Press Release: Grant Received during National Employ Older Workers Week

Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend RECEIVES $451,235 Workforce Inclusion Grant during National Employ Older Workers Week 

Center for Workforce Inclusion, Inc. awards grant directed to assist in workforce training for jobseekers 55+

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (Sept. 18, 2023) – Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend (CCFWSB) announced today during National Employ Older Workers Week that it was awarded a $451,235 Workforce Inclusion grant from the Center for Workforce Inclusion, Inc. (Center). Almost 90 percent of this grant – originally from the U.S. Department of Labor – will provide temporary employment to no less than 81 low-income older Hoosiers living in Adams, Allen, DeKalb, Huntington, and Whitley counties. These older adults will participate in the Senior Community Service Employment Program (SCSEP), a cornerstone program of the Older Americans Act and the only federal job training program targeted exclusively to low-income, older jobseekers.

In its 59th year, SCSEP promotes personal dignity and self-sufficiency through work. The training attained through SCSEP provides in-demand skills for older, unemployed, low-income Americans. The Center, a top-tier U.S. Department of Labor National Grantee of SCSEP, works through a network of local partners delivering career training programs for eligible 50-plus-year-old workers across the United States. To date, the Center has served more than 500,000 eligible older workers in permanent employment through the SCSEP program.

“Our long-term, local partners are a key to the strength of the Center and provide the systems to train older Americans into a strategic advantage for employers across the country,” said Gary A. Officer, Center for Workforce Inclusion President and CEO. “We are very pleased to continue our support of the Catholic Charities Fort Wayne-South Bend for the 20th consecutive year.”   

“SCSEP helps our community’s eligible 55+ job seekers learn new skills and refresh old ones when they are coming back into the workforce,” said Dan Florin, CEO of CCFWSB. “The theme of this year’s National Employ Older Workers Week is ‘Possibilities are Ageless’, and we are so proud to empower seniors.”

At their training sites, SCSEP job seekers help local community, faith-based, and public agencies carry out their mission.

“By working in SCSEP positions, SCSEP provides hope and dignity to low-income, older job seekers with the toughest employment challenges. This grant from the Center is essential to our being able to deliver these vital workforce training services to our community,” Florin added.

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About Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend:

Catholic Charities is a private 501(c)3 incorporated in the state of Indiana to act as the coordinating and administrative agency for the charitable activities assigned to it by the Bishop of the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend; to plan for, initiate, direct, support and coordinate Catholic social-services programs for the spiritual, mental, emotional, and physical welfare of persons in need; to seek and determine the causes of social problems in order to better promote preventative social-action programs; to participate in community planning and organization, and work cooperatively with other individuals and groups in the field of social work. The service area for Catholic Charities includes the 14 counties of the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend, encompassing 2,236 square miles, with a population of 1,247,850. Currently, Catholic Charities has offices in Fort Wayne (Allen County), Auburn (DeKalb County), and South Bend (St. Joseph County), Indiana. In Fiscal Year 2022-2023, CCFWSB served almost 22,000 individuals at a fiscally responsible rate of 88 cents of every dollar dedicated to client services. The agency’s mission is to serve all those in need as Christ calls us to do.

About the Center for Workforce Inclusion

For 60 years, the Center for Workforce Inclusion has worked with older, low-income job seekers overlooked by traditional workforce programs. We trace our roots to the National Council of Senior Citizens, launched in 1962 to advocate for older Americans. We are now the only national entity dedicated exclusively to the workforce development needs of underserved workers over the age of 50. Since our founding, we have empowered nearly 500,000 clients to attain in-demand skills, overcome barriers to employment, and secure employment with more than 5,000 employers in industries that range from financial services, hospitality, and office administration to social services, health care, transportation, and manufacturing. For more information, please visit www.centerforworkforceinclusion.org.