$50,000 awarded to Diocese of Belleville to support community center and shelter

Demand for homeless and advocacy services skyrockets in southern Illinois; funds will keep vital charitable organizations afloat during economic recession

Catholic Extension announced today it will award $50,000 to support the Daystar Community Center and the Holy Angels Shelter in the Diocese of Belleville in order to continue to serve southern Illinois' growing needy and homeless populations. In light of the rising cost of goods and services, declining contributions from other sources and state budget cuts, Catholic Extension grants of $25,000 each to the two organizations will contribute to purchasing food and supplies and covering operational expenses.

"The fact that the recession has evaporated resources in these poverty-stricken areas makes it all the more necessary for us to support the faith-driven missions of Daystar and Holy Angels," said Joseph Boland, Senior Director of Grants Management for Catholic Extension. "At Catholic Extension, we are committed to supporting programs such as these that exemplify the power of faith, not just to meet basic needs but give people hope - especially in the worst of times."

Founded by the Poor Handmaids of Jesus Christ in 1979, the Daystar Community Program provides food, shelter and clothing, as well as financial assistance, crisis intervention and advocacy services to people from the six southernmost counties of Illinois, and bordering counties in Kentucky and Missouri. The number of people seeking help is currently the greatest in Daystar's history. Located in Cairo's Alexander County, the poorest in Illinois, Daystar serves thousands of people each year. The Kitchen Table, Daystar's soup kitchen, receives upwards of 200 visitors each day, and its mobile food pantry delivers food to hundreds of Cairo's elderly and homebound annually.

Holy Angels Shelter, a ministry of Catholic Urban Programs and the only 24-hour transitional Christian shelter in East St. Louis, has provided emergency food, clothes and shelter to single women and children, as well as intact families, since 1984. With 58% of East St. Louis children living below the poverty line, a child abuse rate of 27% and a violent crime rate of 62%, the demand for advocacy ministry in East St. Louis continues to climb. Holy Angels' supportive services include domestic violence intervention, substance abuse counseling, healthcare, childcare and financial planning assistance designed to stabilize clients' lives and help them successfully re-enter society.

"Twenty-six of our diocese's 28 counties have an unemployment rate higher than the national average," said Judy Phillips of the Diocese of Belleville's Office of Development. "We are home to the poorest of the poor in Illinois. So many of our programs to aid the needy would disappear were it not for help from Catholic Extension; we are so grateful for their continued support."

Catholic Extension will award more than 1,000 grant requests this year to poor and isolated communities across the U.S. and its territories. Last year the organization invested $14 million in America's 84 "mission dioceses," geographic regions of the country where the Catholic Church is growing and needs are great. Catholic Extension was able to do so through contributions from 47,000 individual donors who share its commitment to strengthen communities and sustain the Catholic faith throughout the country.