Jacksonville, Fla. – The Jessie Ball DuPont Fund has awarded the Jacksonville Regional Office of Catholic Charities, of the Diocese of St. Augustine, an $82,556 grant to develop a pilot Workforce Development program for low income, unemployed and underemployed clients.
Catholic Charities plans to identify clients who could benefit from this program through their Emergency Assistance program that served 6,500 people last year.
“People come to us because they are in an emergency situation that can cause them to lose their home, have their electricity turned off or unable to afford groceries,” said Jennifer Garizio, executive director of Catholic Charities’ Jacksonville Office.
“We can assist them on a short-term basis with food for a few days or rent assistance so they don’t become homeless. The Workforce Development program however will enable our agency to assist clients long-term by helping them become employed or find a more secure job,” she continued.
“We believe this is the absolute right time to start this program and we are excited about being able to offer this program to those who come to us for help,” said Garizio.
Job placement will be achieved through existing and new partnerships with local businesses and our network of diocesan healthcare facilities, schools and churches. The program will offer one-on-one support to help clients who because of limited work experience, education, job readiness, vocational skills or employment contacts have not been able to achieve stability for themselves and their families. Upon success of the pilot program, future plans will include vocational training in careers that meet local employment needs.
Catholic Charities’ mission is to provide services to anyone in need regardless of race or religion. And while Catholic Charities is a faith-based organization, 75 percent of the clients who share their religious affiliation are not Catholic.
The agency grew from St. Mary’s Home, Florida’s first child-care institution and has been providing services to the Jacksonville community for 67 years. Today, our programs include: emergency financial and food assistance, housing opportunities for persons with HIV/AIDS, refugee resettlement, an immigration program, adoption services, apostleship of the sea and persons with disabilities programs.
Catholic Charities is accredited by the Council on Accreditation. The council attests that an agency meets the highest national standards of best practice, delivers needed services in its community, conducts and manages its funds effectively. For more information on the pilot workforce development program, call Jennifer Garizio at (904) 354-4846, ext. 246.