St. Elizabeth/Coleman ending residential services program
By John Shaughnessy
Facing rising deficits and changing trends in society, St. Elizabeth/Coleman Pregnancy and Adoption Services will end its residential services program in mid-March and place a greater emphasis on adoption and outreach pregnancy services.
The change in focus came after a lengthy analysis of the Indianapolis agency—and the community and clients it serves—according to Catholic Charities officials.
“This analysis revealed a projected deficit of $770,000 over the next three years,” noted David J. Siler, executive director of the Secretariat for Catholic Charities. “The deficit is due to the increasing cost of providing residential care. Funding from donations, special events, government, United Way and various foundations have not kept pace with the growing costs.”
Just as significant, Siler noted, is “a growing social trend that has reduced the stigma associated with unwed pregnant mothers. Girls and young women with unintended pregnancies are now staying in their homes or with their families. They are generally not being sent to residential facilities for the duration of their pregnancies.”
Still, Siler stressed that short-term, crisis housing for a single pregnant woman would be available at another Catholic Charities facility in Indianapolis, Holy Family Shelter.
The decision to end the residential program was “very difficult,” Siler said, because it marks the end of a significant part of St. Elizabeth’s history and also means 24 full-time, part-time and on-call staff members will lose their jobs.
“These staff members have been very dedicated by providing wonderful, loving care to many young women in crisis,” he noted. “The work of providing residential maternity care is very intense and oftentimes very difficult. The residential staff does not do what they do out of a desire for great pay or an easy job. They do what they do out of a desire to make a positive difference in the lives of the young ladies who come with great needs.”
The six mothers and five children who currently reside at St. Elizabeth/ Coleman will most likely be placed in foster care, another residential facility or their home environment—decisions that will be made by the State of Indiana.
Increasing the agency’s emphasis on adoption and outreach pregnancy services will allow St. Elizabeth/ Coleman to better use its limited resources and meet the needs of more women, children and families, Siler said.
“The number of families created through adoption has steadily increased” through the agency’s efforts in recent years, Siler noted. He also said that St. Elizabeth/Coleman will be looking at new, innovative ways to provide services to women and families in their homes.
St. Elizabeth’s Home was founded in 1915 by the first Daughters of Isabella circle formed in Indiana, according to information provided by the agency. Coleman Adoption Services began during the Civil War and grew to specialize in the adoption of
hard-to-place children. The agencies merged in 2004 to expand its pregnancy and adoption services.
“The residential part of St. Elizabeth has been part of its history ever since it was founded,” said Michelle Meer, the director of St. Elizabeth/Coleman. “But one of the things that has happened with residential facilities in general in the past few years is there’s been a different philosophy that the State of Indiana has taken.
“They’re looking at community-based and home-based services. From a client’s perspective, that’s a good thing. Being a social worker, I say, ‘Yeah, finally the state is doing this.’ But from the perspective of the director of a residential program, it hurts. It’s hard.”
So was the meeting with her staff on Jan. 24 when she shared the news about the closing of the residential program and the loss of jobs. Still, the reaction to the news showed the kind of quality, caring people who work at St. Elizabeth/Coleman, she said.
“Delivering the message to the staff was the hardest thing I’ve ever done,” Meer said. “Folks who are working for a ministry really believe in the ministry. They’ve given so much to this ministry. That was the hard part. The direction most of the staff went was, ‘OK, God has a plan. He has a plan for the agency and he has a plan for us. He’ll guide us through this, and he’ll help us through this.’ ”
Siler said the employees will be given severance pay and offered outplacement counseling and mental health counseling—“and, of course, much prayer.”
“The one thing I want to do is to serve them with compassion and concern as they have served others with compassion and concern,” Meer said. “They served the residents in a Christ-like way and I hope we serve them in a Christ-like way.”
An agency that has given hope to so many mothers, children and families through the years now hopes the changes will lead to serving more people in need.
“St. Elizabeth has existed for nearly 100 years due to the ability to adapt and change, while remaining true to the mission of serving women and families in crisis brought on by an unplanned pregnancy,” Siler said.
“My hope is that St. Elizabeth/Coleman will be able to continue to be available to the community for many more years to come. It is strange to say, but I really wish that we didn’t need an agency like St. Elizabeth/Coleman—in that I wish that all children were able to be born into a healthy, loving and capable family,” Siler said. “But since the community has needed and will continue to need [these] services, I hope that this decision will free St. Elizabeth/Coleman to more effectively respond to the changing needs of our community.” †