The Archdiocese of Chicago not only gives the most money to the Catholic Campaign for Human Development, it benefits more than any other diocese, said Elena Segura, the archdiocese’s CCHD director.

Between the money kept in the diocese for local grants and the money that flows back in national grants, between 70 and 80 percent of what parishioners contribute flows back to projects in the archdiocese.

“I have always believed that the church has to do charity—meeting immediate needs—and justice,” she said. One way to advocate for justice is to promote community organizing, an area in which Chicago and the archdiocese have been leaders, she said.

With a combined $503,500 in local and national CCHD grants in 2002, several groups run organizing, affordable housing and economic development projects similar to those profiled in the New Mexico poverty tour.

They include:

u A $20,000 local grant to the Metropolitan Tenants’ Organization’s Subsidized Tenant Empowerment Program (STEP), which helps low-income tenants to have a decision-making voice concerning the affordability and accessibility of decent, safe housing. As upscale developments continued to push low-income residents out of their homes and often on to the streets, MTO coordinated STEP. With a network of low-income tenants, STEP seeks to impact policies that bear upon the housing affordability, availability and condition. STEP is training leaders for tenants’ rights. The organization is in their third year of a three-year grant cycle.

u A first-year $10,000 local grant to the South Suburban Action Conference (SACC), a faith-based, interdenominational, multi-ethnic organization devoted to developing grassroots leadership and open communities. As the southern suburbs absorb numerous low-income people, SACC addresses issues such as affordable housing, job availability and education improvement. Recent SACC successes include the implementation of area housing boards and the reform of public school funding distribution.

u A $40,000 national economic development grant to Partnership for a South Side Community Development Credit Union, which is creating a minority-owned cooperative credit union to support the business and personal goals of its low-income owners. The credit union will create jobs, offer business and mortgage loans, and provide technical assistance to small businesses.

u A $10,000 national economic development grant to The Enterprising Kitchen (TEK), a not-for-profit business providing job and life skills to low-income women on Chicago’s North Side. Women learn how to make soaps and bath salts for retail sale. Each woman working through TEK is mentored and nurtured towards the goal of self-sufficiency. TEK is working to benefit up to 50 women per year.

—Michelle Martin

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