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Shelter wins state award
Published Tuesday, April 1, 2008
NATCHEZ — Catholic Charities in Natchez recently received the Governor’s Award for having the best emergency shelter in the state — the Guardian Shelter for battered women.
Execute director of Catholic Charities Martha Mitternight said the award they received was based on a grant — the Emergency Shelter Grant — the non-profit organization wrote.
And this does not mean that Catholic Charities only has good writing skills.
Submitting a grant application requires a lot of paperwork on the organization, so it’s basically a report.
In essence, the grant reflects the job that is being done at the organization.
So while the grant was the middleman that was judged, ultimately, Catholic Charities deserves the honors, not the grant.
Mitternight said the award was also based on performance reports written up by site visitors that come from Mississippi Development Authority.
“Our shelter scored the highest on all of those areas,” Mitternight said.
When writing a grant, the organization also gathers letters of support and Mitternight attributes that support to the award, as well.
“We have a lot of community support,” Mitternight said.
This includes city government, private businesses, law enforcement, the hospitals, different service providers, and more, she said.
One other factor that plays into receiving the award is how well an organization executes a grant, which means spending the money wisely and effectively.
Last Thursday, the award was presented in Jackson to Natchez Catholic Charities representatives.
“We’re just very, very pleased to receive the award and I’m very pleased with the amount of dedication and hard work the staff puts into everything they do,” Mitternight said.
She said having an award like this could also bring in additional money from other grants.
“I think when we can say that in a cover letter to another grant that we received this award it tells all persons on board that are reading grants that this is an agency who has the ability to work a grant and bring it into fruition,” she said.
Comments
Posted by concernedNTZcitizen (anonymous) on April 1, 2008 at 1:41 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I won't even touch this one. (eye roll)
Posted by eaglebe (anonymous) on April 1, 2008 at 8:22 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Mitternight and team, thanks for providing a much needed service.
Hopefully, we, the concerned citizens of Natchez and the surrounding areas, will find creative ways to help, by donating time, money, and talents.
Posted by rain25 (anonymous) on April 1, 2008 at 8:30 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I agree completely with concerned .........................
Posted by candy (anonymous) on April 1, 2008 at 8:37 a.m. (Suggest removal)
What ever the "story" sounds real good! Concerned and Rain you must know the real deal too.....
Posted by sjohnson (anonymous) on April 1, 2008 at 1:30 p.m. (Suggest removal)
The staff at Catholic Charities/Guardian Shelter not only do a good job on a local level, but also on a state level. Their input and expertise in writing grants have helped secure homeless grants for the Balance of State Continuum of Care. There will always be those that see the negative in non-profit organizations, but I think they do an exceptional job of running their shelter.
Posted by LMeyer (anonymous) on April 1, 2008 at 4:18 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Congratulations, Guardian Shelter! I was fortunate enough to attend a regional meeting of statewide homeless providers hosted at the shelter and I saw a well run and professional organization that provides a great service to the homeless.
Posted by hitormiss (anonymous) on April 1, 2008 at 4:44 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Top in state! Congraulations on a job well done!
Posted by spyfly (anonymous) on April 1, 2008 at 8:05 p.m. (Suggest removal)
they are like dry nuts, not all they're cracked up to be! what's on the outside is way different. but any who. wish them the best possible.
Posted by concernedNTZcitizen (anonymous) on April 1, 2008 at 8:37 p.m. (Suggest removal)
A well written grant gets the award, not the shelter or how it has treated the clients or what it does or does not do for them.
Politicians fluff their stories and have people confirm inflated stories all the time. Why? to get the donations.
That is all.
God Bless the Battered Shelter Program.
Posted by hitormiss (anonymous) on April 1, 2008 at 8:58 p.m. (Suggest removal)
concerned NTZcitizen,
The article states “the award was also based on performance reports written up by site visitors that come from Mississippi Development Authority” This is the number one shelter in the state.
Kevin, the negatives that are posted on every story, from the same handful of people, are going to result in no one wanting anything written about them in the paper for fear of innuendos that have no basis. The comments are totally unfair to those who work so hard in this shelter.
Posted by Crazynms (anonymous) on April 1, 2008 at 9:22 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I agree with some of you. IMHO some of you only see what you want to see.
All programs have their share of problems, but most try to fix the problems and remove the people that are "hindering" progress.
[ hitormiss ] site visitors are told what? By whom? I know 100's of women who will tell you a different story. Some say Vicksburg has the best shelter, some say Jackson is the best. The shelter on the coast was rated top notch also. This award is based solely a few peoples opinions that only know what they have been told.
Grant writing is a well written story. Lives are changed forever by the treatment and behavior of those who claim to care and understand. Ask those who went back to abusive homes because of the abuse received at a (the) shelter was way worse.
Posted by spyfly (anonymous) on April 1, 2008 at 9:32 p.m. (Suggest removal)
unnamed baptist church very disappointed with those people for the way they have treated some of their parishoners and the way they have seen them interact with others
Posted by ijohnson (anonymous) on April 1, 2008 at 9:55 p.m. (Suggest removal)
CONGRATULATIONS!
Posted by rain25 (anonymous) on April 3, 2008 at 7:02 a.m. (Suggest removal)
The shelter here has a wonderful program but it has failed far too many who needed help from abusive relationships. As anywhere there are good and bad people who work there. Many women and children have left and gone back in abusive relationships because of the few who work there and demean them when they need their help the most.
Posted by spyfly (anonymous) on April 4, 2008 at 12:02 a.m. (Suggest removal)
1 thing is for sure, someone needs to deal with that because they will continue to harass tenants and clients until they have cleaned out the entire place and fill it with people who wont say nothing. Some people there do work hard for the clients ( tho not many) and the rest work hard for themselves ( to keep up face and earn a paycheck) and there are some who do nothing but drive around all day in the shelter's vehicle to fastfood stops, to pay bills, do shelter business, as well as to shop the mall. These are all things i have either heard from people who live there who are very much honest people and from my own accounts as well as accounts of things overheard by insiders who paid them a visit. There is a big log with names of tenant's and guest in the front for "security purposes" as well as a telephone at the front door where the clients call for business- to me they should make calls from a secured area if they were so interested in not being spotted by their abusers. Those ladies walk outside at night by themselves with no supervision to take out trash as well as their children who have been "spotted" taking out trash in the daytime without any adult supervision. What if those children were kidnapped or harmed? The point is, no one is an enemy to a kind word or a smiling face, but when the people who work there are two faced, pervasive, and unfriendly how can you expect anyone to trust them? Besides, to say that it is a Catholic Charity- spirituality or a connection with God is usually not encouraged and the first thing to go! Don't get mad at me or hate on me, I just believe in change and righteousness and integrity that should be demonstrated in every organization and not just theirs. So, I am thankful for that program, but the officiators just don't do it justice. And that my friend-- is the bottom line!
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