St. Louis Charity - St. Patrick Center

February Good News Bulletin

kpeach — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 18:00:27 +0000

We have good news to share for the month of February!

view the February 2012 Good News bulletin

Vote for City Seeds Urban Farm!

kpeach — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 21:32:29 +0000

Vote today for City Seeds Urban Farm to win up to $15,000 in grant money in Monsanto’s St. Louis Grown Contest! City Seeds Urban Farm is an urban agriculture initiative providing job training and therapeutic horticulture to individuals who are homeless and underserved. A collaboration of several local organizations, City Seeds Urban Farm produces and distributes affordable, healthy, locally grown produce.

SPC reports year-end successes

kpeach — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 19:21:24 +0000

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

January 17, 2012

St. Patrick Center is reporting that it surpassed its 2011 holiday fundraising goal. Despite the continuing economic challenges, St. Patrick Center reports that donors gave $1.6 million to its November and December fundraising campaign.

“We would like to extend our thanks to so many in the St. Louis community who demonstrated their support of our agency, mission and clients who are working hard to change their lives,” says St. Patrick Center CEO Tom Etling. “We made significant progress in the first half of our fiscal year 2012, and we ask for the community’s continued support during the next critical six months as we host our largest events — the World’s Greatest Sports Trivia Championship presented by Budweiser on February 17; the Pot O’ Gold kettle drive March 16 and 17; and the Irish Open dinner auction and golf tournament June 2 and 4 – to raise the needed resources to operate our housing, employment and health programs.”

St. Patrick Center is also reporting these year-end successes in the agency’s effort to assist people who are struggling with homelessness and poverty:

Give Thanks Thanksgiving distribution program: 315 clients picked up donated Thanksgiving baskets in November to bring home and prepare for the holiday. Ten donors, including Nooter Corp, Schnucks, St. Louis University Alpha Eta service group, St. Clement parish, and individuals, donated turkeys and traditional Thanksgiving dishes to help individuals and families who were formerly homeless celebrate Thanksgiving Day in their new homes.

Christmas Wishes family sponsorship program: 474 clients picked up Christmas gifts in December, donated by individuals, groups and businesses. 220 generous donors adopted clients and their families to help make their Christmas Wishes come true.

Trevisano Teddy Bear Christmas Land: In an incredible testimony to what one family can do to make a difference, the Trevisano family of Crestwood collected nearly $4,500 in their Teddy Bear Christmas Land donation box! 2011 was the 7th year of the spectacular light display to benefit St. Patrick Center. Instead of collecting donations for their electric bill, the Trevisanos once again gave the proceeds to help build permanent, positive change for the agency’s clients.

MISSION:
St. Patrick Center provides opportunities for self-sufficiency and dignity to persons who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless. Individuals achieve permanent, positive changes in their lives through affordable housing, sound mental health, employment and financial stability.

FOR MORE INFO:
Kelly Peach
Senior Director of Communications
St. Patrick Center
Direct Line 314.802.0687
Cell 314.581.7126
kpeach@stpatrickcenter.org

www.stpatrickcenter.org

January Good News bulletin

kpeach — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 18:28:04 +0000

We have good news to share for the month of January 2012!

view the January 2012 Good News bulletin

SPC’s Veterans GO! Green featured in Post

sperry — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 17:54:13 +0000

St. Patrick Center’s Veterans GO! Green employment & training program was featured in a story on the cover of the Community section in the December 28 issue of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

read the article on stltoday.com

Veterans GO! Green provides job training to assist in reintegrating veterans into meaningful employment within the green industry. In FY11, St. Patrick Center placed 45 veterans into green jobs and 18 into housing. We added 25 employers to our list of program supporters, many of whom provided veterans with green industry training and generated 23 green industry paid internships.

Kerwin’s Success Story

sperry — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 19:19:22 +0000

St. Patrick Center kept me up when I was down. The help is there, but you have to be willing to do the work!

For Kerwin, the battle with drugs and alcohol began early. His substance abuse led to dealing, which led to 10 years in prison, from the age of 17. After that, he says he had trouble staying clean for 30 days. He was angry, grieving over the deaths of family members and eventually living on the streets.

Kerwin underwent a painful “cold turkey” detox, but he had a good nurse and good counselor, who cared for him and directed him to St. Patrick Center. He joined the BEST program and worked with the employment team to find a permanent job. SPC helped him with rent, furniture and clothes for his move to Oxford House.

“St. Patrick Center helped me put structure back into my life,” Kerwin says. “I suffered some more setbacks on my journey but I knew I was NOT going to use again!” Kerwin says he would read the bible and meditate on a bench near Union Station, and seeing people nearby who were homeless and addicted kept him clean.

Kerwin got an amazing opportunity to volunteer in Joplin helping with tornado cleanup and repairs. It may have been God’s grace, he says, because SPC placed him at McMurphy’s Grill after that and a permanent restaurant job followed! Today, Kerwin is a broiler cook, living in his own apartment, managing his own finances and back in touch with his many beloved family members.

Rosalyn’s Success Story

sperry — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 18:58:21 +0000

“I know I can always turn to St. Patrick Center if I need help.”

Rosalyn became homeless in Atlanta before moving back to St. Louis, her birthplace and home of her two children, to get a fresh start. She moved in with her daughter, but when the arrangement didn’t work out, she found herself homeless again. With a number of health issues, Rosalyn was desperate to find housing and a way to become self-sufficient to pay her growing medical bills.

