CATHOLIC CHARITIES
Catholic Charities of North Louisiana Offers Parenting Classes with Gabriel’s Closet By Katherine Stringer-Davis
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amilies in our community are struggling. The women who enter the doors of Catholic Charities are single mothers who often work one or more minimum wage jobs and live paycheck to paycheck. The goal of our Family Strengthening Program is to empower clients to create longterm changes that lead to greater stability and independence. Catholic Charities of North Louisiana empowers pro-life with one of our Family Strengthening programs, Gabriel’s Closet. Gabriel’s Closet is a parenting program that offers help to families that are expecting a baby, have a newborn or have children under the age of four years-old. In order to receive assistance, parents complete an application and meet with our case manager, Suhad Salamah to assess their most pressing needs. We offer a merit-earning program which allows parents to redeem earned merits for items from Gabriel’s Closet. Gabriel’s Closet has many baby essentials including pack ‘n play cribs, diapers, baby beds, high chairs, car seats, strollers, walkers and more, as well as a large selection of gently-used or brand-new clothing. We also offer diapers, ointments, bottles, pacifiers and more. Alisa James, a mother of a one year old son has been coming to Gabriel’s Closet since she was two months pregnant. James learned about WIC (Women Infant and Children), a supplemental nutrition program, SIDS and how to properly care for a child. “Gabriel’s Closet restored my faith and motivated me to be a great mom. Before coming to Catholic Charities I had no
idea this place would teach me how to be a great parent,” she said. CCNLA collaborates with local agencies and organizations such as the Nurse Family Partnership, a nursing program through OschnerLSU Health which works with lowincome, underprivileged pregnant and new mothers. This program now refers their patients to Gabriel’s Closet, allowing mothers of young children and mothers-to-be to attend parenting classes in exchange for baby essentials. Other local agencies that regularly refer mothers to Gabriel’s Closet include Mary’s House, Heart of Hope, WIC and Care Pregnancy Center. If you know someone who could use our assistance, please contact our office at (318) 856-0200. Gabriel’s Closet is open on Monday and Thursday from 1pm-4pm.
Rachel’s Vineyard Retreat
• “This was the most powerful experience I have ever had.” • “Seeing God’s love and forgiveness, and the feeling of not being judged.” • “Forgiveness! God gives you the path to move forward and forgive.” • “Scripture based and Christ-centered.”
These are comments from participants at the first Rachel’s Vineyard Retreat in November 2018. Rachel’s Vineyard is the world’s largest ministry for healing after abortion. The motto for Rachel’s Vineyard is: “Healing the pain of abortion, one weekend at a time.” Rachel’s Vineyard retreats are a beautiful opportunity for any person who has struggled with the emotional or spiritual pain of abortion. This includes the mother and father of the child, as well as their parents, grandparents, siblings, aunts, uncles, friends, and even clinic staff. The retreat is a very specific process 10 THE CATHOLIC CONNECTION
designed to help one experience the mercy and compassion of God. It is also an opportunity to surface and release repressed feelings of anger, shame, guilt, and grief. The next Rachel’s Vineyard Retreat will be November 8-10, 2019. If you or someone you love is hurting from an abortion, please call 318 588-1064 for information, or visit the website at www.rachelsvineyard.org. Absolute confidentiality is maintained by team members and participants prior to, during, and following a Rachel’s Vineyard Retreat. A Rachel’s Vineyard retreat in Spanish is scheduled in the spring of 2020.
