Table of Contents a Message from Monsignor Kevin Sullivan
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Table of Contents A Message from A Message from Msgr. Kevin Sullivan 2 Monsignor Kevin Sullivan Protecting and Nurturing Children & Youth As Catholic Charities celebrates our centennial of service this year, A Garden Helps Heal a Family 4 2017, we want to thank our partner, The New York Times Neediest Page 4 Chipping Away at a List of Goals, & Bonding Over Cupcakes 5 Cases Campaign, for helping us spotlight and support New Yorkers who need our help most. A Dream That Survived Life in a War Zone & Life on the Streets 6 For the past 100 years Catholic Charities has been providing help Feeding the Hungry and Sheltering the Homeless and creating hope with compassion and dignity for non-Catholics and Catholics alike in New York City and its neighborhoods, the Hudson A Car Accident Throws a Productive Life Into Turmoil 8 Valley and its communities. Stepping Out on Faith, a Blind Man Counts His Blessings 9 The diversity of our population is complimented by the varied Giving Up ‘Mostly Everything’ to Care for His Wife 10 sectors that form the bedrock of this great metropolis. Through a vibrant network of services and programs we’ve helped our neighbors in need rise up Page 10 Strengthening Families and Resolving Crises to better lives. Dangers Behind and Uncertainties Ahead, but Together at Last 12 I invite you now to meet some of these neighbors here in the special centennial Raising 5 Sons Alone, 3 with Autism, Takes a Toll on a Mother’s Body 13 edition of our New York Times Neediest Cases Campaign magazine. The single mom Seeking a Fresh Start Without Limitations 14 raising three sons with autism, the teen worried about her mother with cancer, the refugee couple finally reunited; these are but a small sampling of those we serve Catholic Charities Celebrates Its Centennial of Service 15 whose hopeful endings are written by Catholic Charities. Supporting the Physically and Emotionally Challenged Together with The New York Times Neediest Cases campaign we launch into the next century committed to being an even more valued partner in building the fabric Page 13 Raising 2 Young Children by Herself, in a Space That Feels Not Big Enough 18 of a caring New York. Calling on Angels While Enduring the Trials of Job 19 Sincerely, The Glorious Achievement of Zipping Up a Sweatshirt 20 Welcoming and Integrating Immigrants and Refugees Monsignor Kevin Sullivan A Reunion 21 Years in the Making 22 Executive Director Happy to Do Homework After a Long Journey from Guatemala 23 Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of New York Page 18 Mother and Son Reunite Only to Face Her Cancer Diagnosis 24 Happy Endings Family Has Come a Long Way Since Receiving $289 Seven Years Ago 26 Our Vision From College Hopes to Immigrant Travails, Neediest Cases Catholic Charities helps solve the problems of New Yorkers in need — non-Catholics and Catholics alike. Had Global Reach 27 The neglected child, the homeless family and the hungry senior are among those for whom we provide help and create hope. We rebuild lives and touch almost every human need promptly, locally, day in and Brothers Holding Up Each Other, in the Wake of a Crushing Loss 29 day out, always with compassion and dignity. We help your neighbors as you would like to be helped if your family were in need. Page 24 Featured Agencies 30 www.CatholicCharitiesNY.org 2 New York Times METRO Friday, December 23, 2016 By EMILY PALMER A Garden Helps Heal a Family list every plant: “Serrano peppers, squash, mint, collard greens,” she said, laughing. She walked past the bridge and gazebo in the garden and toward a haunted house that was built days before Halloween. Inside, green cobwebs stretched across the ceiling, ghouls and goblins with glowing eyes swung from posts along the wall and a holographic portrait of a child changing into a skeleton lay on the table. Her father adjusted cobwebs in the entranceway. He built the entire house in a few days, Jada boasted, adding: “I did the webbing.” The two, who often work together, transformed the garden for the year-end holidays, giving it a winter wonderland theme. “It’s not just about teaching people about fresh fruits and vegetables, but about working together to get things done,” Mr. Young said. “It might On the morning of her scheduled brain surgery, Sheila Young woke up sound crazy, but this place minimizes negative, outside forces and builds and glanced over at her husband, always the early riser, and was our community.” surprised he was still in bed. She nudged him. The family has seen the healing power of the garden. Weak after his But his body was rigid, blood trickling from his