IT’S OFFICIAL!
141 Main Street Loyal, Wisconsin HoM Staff: Judy Morrow
Beyond Shelter Program Coordinator House of Mercy
Mary Jacobson
Catholic Charities Assistant Executive Director
Roberto Partarrieu Catholic Charities Executive Director
Karen Becker
Catholic Charities Director of Marketing
HoM Advisory Board Members: Fr. Steve Brice Bob Barth Alan Billings Ken Smith Steve Frankiewicz Pamela Kernan Gary Veltus Jennifer Petke Peter Schultz Judy Morrow
Roberto Partarrieu and Judy Morrow
It has become official! After months of volunteering with education at city meetings, promotion in the community, and fundraising to purchase the building, Catholic Charities has officially hired Judy Morrow as our new Beyond Shelter Program Coordinator for the House of Mercy which will soon open in Loyal, Wisconsin.
“Catholic Charities is very excited to have Judy join our Beyond Shelter Program and become the coordinator at the House of Mercy. Her past experience, her compassionate nature to those she serves, and her committment to this community made her a natural choice to join our team and lead this project of service,” stated Roberto Partarrieu, Catholic Charities Executive Director. While having a physical presence in Clark County is new to Catholic Charities, serving people in this community is not. Catholic Charities serves people of all faiths in all 19 counties in the Diocese of La Crosse including Clark County. Since 2009 we have assisted 334 different clients with at least one of our many services including: immigration services, adoption services, utility assistance, homebuyer education, and rental counseling just to name a few. We are more than excited to be able to expand and have a building in Loyal to offer our Beyond Shelter programming. Beyond Shelter is a program that embraces the Housing 1st model and recognizes that all people have the basic human right to safe, affordable housing. The House of Mercy will allow families to fully experience the joy and comfort of having a home, thus allowing them to focus on other barriers to their success in life. Judy will oversee the preparation of the building and be the case worker assisting residents and guests as they move through this program. Judy brings with her over 20 years experience in working with homeless people through the Center she started in Burlington, Wisconsin and more recently in her capacity as Director of the Interfaith Caregivers of Clark County and Director of the Neillsville Food Pantry.
To learn more, donate or volunteer at House of Mercy visit cclse.org or call 888-212-HELP (4357)
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Advisory Board Meets
Potential Project Timeline September 26: Front Upstairs Apartment Completed October 31: Back Upstairs Apartment Completed Front Downstairs Apartment Completed November 15: HoM Advisory Board Meeting 6:30 pm December 1: HoM Office and Emergency Housing Completed December 6: Potential Open House and Blessing
On August 10th our Advisory Board met for a first time. Catholic Charities is the ultimately responsible party but they work with local coalitions to address homelessness. The board guided the Catholic Charities staff in how to best make use of the building and how to design the program. The Board members who attended were: Bob Barth of Sav-Rite Lumber in Neillsville Alan Billings Attorney at large in Clark County Ken Smith of K&S Logistics & Carriers of Greenwood Steve Frankiewicz of Joe’s Refrigeration in Thorp Pamela Kernan Director of Social Services for Clark County Gary Veltus Director of the Work Force Resource Center Jennifer Petke citizen of Greenwood, WI. Peter Schultz citizen of Loyal, WI. Judy Morrow Director of Interfaith Caregivers and the Neillsville Food Pantry Fr. Steve Brice Pastor of the Catholic Churches in Loyal, Greenwood and Willard Roberto Pararrieu Director of Catholic Charities for the Diocese of La Crosse Mary Jacobson, Assistant Executive Director of Catholic Charities Karen Becker Director of Marketing for Catholic Charities
Our Building Is Paid For! With other bidders also preparing offers we had 30 days to raise $65,000 to purchase the downtown building at 141 Main Street, Loyal, WI. The people of Clark County are most grateful to those who on very short notice came forward with most generous gifts. Our largest donation came from the Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration in La Crosse. Assisting homeless families is their top priority at this time. Other contributors who gave $1,000 or more were K&S Logistics & Carriers, Grassland Butter, Roth Manufacturing, Citizens Bank of Loyal, Gross Motors, Shackey’s Ice Cream, Marshfield Area Community Foundation, Chili Implement, Fr. Steve Brice, Alan Billings (Loyal), Len Lipinski (Thorp), Bill Heiting (Marshfield). Those making contributions of less than $1,000.00 were the Knights of Columbus and Heartland Cooperative. We also have $10,300 pledged toward our first year operating expenses of $50,000.
The Apartments Are Being Prepared! The three apartments have been sponsored by area Churches. The main office is still in need of someone to take it. To sponsor an apartment means taking responsibility for getting it ready for a family to live in including: cleaning, painting, minor repairs and furnishings. Mary Ellen Volovsek is coordinating the efforts of Holy Family Parish in Willard, Millie Larson the team from St. Anthony’s in Loyal, and Nancy Ewoldt the energies of St. Mary’s in Greenwood. If you’d like to join the effort please contact our Program Coordinator, Judy Morrow (715-743-2885).