Our two top responsibilities when people walk through our doors are to welcome them as Christ and treat them with respect and dignity; free from abuse or neglect. We realize that many of our staff, as well as the people that we work with and provide services to have had traumatic experiences in their past and may still in the present. It is our desire to be sensitive to and aware of how those things may affect the work we are doing, as well as how we treat each other.

Catholic Charities formed a Trauma-Informed Care Committee in June of 2018. This committee is working on changing the culture at our agency and helping us view things through a Trauma-Informed Lens. We have been focusing our attention on 3 main areas:

• How we communicate with and support our fellow staff members.
• How we communicate with and support the people who come to us for services.
• How we make our facilities welcoming and inviting.

Discussions and trainings are taking place throughout the agency, from the Board of Directors to the Front End Staff. We are excited to be on this journey together as we work towards a more inviting environment for everyone.

Trauma Informed Care Committee Members:
Dawn Kay – Performance & Quality Improvement Director
Christy Reppe – Post Adoption Resource Center Coordinator
Darcie Manning – Human Resources Director
Michelle Shippy – Representative Payee Case Manager
Olivia Lee – Comprehensive Community Support Service Coordinator
Allison Kunkel – Adoption Social Worker/Post Adoption Specialist
Karla Meyer – Adoption Social Worker
Melissa Bowe – Director of Family Services