Catholic Charities of Los Angeles, Inc.

Since 1919, Catholic Charities of Los Angeles has maintained a long tradition of serving the poor and hungry and has helped supply the basic necessities of life to the most impoverished residents of Los Angeles. Catholic Charities strives to find permanent solutions to crisis situations by offering clients the tools and resources they need to achieve greater self-reliance and stability. Today, Catholic Charities operates 18 community centers and nine homeless shelters, as well as a variety of programs serving the poor, including: in-home services for homebound seniors; refugee resettlement; youth employment services; counseling; affordable before-and-after-school care: immigration assistance; shelter and support services for domestic violence survivors; pre-school for low-income children; transitional living for youth aged-out of foster care; and temporary worker centers.

Through the power of the Holy Spirit, Catholic Charities of Los Angeles commits to serve the vulnerable and to strive for a just society.

Goal One: To enhance the quality of life for our clients by developing community empowerment programs for our clients in response to emerging needs, and identifying funding to maintain and increase services.

Goal Two: To intensify our efforts to develop our managers by enhancing their skills to lead, manage change, and execute strategic plans to transform goals into actions through leadership development programs.

Goal Three: To develop and improve the Board of Trustees by successfully recruiting members who represent the ethnic and professional diversity of the communities we serve and increase Board participation.

Catholic Charities strives to cultivate a cadre of skilled and committed leaders who can steer the organization toward fulfilling its mission while adhering to its values and compliance requirements. • Needs Assessment Internal Anonymous Survey External Consultation to evaluate the leadership development needs objectively Legal Review to ensure that programs comply with employment laws • Curriculum Design Module Development: Create modules on strategic planning, conflict resolution, team leadership, and community engagement tailored to focus on challenges unique to Catholic Charities and the non-profit sector • Monitoring and Evaluation: Utilize key performance indicators such as retention rates, internal promotions, and employee satisfaction scores to assess CCLA’s program effectiveness • Iterative Refinement: Based on metrics and feedback, CCLA continually refined programs • CCLA held an annual review with senior leadership to discuss program impact

The pandemic created unique challenges for many nonprofits, including homelessness, food insecurity, limited resources, and safety issues. Catholic Charities of Los Angeles responded to the pandemic environment and its challenges/changes by transforming many of our programs and service delivery operations. Our centers, shelters, and food pantries remained open and adhered to all safety measures to ensure our staff, volunteers, and those we serve were safe. Due to the pandemic, it was essential for us to increase our program and service load. The extent and scale of new and existing client needs were magnified due to worsening economic and social conditions. Many of the clients were newly at risk of experiencing food and housing insecurity, alongside those already experiencing food and housing insecurity before the COVID-19 crisis began. We effected new methods for food services, case management, client referrals, and program enrollments to follow safety protocols. “Food Pantry Drive-Through” events were scheduled to implement better social distancing for specific locations (registration process streamlined through ID verification). We also implemented a no-contact senior homebound food service and electronically modified the Intake/Assessment, Housing Suitability Coordination, and Financial Assistance process (phone, email, or fax). To adhere to CDC pandemic guidelines, we temporarily suspended several program services, typically offered onsite. Despite unforeseen challenges and increased needs, Catholic Charities remained open and continued to operate its food distribution and homeless prevention programs. The agency is equipped and prepared to assist the most vulnerable in our communities in any circumstance. Our commitment to serving individuals and families who struggle daily continues, adapting to challenges/changes to ensure we continue to carry our mission of providing help and creating hope for those in need.