Have you wondered how Catholic Charities and your support have impacted those in the community? Here are some stories from actual clients who came to us for assistance. (Where applicable, the names have been changed).
Client Success Story – A Journey of Recovery, Growth, and Purpose
I first met this client in August 2023, when he arrived at Weider House Community Residence. At the time, I was working as a house peer specialist, and from the beginning, it was clear that he was determined to rebuild his life and pursue recovery.
He quickly became a positive and respected presence in the house, well-liked by both his peers and staff. He naturally stepped into a supportive role, encouraging others and offering a listening ear. On a week-long camping trip to the Adirondacks, his kindness, thoughtfulness, and commitment to recovery stood out. He showed up not just for himself, but for others.
Throughout the remainder of that year, we continued to work closely together. Whether we were attending events, hiking, or meeting one-on-one, he remained fully engaged. Together, we developed relapse prevention plans, set goals, and explored wellness strategies. He asked questions, reflected deeply, and consistently looked for ways to help others on similar paths.
He fully embraced the services offered through Catholic Charities—attending every group, every outing, and every session. He also volunteered regularly, always ready to lend a hand.
During his time at Weider House, he became curious about my work as a peer specialist. I shared how I had transitioned into peer support after studying counseling, and that conversation sparked something in him. Soon after, he enrolled in the Recovery Coaching Academy and began his journey toward becoming a Certified Recovery Peer Advocate (CRPA).
In March 2024, he transitioned to the Supportive Living Program (SLP), where his growth only accelerated. He became active in the Adventures in Recovery (AIR) program, attended regular NA meetings, co-led some meetings for new residents at Weider House, and continued advancing through peer training.
Despite a full schedule, he remained on my CORE (Community-Oriented Recovery and Empowerment) caseload, and we continued to meet almost weekly. Our sessions focused on building his personal and professional goals, always grounded in his strong desire to help others.
In the following months, he completed Recovery Coach training, obtained his CRPA-Provisional credential, and began an internship to earn the experience required for full certification. Even as his responsibilities grew, he remained committed to service—helping to organize outings, encouraging resident participation, and helping to recruit his peers for a camping trip to Gettysburg, which many residents now describe as a highlight of their recovery.
In May 2025, he successfully graduated from the SLP program. Today, he is employed full-time as a Certified Recovery Peer Advocate, having passed the state exam, and is actively working toward his NYCPS (New York Certified Peer Specialist) credential to better support those with co-occurring mental health needs.
He now lives independently with his girlfriend and continues to be a supportive and uplifting presence in the recovery community. He remains on my CORE caseload, and we continue to meet monthly to support his next chapter.
This client’s story is a powerful example of what can happen when someone fully engages with the resources offered by Catholic Charities. He didn’t just participate—he embraced each program and used it as a platform for personal transformation and leadership. He utilized three essential services—Weider House, Supportive Living, and CORE—to not only find recovery but to build a life of purpose.
Below, this special client reflects on the different services he encountered and is currently active with here at Catholic Charities. In His Words:
On Weider House:
“My time at the Weider House Residential Program had a major impact on my recovery, largely due to the supportive staff and valuable resources available. The program gave me the tools I needed to move forward, helping me obtain essentials like a photo ID, a Social Security card, a birth certificate, health insurance, and housing and outpatient treatment referrals.
Staff guided me through paperwork, connected me with mental health and substance use support, parenting classes, and other services. Their hands-on support made a big difference, not just in my recovery, but in preparing me for the next steps in life. I truly believe Weider House gave me a solid foundation to become the person I am today.”
On Becoming a Leader:
“I never set out to be a leader or aimed to take on that role. But having been through recovery before and previously living at the Weider House, others naturally began turning to me for guidance about life in the program, navigating challenges, and preparing for the next step.
At first, it surprised me. But over time, I realized I’d be doing a disservice by not helping when asked. We all shared similar goals: learning to live a sober life. I became a leader simply by being present and willing to support others. Today, I’m proud to say I show up for people, not just for myself. Watching others grow and succeed in recovery has become one of the most meaningful parts of my own journey.”
On Supportive Living:
“Transitioning to the Supportive Living Program was a key step in my recovery. Unlike the more structured environment of the Weider House, Supportive Living gave me greater independence and helped prepare me for living on my own.
It gave me the space to continue growing, allowing me to complete CRPA training, find full-time work, manage my finances, and attend self-help meetings independently. This program helped me build confidence and develop the skills I’ll need for successful independent living.”
On CORE:
“The CORE Program helped me grow in recovery by guiding me through small, achievable goals. Each success built my confidence and helped me grow both personally and in my recovery. What made the biggest impact was having someone consistently support, encourage, and challenge me—helping me become the motivated and self-driven person I am today.”