Rosalyn received help from a few local shelters, one of which referred her to St. Patrick Center and its Shamrock Club Day Treatment Program. Through Shamrock, she heard about City Seeds Urban Farm, a job training and therapeutic horticulture program. Rosalyn – and her fruits and vegetables – thrived in the program! “I had never done any gardening and it relaxed me,” she says. “It gave me something to look forward to.”

Soon after entering the Shamrock Club, St. Patrick Center was able to get Rosalyn into her own place! “It feels so good to be home,” she sighs. Rosalyn’s next goal is to learn some new skills, possibly through an online college, and find employment. She also meets with counselors at Independence Center, an organization that has already helped find her some temporary employment opportunities.

Rosalyn continues to be grateful for the assistance she receives from St. Patrick Center and her case manager. “My case manager is the best person I ever met,” says Rosalyn. “When I meet with her, I know she will listen to me and do everything she can to help me… that is a blessing.”

SPC in the news: December 12-16, 2011

sperry — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 15:09:04 +0000

St. Patrick Center was featured in the following media stories the week of December 12, 2011:

On December 13, Collective Catering (a business in SPC’s BEGIN New Venture Center small business incubator) was featured on Channel 2 with Tim Ezell and Cedric the Entertainer!

view the segment on ktvi.com

On December 14, Channel 5 visited Northview High School in St. Louis’ Special School District where students make casseroles for clients living in St. Patrick Center’s Rosati Group Home.

view the segment with Heidi Glaus on ksdk.com

On December 15, Channels 2, 4, 5 and 11 covered St. Patrick Center’s Christmas Wishes family sponsorship program. During this event, more than 200 donors adopted more than 600 clients and their families and bought Christmas gifts on their wish lists.

view Christmas Wishes interview on ksdk.com

McMurphy’s Grill wins national award

sperry — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 21:22:12 +0000

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 29, 2011

The staff of McMurphy’s Grill, 614 North 11th Street, recently received word they had been selected to receive the prestigious Restaurant Neighbor Award for 2011.

read press release on stltoday.com

For each of the past 20 years, the National Restaurant Association has recognized just a handful of restaurants with this award, founded by American Express and given to those establishments that go above and beyond on behalf of the cities and communities they serve. General Manager Nunzio Lama accepted for McMurphy’s Grill.

In 1990, St. Patrick Center, an agency of Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of St. Louis, expanded its employment program when it opened McMurphy’s Grill in downtown St. Louis — the first-anywhere full service restaurant for training people struggling with homelessness and/or mental illness. The purpose of this project was to enable 30 to 40 trainees each year to develop good work habits, learn the food business and go on to successful careers in the restaurant industry.

The staff at McMurphy’s serves thousands annually, showing that given the chance, those who have had setbacks will work hard to improve themselves and their position in life. The restaurant’s patrons, in addition to getting a good meal with good service, can see first hand what’s being done in at least one place in one city to counteract the problems caused by unemployment and lack of job skills.

Nunzio, after graduating from hotel/restaurant management school in his native Italy, developed his skills in high quality restaurants in London, Toronto and New Orleans. “The work here is very gratifying,” he says. “There are challenges, but what the trainees are able to achieve inspires me. We receive many compliments from customers, who are amazed at how well this operation runs.”

In the past three years, McMurphy’s has graduated 208 trainees. Of those, almost 80% moved on to employment within the community.

“The generosity of restaurateurs is well known within the communities they serve. To be selected from such a special group to receive the Restaurant Neighbor Award is truly an outstanding achievement, and a wonderful example of the American people at their best,” noted Missouri Restaurant Association CEO, Bob Bonney.

St. Patrick Center is the largest provider of homeless services in Missouri, assisting more than 9,000 individuals and families annually who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless.

The Missouri Restaurant Association administers to the needs of more than 1,600 members statewide. Its objectives are to enhance and improve member growth and development by assisting them in becoming more effective operators, and improving the political and social environment in which the industry conducts its business — for the benefit of patrons, employees, and communities served.

December Good News bulletin

sperry — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 20:20:26 +0000

• A Shamrock Club client getting treatment for alcoholism told his case managers that “good things happen to those who want to change.”

• At a recent SSVF (new veterans program) presentation in San Diego, Nancy Box and Dwain Sliger were thanked by a New Orleans woman who had been assisted previously by SPC when she came to St. Louis for housing and other assistance following Hurricane Katrina.

• SPC’s recent eye care program assisted 89 clients. Thanks to partners Ferguson Lions Club and UMSL Eye Van!

• David has more than 100 days clean and sober, after using since 5th grade! He was also approved for Shelter Plus Care and moved into housing after years of living in shelters!

• A former Development department intern started a community outreach program at her new job, and the employees decided to adopt 30 SPC clients in our Christmas Wishes program!

• On a very busy fall weekend, 12 Veterans GO! Green clients were hired to work recycling/waste management for the Rams game; nine VGG clients were hired to work recycling/waste management for Taste of St. Louis; and seven VGG clients were hired to do other downtown event cleanup/waste management. Thanks to employer partners Regency Enterprises and St. Louis Earth Day!

• The program support services team reached another record number served recently in the clothing room! 236 people cleared the racks of 200 coats and jackets.

For more success stories and videos, visit www.stpatrickcenter.org.