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CATHOLIC COMMUNITY SERVICES --
LITTLE HAVANA OUTREACH OFFICE
970 S. W. 1st Street . Miami, Florida (305) 324.1104
May 18, 1983
The Honorable Maurice A. Ferre
Mayor of Miami
City Hall
Dear Mayor Ferre:
A SOCIAL SERVICE 1'1tUJ>rc T
FUNDED BY CITY OF MIAMI
COMMUNITY DE\'ELOPNIENT
The Catholic Community Services, Little Havana Outreach Office receives funds from
Community Development, City of Miami. However, for the third consecutive year no
increase has been allocated for our Program, and unfortunately if we do not obtain
additional funding for the Fiscal Year 83-84 staff time will have to be cut, and
the much needed services being offered to the homebound elderly living in the
Little Havana neighborhood will be curtailed.
Therefore, and trying to continue offering the above mentioned services we are
respectfully requesting from the City of Miami that an additional allocation of
$6,132 be granted to our Program, for the fiscal year couiencing July 1, 1983.
Please find enclosed a narrative on proposed budget for continuation of services
to the homebound elderly in the area.
We do appreciate the cot.sideration we are sure you will give to our request.
Sincerely yours,
Mercedes Campano, ACSW
Director
Bertha Morales Diaz, ACSW
Coordinator I -
cc: Joseph Carollo, Vice Mayor
J. L. Plummer, Commissioner
Demetrio Perez, Commissioner
Miller Dawkins, Commissioner
Howard Gary, -City Manager
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Member: United Way of Dade County L ACCFED National Conference of Catholic Chorines
AN AGENCY OF CATHOLIC CHARITIES OF THE ARCHDIOCESE OF MIAMI
MOT I d N 83-475.
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PROGRAM FOR SERVICES TO THE HOMEBOUND ELDERLY IN THE LITTLE HAVANA AREA
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
CCS-Little Havana Office is a social service agency located in the very eastern
portion of the Little Havana area known as Vietnam. Cuban and South American
residents, Cuban entrants and undocumented South and Central Americans are living
in the area.
It is a community confronting environmental deterioration, declining neighborhood
image and high crime incidence with the potential creation of a slum with long
term implications.
As a result of the Mariel boatlift in 1980, the eastern portion of Little Havana
experienced a sudden and dramatic population increase estimated at approximately
12,000. This area has become a focal point for the concentration of the more
problematic elements of the Mariel entrant population as well as the problems
presented by the Nicaraguans and other South and Central Americans residing in
the area in overcrowded housing and all of them living under poverty level standards.
SERVICES NEEDED BY THE ELDERLY POPULATION
(54.01
According to the 1980 Census, Tract No.(54.02 , corresponding to this area, there
is an elderly population (60 years and over) of 4,537 who reside in this area.
A great majority of these clients are terrified to go out and only do so when they
need medical assistance. Others are really homebound: they are unable to leave
their homes due to physical impairement and must receive the services in their
homes.
The above circumstances make it imperative for our agency to have the services
of a Social Worker in order to visit these clients at home so as to provide the
following services:
1. Advocacy at government and private agencies to assist them in obtaining
essential services.
2. Counseling.
3. Moral support in their loneliness.
4. Assistance in translating letters and notices from government programs.
5. Assistance in completing applications or re-evaluations from government
programs, i.e., SSI, Food Stamps, HUD, etc.
6.Liaison with friends and relatives whenever necessary.
7. Telephone reassurance.
8. Crisis intervention.
According to our statistics, from January to December, 1982, our program gave
the following services to the elderly in our area:
Home Visits
360
Advocacy
512
Translations
312
Completing
Forms
285
This growing and deprived segment of our population experience an increasing need
of support service system that we try to provide or arrange for them. Although we
have been providing these services to some of our clients, we are presently confront-
ing serious difficulties with our funding sources.
83-4M,
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For the third consecutive year, Community Development has not increased our allocation
and the United Way has not granted the increase requested last year. We are serving
over 3600 unduplicated clients at our program and our offices are always crowded by
many clients experiencing a series of mental,physical and environmental problems.
Unless additional funding is granted to us by the City of Miami as of July 1, 1983,
we will have no choice but to cut off the services of the Social Worker visiting our
elderly clients. We are only requesting from the City of Miami the total amount of
$6,131.00 so that the present services to the homebound elderly may continue.
The following is our proposed budget:
Social Worker 1 (40% of the time)
Fringe Benefits
Staff travel - local
Management services
P
(9.58% of net budget of $5,595)
Total amount requested:
$ 4,862
433
300
536
$ 6.131
83-4'75