On Becoming a CRPA:
“What inspired me to become a Certified Recovery Peer Advocate was the power of shared experience. Early in recovery, I felt alone, like no one could relate to what I’d been through. That changed when I met my Peer Advocate, who understood my struggles and showed me that recovery was possible.
That support motivated me to become a Peer myself, so I could share my story, offer hope, and support others as they grow in their recovery.”
On Catholic Charities:
“When I think about Catholic Charities and their role in my recovery, one word comes to mind: gratitude. They gave me a solid foundation to build my recovery on. Catholic Charities of Steuben/Livingston supported me not once, but twice, showing me that this organization truly cares about people like me who have struggled.
Catholic Charities gave me a place to start over, a place to grow, and eventually the opportunity to give back. Today, I’m proud to be a full-time employee in the recovery field, helping others just as I was helped. The support and resources I received continue to inspire me to pay it forward.”
Final Words of Thanks:
“I want to sincerely thank the staff at the Weider House, Tim at the Supportive Living Program, and my peer with the CORE program for being there when I had nowhere else to turn. Their care, guidance, and encouragement helped shape me into the person I am today—a better son, father, friend, and human being.
To the entire Catholic Charities organization: thank you for offering life-changing programs that give people like me a second chance. You gave me hope when I had none and helped prepare me to face life’s challenges with strength and gratitude. I will be forever grateful for all you do.”
Supportive Home and Parent Enrichment (SHAPE) Success Story —At the start, things were difficult. A young boy was struggling—his behavior was unpredictable, and he had stopped attending school altogether. His grades reflected his struggles; he was failing every class and was on the verge of repeating the grade.
With patience and understanding, the SHAPE Yates staff worked closely with the child, digging deeper to uncover the underlying issues affecting his emotions and actions. It wasn’t just about school. It was about helping him navigate the challenges that were shaping his behavior.
Through consistent support, the SHAPE worker introduced him to coping strategies and helped him develop a routine to stay on top of his homework. Slowly but surely, things began to change. His behavior improved, his grades turned around, and by the end of the school year, he had passed his grade.
But his journey didn’t stop there. After completing the SHAPE program, he went on to graduate high school. Then, with a newfound confidence in his abilities, he enrolled in college. Today, he’s thriving, earning top marks and even making Dean’s List.
What started as a difficult road filled with uncertainty turned into a story of resilience and success, all thanks to the right support at the right time.
A personal quote from a client who received Emergency Services: “I wanted to thank you again for your assistance in 2024. My health has greatly improved and my diabetes has been under control. The rental assistance helped me with a hard time as I had many copays and costs for my care. I have been able to put more towards my health savings account in 2025 and found an online mail provider in which there is no copay for my diabetes testing supplies which are delivered every 90 days through my insurance. I also work two jobs as the only wage earner and could return to a second job in August to help with food, car maintenance, and utilities beyond rent.
With the cost of living the resources, I received helped me prepare for the future. You made the process simple and I appreciate being helped as a former employee and volunteer.
I plan to make the event in March at the Radisson and best to all in 2025.”
Matthew was referred to the Care Management program at Catholic Charities Steuben/Livingston in June 2024 by the social worker at his school. Matthew had been having violent outbursts at school, and he was already in a special school placement. The school social worker referred to care management to see what in-home services could be found for Matthew.
The care manager went out and met with the family in July 2024. Matthew was very involved in his meeting, was inquisitive, and wanted to understand what all the services were that the care manager was talking about with his mom.
At the end of the initial meeting, a referral for a skillbuilder had been put in, and Matthew was a little nervous, but willing to give skillbuilding a try.
The skillbuilder began seeing Matthew in August 2024, and now goes out weekly. Matthew loves these visits, gets so excited to see his skillbuilder drive in, and they have been riding bikes all over town, while talking about school and friends and how Matthew is doing.
The care manager had also noted that Matthew was behind on multiple appointments to keep him healthy. Matthew’s mom is a good mom, but struggles because they live rurally, she doesn’t have a vehicle, and they do not have internet service at their home. The care manager set Matthew up with mental health counseling, an eye appointment, and a dental appt. Matthew was very nervous about the dental appointment, but after some discussion with his care manager, he understands the importance of getting his teeth cleaned and checked.
Matthew’s mom is now also connected to a Family Peer Advocate who goes out to work with her on a weekly basis. The advocate is giving mom helpful tips on parenting a child with higher emotional needs and helping her to carve out some time for self-care every day.
The best part is that since the start of the school year, Matthew has not had a single disruption in his day, and is showing that he is able to stay regulated. He is putting coping skills into place that he has learned in therapy and skillbuilding and hasn’t lost control as he did on multiple occasions last school year.
Matthew’s team is so proud of how far he has come, and the school is thrilled with his progress!
