MISSION MINISTRIES

We are a group Sisters involved in a wide range of service ministries. Guiding our areas of service is our mission “to meet unmet needs.” This translates into work, including supporting senior housing, eliminating family violence, and supporting women and families.

Clockwise: Residents enjoy a fruitful fishing trip, a farmer’s market comes to NDH, residents gather for a group photo for their yearbook, the full NDH campus, Sr. Marie Alice Ostry, ND, keeps in touch with Safe Homes clients to offer support in the Keeping On program, Sr. Celeste Wobeter, ND works with caseworkers to get clients into safe housing.

Our Motherhouse in Florence has served many purposes and met many needs since it was purchased over a 100 years ago. It has transformed and grown over the past 25 years and will continue to grow and change to serve the modern needs of seniors.

NOTRE DAME HOUSING (NDH) began celebrating its 25-year milestone in 2022. NDH maintains a commitment to respond to the senior housing crisis, isolation, and food insecurity. Overall success for the community comes when people are able to age in place. As NDH reached its 25 year milestone, the mission remains the same as the programming, support, and offerings to local seniors continues to grow. There is nothing like NDH in Omaha as it is the ONLY senior living facility with:

• a Service Coordinator

• a Life Enrichment Coordinator

• a public senior center, all on the same campus

NDH currently houses 107 apartment units consistently occupied by more than 125 people.

More than 400 programs were offered in the senior center last year from live music, to live animals, to potlucks. Some events included a Superbowl party, Dress Up Your Pet Day, and trips to go fishing, the circus, the Sistine Chapel exhibit, and so much more.

Staff and volunteers distributed 68,000 pounds of food through the food pantry to anyone who needs it, regardless of age or income. That was an increase of 27,000 pounds from the last year and NDH has plans to increase that number next year.

NDH also added a salon in the building so residents could have access to hair care every week without needing to arrange transportation.

WOMEN IN THE OMAHA METRO AREA have a sense of secutiry when they leave a domestic violence shelter, thanks to Safe Homes. This ministry addresses the need for a safe place so that a woman can rebuild her home life and take steps to start her future and leave abuse in her past. The social workers we work with from local agencies all agree that financial stability after escaping domestic violence is the difference-maker between staying independent and going back to an abuser.

Last year, Safe Homes served more than 100 women and 147 chldren with rental or utilities assistance.

“When someone’s leaving an abusive relationship, they are stripped of pretty much everything. They don’t have the skill set, a lot of times, the financial literacy, the credit score, the knowledge about how to get into a place, or even the financial ability to be able to afford a deposit. So it’s really like they’re starting from the beginning,” said Nyawour Paljor, a social worker with Catholic Charities.