News - Middlesex County Services

May 19th was a warm and sunny day in East Brunswick and the PACT Program Team Leaders and staff members were getting ready for the PACT Olympics. Held at Catholic Charities, Diocese of Metuchen’s Family Center in East Brunswick, the annual Olympic event was set to be an exciting one with some friendly competition and socialization with PACT participants.

Catholic Charities, Diocese of Metuchen’s Family Center in East Brunswick, the PACT program had their annual Olympic event!

Catholic Charities, Diocese of Metuchen received a generous gift from the Middlesex County Probation Division. A $700 donation was given to the Ozanam Family Shelter which is located in Edison, New Jersey and can provide shelter for 16 single women and 26 families. Besides shelter, Ozanam can provide meals, assistance with permanent housing, employment and children's educational placement, and case management services.

Life can be very hectic for working parents of school-age children, and for many the most challenging time comes when the school bell signals the close of the day. The time when mothers did not work and were home to greet their youngsters after school are long gone. Today in most families dads and moms work most times beyond the school day or they have other obligations.

It was a typical, bustling morning at the Catholic Charities YES Early Learning Center in New Brunswick on November 16th. Staff members were welcoming the preschoolers and their families as they arrived to school and settled into their educational day. As the children finished entering the Center and families went off to start their day, the doorbell rang at the main entrance. One of the Learning Center’s Family Workers greeted a man at the door. He stated that he wanted to make a donation to the Center to benefit the students and their families. Speechless by this unexpected act of generosity, the Family Worker looked down to the man’s hands to find three envelopes totaling $900.00 in cash. The man would not share his name and did not want recognition! Astonished by the man’s kindness, the Family Worker thanked him as he walked away. The money donated will go directly to the families in the form of gift cards to purchase holiday meal items and needed groceries. As we enter the season for giving, this generous man reminds us that “Giving is not just about making a donation; it’s about making a difference.” Catholic Charities, Diocese of Metuchen Child Care typically serves over 1400 children, preschool to school age throughout several counties in New Jersey. Over 145 preschoolers attend the YES Early Learning Center located in New Brunswick on a daily basis. To learn more about Catholic Charities, Diocese of Metuchen and Child Care please visit our website: www.ccdom.org/child-care

Since enrollment in the Keeping Families Together program, Tonya has moved progressively towards independence, despite being a victim of domestic violence, family challenges and past traumas. She moved into a new home, obtained her GED and plans to enroll in a sleep study technician program at Thomas Edison University.

Since volunteering with Mobile Family Success Center in 2017, Carla has shared her passion and talent in both the culinary and visual arts hosting various events, workshops, and virtual platforms within the community.

Unity Square employee, Michelle Gil and Holy Family Parish intern, Nathalie Cuadros fill distribution bags with personal protective equipment (PPE). Forty-eight thousand masks were donated to Catholic Charities Diocese of Metuchen by Nikolaos & Margaret Renieris of National Bio+Green Sciences, LLC, located in Somerset County, NJ. 

Catholic Charities, Diocese of Metuchen’s Program of Assertive Community Treatment (PACT) Teams delivered holiday meals to their consumers in New Brunswick, Perth Amboy and East Brunswick, NJ, just in time for Thanksgiving. Catholic Charities’ Staff members Rose Bohar, Team Leader and Elizabeth Paz, PACT Secretary, carefully prepare meals for delivery to East Brunswick PACT consumers in accordance with the Center for Disease Control (CDC) guidelines. The Catholic Charities’ PACT program is guided by the principal that individuals with mental illness, even those with the most impaired functioning, can reside in normal settings in the community if adequate supports and services are provided.

Catholic Charities, Diocese of Metuchen’s Acting Executive Director Julio Coto is pleased to announce the launch of the Youth Villages LifeSet Program in Middlesex, Mercer, Somerset, and Union Counties. Made possible through a partnership between Catholic Charities and New Jersey’s Department of Children and Families (DCF), the LifeSet program is a bridge to successful adulthood for young people transitioning from foster care.

In the media - newspapers, television, and on-line, we hear about heroes in hospitals, EMS, police, supermarkets, food pantries, Amazon and so many others that step up in times of crisis.  We are so grateful for their service and compassion.  Dr. Esther Schlesinger wants you to know about another group of heroes. Dr. Schlesinger works for the Program of Assertive Community Treatment (PACT) team in Middlesex County at Catholic Charities, Diocese of Metuchen, serving those with serious and persistent mental illness.

Thank you to Michelle Cumberbatch and her son Malcom for their generous donations of socks, deodorant and razors for the men at the Ozanam Inn.

Diaper donations from both Immaculate Conception Church and St. James of Bas king Ridge for our child care centers in New Brunswick will be distributed to all of our families at both YES St. Ladislaus and YES ELC in New Brunswick.

Grateful for the food donation from St Matthew's School in Edison to the Ozanam Family Shelter

Thanks to the generosity of the Middlesex County Food Warehouse, all three of The Middlesex County PACT Teams were able to access an abundance of food pantry items this month.

The community members served by the Catholic Charities YES child care centers in New Brunswick continue to experience an increase in food insecurity. ​​​​​​​Through a generous food donation...

Bishop Ottis Blount facilitated a delivery of food to the Ozanam Family Shelter from the Greater Worship Kingdom Church Good Deeds Food Pantry.

Catholic Charities, Diocese of Metuchen received a second donation from the St. Vincent de Paul Society at St. Matthew the Apostle Parish, Edison, NJ.  A member of their conference, Mary McKenzie Hayes delivered the food and gift cards to the Edison Family Service Office

Anonymous Mask and Glove Donation made to Catholic Charities, Diocese of Metuchen’s Ozanam Family Shelter