Community Oriented Recovery and Empowerment (CORE) services is happy to share a successful outcome achieved by a male client in his early 50’s from Steuben County, NY. He came to CORE in December, while residing in the Catholic Charities Steuben/Livingston (CCS/L) recovery residence, The Wieder House. While working with a CORE staff member to set his own transitional recovery and empowerment goals, he determined that the most important focus for him was to improve his self-care and learn ways to live a substance free life. One goal he achieved was to be a positive influence in his community. He was proud of serving as a volunteer within the Emergency Services Turning Point program in Bath.
A major accomplishment he achieved was to apply and become approved for housing assistance and support through Arbor Housing and Development. After a referral from CORE services to Turning Point, he received rental assistance for his 1st month’s rent to move into his own apartment. Since being on his own, he reconnected with his family and is working to build a closer relationship with his child. His current goals are to get his driver’s license, become a certified PEER and speak with youth within the school system to tell his story. A referral to our CCS/L Prevention program was made to work on achieving this goal.
He recognizes that his road to recovery is not over and shared, “I have tried for years on my own, Look-I’m 53 years old, I thought my life would have been better by now, but addiction, takes over your life, destroys your family, destroys you. The HOUSE helped me, even when I didn’t want them to, they gave me a safe place. Lael believed in me much more than I believed in myself. She respected me, it has been a long time since I was respected…”
CORE is proud of the work this individual has done and all these successes were made easier by collaboration with multiple Catholic Charities programs, community partners, and his determination to create a better life for himself.
Emergency Services, Help*Works
A woman called Catholic Charities Steuben/Livingston at the Mt. Morris location needing assistance. She explained how she was behind in her rent due to paying vet bills for her sick dog. While living on a fixed income she had no money left to pay rent for the month. She also mentioned she was having issues with her washer and dryer. She stated the washer has completely stopped and the dryer works only when it wants to. There is a washer and dryer at her complex, but it is hard to access with her wheelchair while juggling the laundry as well. She is elderly & disabled, paralyzed from the waist down, has two rare diseases, chronic pain, diabetes, non-alcoholic liver disease, spinal issues and incontinence.
Jessica Pierce, the Emergency Services caseworker at the Mt. Morris location contacted a handyman to check to see if the washer and dryer could be repaired. The handyman reported back that the washer and dryer were non-fixable. The caseworker then contacted Lowe’s in Henrietta, NY and purchased the woman a new washer and dryer for her home. This was possible through funding from the ESL Charitable Foundation/ United Way of Greater Rochester and Project Uplift Extension Funds. She was so grateful and thanked the caseworker many times as now she could do her laundry in the comfort of her home.
Emergency Services, Help*Works
Help*Works recently had the opportunity to work with a single Mom in her late 20’s with her overdue rent. She was able to pay her current rent after she started her job at a local convenience store; however, she was not able to catch up on her back rent. She lost her previous job due to transportation issues and lack of daycare, but both issues have since been rectified. She is currently getting SNAP benefits for herself and 2nd grade son, so the Help Works caseworker made sure she was aware of the local food pantry and the mobile food truck schedule. What started out as assistance with late rent transformed into additional resources in her community and financial counseling with increased household budget awareness.
Emergency Services
With CSBG (Community Service Block Grant) funding, Catholic Charities Steuben/Livingston was able to assist a woman with back rent that she owed her landlord. The woman needed financial assistance due to being in and out of the hospital and visits to the UR Medicine- Wilmot Cancer Center. The woman had cancer in her breast and in the compression fracture in her spine. While trying to work two jobs to pay the bills, she only had one paystub for the month. The woman also received referrals to other services that may be able to help her financially. She was truly appreciative of all the assistance we had provided her. Without this funding this would not have been possible.
Emergency Services
Emergency Services staff was recently able to help a family of 3 stay in their apartment when they fell behind on their rent. Both parents were able to continue working throughout the pandemic as essential workers; however, when they needed to pay for a car repair, they did not have any extra funds available for their rent. Instead of allowing themselves to fall months behind, they discussed the issue with their long-term landlord and he suggested they reach out to Catholic Charities for help. We are proud that we could help this family and their landlord stay out of debt.
Emergency Services, Turning Point
Andrea is a single mother of three children, all under the age of ten. Andrea and her children are victims of domestic violence. She and her three young children had to flee from her offender. They have been staying with an elderly family member for quite some time, trying to find a place to call home. Andrea works in healthcare and has very long days, making it difficult to search for apartments and be able to set appointments to look at them. Andrea reached out to Turning Point for help. She was told about our rental assistance program and was excited to hear about the help she could receive. Andrea was able to find an affordable place and pay for her own security deposit. Turning Point assisted with her first month’s rent. Andrea and her children now have their own space and can start their “new” life together.
