The Robert H. Spitz Foundation, administered by the Scranton Area Community Foundation, supported Catholic Social Services of the Diocese of Scranton with a $20,000 grant for a project titled “Reviving a Core Model for Self- Sufficiency: A Return To Evidence-Based Relief Assistance.”

The grant is helping Catholic Social Services provide relief assistance in Luzerne and Lackawanna counties in a manner that has measurable impact on recipients’ lives. Clients who receive relief assistance, for example, are tracked in their progress toward achieving individualized goals, such as maintaining stable housing, obtaining or retaining employment or repairing family finances through better credit management.

“It has always been our goal to show that clients who benefit from our services have achieved meaningful milestones in their lives as a result,” said Mary Theresa Malandro, diocesan secretary for Catholic human services and CEO of Catholic Social Services. “This grant is helping us to revive a service delivery model with proven reliability as we strive to continue to measure impact even as client numbers greatly increase during the pandemic.”

Relief assistance, especially via case management, has always been a hallmark of Catholic Social Services’ work.

“We are especially grateful to the Robert H. Spitz Foundation and to the Scranton Area Community Foundation for their continued partnership during these particularly troubling times,” Malandro said.

For more information about Catholic Social Services’ relief assistance program, you are asked to please call (570) 207-3808.