History

1960’s

• Agency founded in 1964 by Father McCabe
• Original Purpose – To fill the gap between needs of poor and the benefits of public assistance.
• Budget/Development -$30,000 budget supported by Catholic Diocese of Austin
• Staff – A few part-time staff and church volunteers
• Programs – Referred clients to local churches for basic needs assistance.

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1970’s

• Incorporated as private non-profit in 1977
• Location – Rented from St. David’s Episcopal church facility
• Budget/Development – Budget grows to $134,000 by 1979

• Staff/ Board – Part-time First Director – Clint Butler worked with volunteers and part-time clerical staff.
• Programs:      
  • Emergency Assistance -  continued development 
  • Medical – Father McCabe’s physician father began providing medical services which ultimately became the Volunteer Health Clinic, a separate non profit.         
  • Refugee Services – Caritas affiliated with United Sates Council on Catholic Bishops(USCCB) as a resettlement agency.

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1980’s

• Budget/ Development – Grows from $170,000 to $710,000 during decade. Began governmental grants in 1983.
• Staff– Two Executive Directors; Jerry Eichhorn and Ron Gougenheim with growth of staff from 10 to 20.  
• Board – Consists of 7-8 members from churches with Msgr. McCabe as Chair.
• Programs:      
  • Food services – 100 breakfasts and 300 lunches distributed/day
  • Collaboration with Salvation Army and Austin Baptist Chapel for food services.
  • Refugee Services  - English as a Second Language (ESL) and employment components funded by state.
  • Social Services – 2,916-5,000 clients served annually. A formal collaboration with HOBO   begins. Continued community collaborations with increasing numbers of clients served in-house rather than referred out.

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1990’s

• Location – Caritas purchases and renovates property at 611 Neches.
• Budget/ Development – 1993 – 1996 – $1M to $1.6 M raised; 1997 – 1999 – $2.1M to $2.7M. with increases in funding for refugee and social services. First capital campaign is successful – building is completed debt free with maintenance fund.
• Staff – Eileen Oldag hired as Executive Director in 1994 followed by the addition of development finance department structures. Educational requirements for direct service staff are initiated.  
• Board – Msgr. McCabe retires as Board Chair in 1993 and becomes Emeritus. Advisory Board started.
• Programs: Refugee Services moves to 505 E. 7th; however, without a director, staff and programs are not integrated. Some services extremely stressed until mid-90’s. First time “free cases”are added to case load. Basic needs assistance is initiated and expands. Collaboration between City and A/TC Refugee Services initiated but unsuccessful.
• Food Services  - moved to 505 E. 7th in response to RUDAT proposal to group downtown social services with Salvation Army as anchor. Move ended collaboration with Baptist Chapel. Food and Refugee services are in this building until 1999.
• Social Services – Increasingly engaged in collaborative projects. Case management and outcomes measures become community and organizational operatives, Program staff are trained or educated in social work. Managers and program staff participate in community planning.                      

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2000 - present

• Location – 611 Neches
• Budget/ Development – $5.5 million, approx. ½ governmental dollars and ½ philanthropic. Endowment Fund established with match at Austin Community Foundation.
• Earned Income Project – “Do Good Deli” implemented with a $75K commitment from the Board
• Staff – Beth Atherton hired as Executive Director in September 2005. (Julia Spann served as Executive Director 2003-2005.) 54 staff including 4 directors
• Board  - Caritas has a 23 member Board for governance and a Community Advisory Board of 75 Community Leaders providing fundraising support for the agency
  
  

Programs

• Basic Needs – short term services including emergency rent and utility assistance for families in financial crisis such as a job loss or reduced working hours.  It includes hot meals in the Community Kitchen, take-home groceries from the food pantry and resettlement support services for documented political and religious refugees.
• Self Sufficiency – long term case management services helping build the skills needed to move toward self-reliance through education classes such as budgeting, money management, energy conservation, English as a Second Language, job readiness and  placement, and by offering transitional housing and permanent supportive housing to the  homeless.