Catholic Charities partners with American Standard to complete affordable housing project

• Catholic Charities, Diocese of Metuchen Facilities & Maintenance Manager Rich Matarangelo (Center) oversees Maintenance Repair Workers Rodolfo Garcia (left) and Bill Decorso as they assemble faucets at Naomi’s Way. In all, more than $100,000 in bathroom and kitchen fixtures, faucets and labor renovation funds plus more than 300 hours of employee volunteer painting time was donated by plumbing brand American Standard, part of LIXIL, toward the renovation of 12 housing units operated by Catholic Charites at Naomi’s Way.                

                               
In NJ, a resident would have to make $27.31 per hour to afford a two-bedroom apartment (National Low-Income Housing Coalition, 2017).  In a state where the minimum wage is $8.44 per hour, the challenge to afford housing can be overwhelming.  However, for twelve Middlesex County families, affordable housing is within reach because of a unique partnership between Catholic Charities Diocese of Metuchen (CCDOM) and American Standard, the well-known plumbing brand that is part of LIXIL. 

For more than 30 years, Catholic Charities’ Naomi's Way in New Brunswick, NJ has provided transitional housing to single women with children who were previously homeless. Catholic Charities was in the process of upgrading the twelve housing units into permanent affordable housing, when contacted by American Standard who offered to join the project, intent on bringing their corporate mission to life.
 
 “Providing solutions that make life healthier, safer, and more comfortable has always been at the core of the LIXIL corporate values,” said Jeannette Long, vice president, marketing communications, at LIXIL Americas. “Naomi’s Way provided us with the perfect opportunity to bring our mission to life, by helping to remodel these apartments and make a difference in the lives of families in need in our local community.”

• A glimpse of one of the finished kitchens in a newly renovated unit at Naomi’s Way in New Brunswick, NJ.  Formerly a transitional housing program for single women with children, Catholic Charities, Diocese of Metuchen will re-open Naomi’s Way as permanent housing for people with special needs who were previously homeless.

 
American Standard donated more than $100,000 in bathroom fixtures, faucets and labor renovation funds, plus more than 330 hours of employee volunteer painting time to help remodel the building.  Other corporations stepped in to assist in completing the project. Sherwin Williams in North Brunswick, NJ provided the paint, while Somerset, NJ–based Philips Lighting donated all of the energy saving LED lighting fixtures, and Melville, NY-headquartered Leviton provided all switch/light outlet covers and AFCI outlets.  About a dozen Philips Lighting employees also joined in the painting effort.
 
The 12-apartment facility is now re-opening with new bathrooms, kitchens, lighting fixtures and outlets, plus a fresh coat of paint in all units and common areas, as permanent housing for persons with special needs who were previously homeless. In addition, case management is available to residents and Catholic Charities will provide other services, such as linkage to community services, including employment services, life skills training and other support.
 
"Catholic Charities serves the most vulnerable members of our communities, providing them with valuable services that are delivered with dignity and respect, all with the goal of improving their quality of life," explained Marianne Majewski, executive director of CCDOM, which serves people through more than 100 programs in the N.J. counties of Middlesex, Hunterdon, Somerset and Warren.  “Partnerships, like this one, led by American Standard Plumbing, and joined by Philips Lighting, Leviton and Sherwin Williams, through their generous contribution of time, talent and products, multiply the impact we can have in our community and elevates the level of service we can provide to those in need.  We couldn’t be more grateful, she said. ” 
 
Those wishing to support the work of Catholic Charities can make a donation online at www.ccdom.org/donate