mouth. Ms. Young’s heart surgery, Mr. Young, now 55, rebuilt his strength tilling vegetables speech, frantic and impaired by her brain tumor, was so jumbled that and finding a way to use his carpentry skills outside of a full-time her son had to call 911. When they arrived, emergency responders tried job. When his health permits, he still volunteers daily in the garden. to put her, rather than her husband, in the ambulance. Jada took pride in every plant, memorizing all the varieties and building On that day in December 2006, Ms. Young and her husband, her confidence and self-worth, which has manifested itself in better Michael, were treated at the same hospital in the Bronx. Mr. Young, grades this school year. who had bitten his tongue during a seizure in the night, learned he For Ms. Young, 55, healing came with visits to the garden in the had epilepsy and severe heart problems. Ms. Young postponed her months after surgery. Surrounded by children visiting the garden, she operation, but doctors monitored her situation because of a minor injury slowly overcame the fear of looking different. She realized the children she suffered helping her husband from the bed. Waiting at home with did not care how she looked. She now leads the nearby Mott Haven her older brother, their daughter, Jada, then 6, worried whether she Farmers Market, where she works as a volunteer every Tuesday. would grow up without her parents. With renewed confidence, Ms. Young got reconstructive surgery About a year later, Ms. Young underwent a risky, 12-hour operation and Botox to improve mobility and realign her face. With consecutive to remove a benign tumor that wrapped around nerves on her face operations, covered by insurance, her mouth is slowly untwisting, and and pressed against veins on her neck. The surgery, while successful, she can now shut her eyes naturally. In 2014, she walked into a movie paralyzed the left side of her face. theater in Union Square in Manhattan and talked her way into a “I looked like a monster,” she said, adding that her left cheek sagged part-time cleaning job, her first job since her tumor diagnosis in 2006. four inches. “Looking in the mirror, I wouldn’t see myself.” There she earns $300 a month. Mr. Young, who had quit his carpentry job to help care for his wife, Still, the couple’s health problems have severely reduced the family’s was unable to return to work. He underwent open-heart surgery a year income. Because of frequent seizures, Mr. Young has not been able to after his wife’s surgery. hold a steady job since his diagnosis. Living paycheck to paycheck, they Family photographs frozen in time line the walls of the apartment. receive $1,439 in Social Security disability payments each month, as well The couple, back to back, in evening dress, smile from the living room as $168 in food stamps. They pay $418 in monthly rent; the rest is covered corner. Nearby, a teenage Ms. Young in a tweed suit stands with an by a government-assisted subsidy. arm around Michael Jackson in a New Jersey hotel lobby. In another, As the Youngs rebuilt themselves within the garden walls, they a 4-year-old Jada in a white gown, the proud winner of a Harlem beauty encouraged Jada to venture out to find other outlets to relieve stress. pageant, stands with her mother. They smile and wave. She joined Black Girls Rock, a youth empowerment and mentoring After Ms. Young’s surgery, she would not have another photograph organization, and sings with Gospel for Teens, an ensemble and arts taken for six years. education program in Harlem. The happiness captured in the family photos on the walls of their She also joined Catholic Big Sisters and Big Brothers, an affiliate of South Bronx apartment had faded. The stress of her parents’ illnesses Catholic Charities Archdiocese of New York, one of eight organizations turned Jada inward. She fell behind in school and failed classes. supported by The New York Times Neediest Cases Fund. The organization In the family’s anguish, they found sanctuary in a nearby garden lost provided Jada with $275 from the Neediest Cases Fund to replace lost to piles of garbage and frequent drug deals. Where others saw blight, reading glasses. they saw potential. Now, once again, Ms. Young poses for family photos, managing a On trips to the lot, the family joined neighbors, picking up trash partial smile. Taped across the top of her bathroom mirror are the words, Protecting and Nurturing and eventually clearing the land on East 139th Street to revive the “My Black Is Beautiful.” community garden. Ms. Young’s doctors recently offered to perform cosmetic surgery, Mr. Young filled garden beds with bulbs, dug a pond, constructed promising to erase the marks of the last decade.