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Office of Peace and Justice distributes record grant amount
By Ambria Hammel, The Catholic Sun
September 20, 2007
The Office of Peace and Justice recently distributed $185,000 in grants to help six local groups fight the root causes of poverty.
“This is the largest amount of grants that we’ve ever been able to give,” said Tricia Hoyt, director of the Office of Peace and Justice, during a check presentation ceremony Sept. 6.
Grant money came exclusively from a diocesan-wide collection last November known as the Catholic Campaign for Human Development, which is the Church’s anti-poverty program. The campaign is national in scope with the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops in charge of dispersing funds collected from dioceses nationwide.
The Phoenix Diocese retained the majority of the funds it raised.
The USCCB considers local input before giving final approval on grants and amounts. Parishioners interview candidates and make site visits and Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted gives final approval locally.
This year’s recipients are largely focused on worker injustice so that employees are treated fairly and can earn a livable wage.
Interfaith Worker Justice of Arizona received $20,000. The organization plans to open a center in Phoenix that would educate workers about basic rights and empower them to pressure employers to abide by labor laws.
The center would include a faith community board to educate members on worker justice issues and gain their support.
Valley Interfaith Project will use its $30,000 grant to build momentum for a workforce education project.
“We’re organizing a large-scale, long-term strategy to move low-pay workers into jobs that will pay a family wage with career paths and benefits,” said Joe Rubio, the project’s lead organizer.
Valley Catholics will help recruit and identify participants in need of dignified work. Those workers will go through training at local community colleges and receive help finding a secure job.
This will be similar to a successful job-training program in Texas and Tucson.
Two local chapters of the national Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now received $30,000 each to regulate the payday loan industry. Members say the high-interest rates set by these businesses feed the cycle of poverty.
“We feel these companies prey on the poor,” said Mitzi Pearce, chairman of the Mesa chapter. She said their structure often puts clients further in debt rather than helping move them out of it.
The group is trying to prevent the clustering of payday loan stores because it also economically displaces money and business choice.
The Phoenix chapter is focused on encouraging those with low-incomes to use credit unions as an alternative.
The West Valley Sponsoring Committee received $35,000 in grant money. It is ultimately focused on public transportation, highway construction, school building and immigration, but is still at the beginning stages. The funding will support the hiring of a full-time lead organizer to help the group develop 150 new leaders and recruit 25 member institutions.
The Tonatierra-Mocehualli Day Labor Center serves nearly 100 workers daily and is completely worker-run. Laborers hope to put its $40,000 in grant money toward the purchase of the land they lease for the center and build a permanent structure and charter school.
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