SPRINGFIELD — The Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield’s Catholic Charities agency is entering a new chapter with its recent announcement that New York native Shaina Rodriguez will serve as the agency’s new executive director.
The agency, like others around the country, is amidst a tumultuous time having recently lost $600,000 of federal funding to support its migrant and refugee services, which led to the abrupt termination of the agency’s resettlement program.
At a press conference in mid-April, Bishop William Byrne said the agency has not abandoned the remaining people in the program, but without that “important collaboration” with the federal government, the capacity to do the work has been “effectively removed” from them.
In total, the agency has 83 refugees they are working with, including 13 families still living in temporary housing as they search for a permanent option.
Rodriguez said she is working with the Jewish Family of Western Mass. and the state Department of Transitional Assistance to assist these families, and Byrne said the diocese will still meet the needs of the families that are left in the program.
“Even though the funding has stopped, we want to make sure that we fulfill what our obligations are, regardless of what the federal government is going to do,” Byrne said. “We have a commitment to those families that are individuals who are left.”
The loss of the federal funding has thrusted the agency into a moment of transition, according to Rodriguez, who said Catholic Charities will shift its focus to mental health, housing affordability and food insecurity.
Byrne said that even before the federal grant money was pulled, the agency was undergoing a strategic planning process to move away from an over-reliance of government contracts and broaden the scope of services they offer.
“We are really looking to the community to identify what their specific needs are, and we will make a determination as to how we move forward based on the needs of those that we need to serve,” Rodriguez said during the press conference.
The new executive director is a native of New York City who brings 15 years of nonprofit experience and many years of Catholic education. She said her breadth of experience working for organizations in the realms of food insecurity, mental health and housing bodes well with Catholic Charities’ vision for the future.
“I’ve been at mission-driven organizations … I’ve worked in spaces where I was addressing housing insecurity … I’ve worked at spaces where, for a parent organization, we spoke to food insecurity; I’ve worked at several organizations that really spoke to mental health and building that strength in behavioral health and trauma-informed and anti-racist practices,” Rodriguez said. “So, in the new strategy that the diocese is looking to go for … I have a lot of experience in those areas.”
Rodriguez was part of a national search for a new executive director that came down to eight finalists. Byrne said he believes the diocese chose the right person and commended Rodriguez for her “breadth of experience, a depth of faith and a joy of service.”
Although only a few weeks in on the job, Rodriguez said she is hoping to strengthen its local relationships by talking with community partners about how the agency can support folks.
She added that she is researching ways to support the diocese’s food pantries and is already looking to work with parishes and let them know that Catholic Charities is here to aide them.
The new executive director said she will also trust her board members to work with her on important issues.
“I am going to lean on my board members to have the network to identify other areas of funding to shout from the rooftops what we need, how much we need, when do we need it,” Rodriguez said. “We’ve got to do it together.”