Employment Services
Steve entered the employment program as a recently single father of 3, with a number of employment barriers. These included child care and transportation issues. Steve was determined to find a job, so we attempted job searching to start. After no success we decided work experience would be a good option, helping Steve get used to a regular schedule and gain contacts for a potential job. Steve started work experience at a senior nutrition site 3 days a week, and was provided transportation to and from the work site. After about a month, the supervisor asked to add a day a week to his schedule because he was doing so well. Within the next 5 months, Steve obtained his license and a car through a family member. All this time, continuing to apply for jobs. Eventually, his hard work paid off and Steve obtained a full-time position with another senior nutrition site, in part thanks to a glowing recommendation from his site supervisor. Steve has been at that same job a year now, and has worked his way off public assistance.
HOPE Youth Mentoring, OUR MENTORING STORY, from the White Family:
TJ wanted to get into a mentoring program for a few years. His motivation was “I wanted to make a positive change for a child.”
We saw an article in the Livingston County News last January about Hope Mentoring and TJ knew immediately that he wanted to reach out. One of the statistics in the article that really touched all of us was the number of children on the waiting list. It was sad that children that just needed a little extra attention were on waiting lists for years. After finding out that the expectations were so reasonable, spend 4 hours per month doing something fun with your mentee, Todd and Shelly decided to apply for the program as well.
The time that we spend with our mentees is fun! The smiles and enthusiasm from the children make mentoring very fulfilling. TJ’s favorite memory so far was the excitement when he took his mentee fishing. Shelly enjoys revisiting fun activities she used to do when her own children were younger, tie dying, carving pumpkins, mini-golf, etc. One of the mentees even said they wanted to carve pumpkins together every year until they turned 31. Todd has a newer relationship with his mentee. It sometimes takes a while to find the right match and the Hope Mentor staff is very careful to set up a relationship that has the right elements for success.
We missed spending time with our mentees when the state was shut down. We were very happy to get the green light to see them again with appropriate safety precautions. Of course the pandemic and safety concerns require you to think outside the box. We have come up with some ideas that maybe we would not have thought of in more usual circumstances, like cooking dinner together over a bon fire.
Catholic Charities and the Hope Mentoring staff are very supportive and provide a lot of materials and resources to help you as you develop the relationship. We would recommend mentoring to anyone who would like more joy in their lives and has 4 hours per month to spend on fun activities making a child happy.
Emergency Services, Turning Point
Turning Point is proud to share the story of a client that we have worked with. She is an African American woman in her late 60’s, who is a veteran battling PTSD, addiction recovery, and additional mental health disorders. Through much dedication, she was able to obtain her Peer Support Certification and gain employment. Due to a delay in her new employer receiving her background check results, she was able to successfully work for 6 months at a job that she was perfect for; however, she was terminated once those results were received.
Since January 2021, she has worked tirelessly to contact Albany, her VA Lawyer Liaison, and multiple counties where she lived or had criminal drug charges. Her goal was to prove that she had turned her life around by getting the treatment she so desperately needed. She needed to prove that she was not a menace to society and could benefit others. She was able to obtain over 25 personal letters of recommendation for good conduct from those in her community who knew her well.
On a happy day in June 2021, she came to Turning Point to share she had received a letter from the State of New York showing she had achieved Good Conduct Status. The marks on her record could no longer be held against her. She is now able to be re-instated at her place of employment.
The Turning Point team originally did not believe they had done much for her, because they had not paid her rent, utility or supplied her with emergency food. These are the usual services we provide, so it is easy to overlook the other services the team provides.
More than 30 emails and faxes were sent during this difficult period, but even more importantly, they offered her a smile, support, and hope when she felt low or that overcoming her past was too difficult a task.
Emergency Services, Turning Point
Turning Point has been working with “Cindy” for a few years at our Hornell site. When Cindy started utilizing our services, she was in a very low place in her life. She had multiple substance abuse cases, untreated mental health conditions, as well as, family issues with her children. It was very difficult to get Cindy to keep an appointment. At some appointments, she could not remember why she was here, at others, she was intoxicated and could not participate in our services.
Cindy eventually hit rock bottom and her children were placed in foster care. Months without hearing from Cindy passed. During the pandemic, she reached out to get help with her utility bill. Through referrals and community partnerships, Cindy has managed to begin the difficult task of turning her life around.
There are few words to adequately describe the transformation that has taken place in Cindy. She calls often to update staff with her progress. She has worked hard to follow through on the tasks asked of her. Now when Cindy arrives at our office, she appears sober, organized, and has gained a healthy weight. Recently, Cindy shared how proud she is to have gotten her children back. This is partly because she has found safer and healthier living arrangements. Cindy is now utilizing preventive services; she has gotten her permit and bought a vehicle. Cindy also shared that she attends a local community church and prayer groups 3-4 times a week and she could not be happier. She is thankful that Turning Point always provided her a welcoming environment regardless of the current situation she was facing.
