabled persons.
  4. In 2006, Connections was created as a first work-site job training program for women trying to transition off public assistance, with support from the Department of Social Services.
  5. Transitioning off TANF has two components: Disability Case Management works with people with disabilities, advocating for them through the complexities of the SSI & SSD application process.  Intensive Case Management works with individuals disqualified from receiving public assistance to engage them in activities that will lead to employment.
  6. Budget Management provides financial guidance for low income individuals, operating a Volunteer Income Tax Assistance site for electronic tax processing & filing.


2007

CCLC increased emphasis on volunteerism, to engage more community members in service delivery.  Later that year, the Corporation for National & Community Service awarded 5 AmeriCorps*VISTA members for a 3 year commitment to help build capacity for programs.

2008-2009

CCLC received a $100,000 donation to purchase a building on 34 East State St. in Mt. Morris.  A capital campaign then began to renovate this future home for the agency.  In June 2009, our employees and AmeriCorps*VISTA members moved into their new facility, named the Sister Nancy O'Brien Center, after our beloved 1st employee. 

In our first year of operation, Catholic Charities of Livingston County served 55 people.  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.