CRAIG T. KOJIMA / CKOJIMA@STARBULLETIN.COM Thelma Wong, front, takes part in exercise led by Pei Ying, a Luk Tung Kuen Hawaii instructor, at the Lanakila Multi-Purpose Senior Center, a Catholic Charities program. CLICK FOR LARGE

Social safety net spans greatest need

For 60 years Catholic Charities has helped lift people from poverty

SIXTY YEARS ago, Catholic Charities Hawaii was formed to help children and families affected by World War II.

The organization now stretches deeply into the neediest corners of the state, offering "not a handout, but a hand up," says CEO Jerry Rauckhorst.

It has added the homeless, the disabled, seniors, troubled youths and victims of child and domestic abuse to the people considered most "at risk," he said.

Catholic Charities, originally known as the Catholic Social Services, helps without regard to faith or culture. Rauckhorst said the organization is different from other charitable agencies because of its "more holistic, integrated kind of approach" to meet the multiple needs of a family.

It was during the 1960s that the agency shifted its emphasis from foster care placement to preventive family counseling. In later decades its services expanded to meet more needs.

With more than 30 programs on Oahu, Maui, Kauai and the Big Island, 27,219 people received assistance in 2005, the most recent statistics available. Eighty percent of Catholic Charities' funding comes from federal and state contracts, and it is one of the top recipients of revenue from the Aloha United Way, Rauckhorst said.

"We're a $23 million organization ... but we could use twice as much," he said.

The homeless and destitute take up the most staffing and finances, he added.

Robert Lorin, a housing/intake and referral specialist, has been on the front line for five years, loving a job that makes him cry at times. He has seen the number of homeless coming through his door triple in the past few years.

Of the 10 people he sees on an average day, he is able to help four or five with a down payment on a home or first month's rent. The funds are specifically meant to place people in homes who face sudden eviction, rather than the chronic homeless, he said.

"When I tell them, 'Sorry, I don't have money for you,' they cry, and I cry with them sometimes. It hurts but I love my job. ... When I see (someone I did help) on the road later and they say, 'Thank you for helping us,' that keeps me going," Lorin said.

"I always tell them, 'If you don't find anything, come back.' At least I can make a phone call to see if there's anything at all the state can do."

Rauckhorst said Catholic Charities' rate of success is high because many of its programs are intensive, long term and well structured to ensure their effectiveness.

"We're not a quick-fix agency ... (where) at the end of the week, the problem is fixed. We work with families for a good 12 months ... which is very, very effective," he said.

Every agency has its own niche, even if all help the same population -- the homeless, for example. CCH specializes in providing transitional housing for families with children while helping them find gainful employment, teaching them to stick to a budget and doing whatever it takes to "get beyond dependency," Rauckhorst said.

Whatever the program, there must be "a glimmer of hope, some desire for the individual or family to do something to better their situation" that can be turned into motivation for them to take the necessary steps toward progress.

He added, "We don't make judgments. ... We try to make them feel they still have worth. If they have self-worth, dignity, a sense of responsibility, only then can they make changes in their life."

Darlene Beaty, who is in charge of family programs, said the staff "really cares about our clients," and "we live (CCH's) core values. They're not just something posted on the wall."