Taking action for elders 2 Books for little ones 3 Horsing around at nursing home 8 PERIODICAL RATE PUBLICATION
AUGUST 1, 2023 VOLUME 39, NUMBER 12
Welcome transgender people, show them compassion, experts advise ministry During a CHA webinar on providing spiritual care to transgender people, a sister described one of the many harrowing phone calls she has received during her 24 years as a spiritual companion to people who are transitioning or have transitioned. Sr. Luisa Derouen, a Dominican Sister of Peace of St. Catharine, Kentucky, recalled the desperate middle-of-the-night call from Shane, who was both transgender and Catholic and struggling with feeling disconnected from the church. Sr. Derouen said Shane, weeping, told her, “I miss going to Mass and I miss receiving Holy ComSr. Derouen munion. But I can’t go back to church because I’m not safe there. The Catholic Church doesn’t want me.” Transgender people are on a spiritual journey — a “holy journey,” Sr. Derouen said, as they are “claiming the truth of who they are.” She said it is important that the church and its ministries welcome them, show them dignity and compassion and provide them with the spiritual care services they need. Sr. Derouen was one of three main speakers during the June 8 webinar, “Care for the Transgender Soul: An Introduction to Spiritual Care for Trans Persons and their Families.” The others were Erica Cohen Moore, executive director of the National Continued on 6
Cyclists deliver coffee, staples, smiles A CommonSpirit Health foundation in California supports a group serving unhoused people By JULIE MINDA
These three are among the 200 volunteers who deliver coffee and companionship to people who are homeless in Sacramento and Stockton in California.
SSM health nurses start Buddy Program for patients with mental illness
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We did this not thinking it would become anything huge.
By VALERIE SCHREMP HAHN
Patients who need a little extra support while getting mental health treatment at SSM Health DePaul Hospital — St. Louis are getting a buddy to help. The buddies, who are hospital employees, match with long-term patients in the behavioral health unit who have little to no outside support or don’t get visits from friends and family. The pairs make a standing weekly appointment of at least 30 minutes to read together, play a game, color, make a craft, and otherwise forge a supportive relationship. The Buddy Program started earlier this Estes year, but care providers already see results, including a decrease in negative behaviors among the patients. “Overall, some of them seem happier, and it gives them something to talk about,” said Stacie Estes, a nurse who manages the program. “When I come in, I’m always hearing stories about what they’ve done with their buddy.” Continued on 4
This is a simple need that these patients had. So, we did it. You find ways to be creative and do things. And it is an easy thing to do that has such a huge impact.” — Stacie Estes
A ministry founded by a Sister of Mercy and supported by a foundation connected with CommonSpirit Health is providing practical aid to the growing population of people experiencing homelessness in Sacramento, California. The Mercy Pedalers nonprofit that Sr. Libby Fernandez started and now directs dispatches volunteers on cycles each day to provide coffee, water, basic personal care items and companionship to unhoused people throughout Sacramento. Sr. Fernandez recently expanded the initiative to Stockton and is soon starting up in Placerville. Sr. Fernandez says these California communities have serious issues with homelessness. Sr. Fernandez says the main goal of the ministry is for the pedalers to provide a loving presence to some of the communities’ most vulnerable people. She hopes that the pedalers also can address some unmet needs of those they meet, including by referring them to social service providers. Sr. Fernandez says she encounters dozens of people during each of her own expeditions as a pedaler. “I get to know them by name,” she says. “I always ask, ‘How can I help?’” It can take time for some to trust Sr. Fernandez and the other pedalers and ask for more than the basics. “Over time, with deeper conversations, I can (learn of) their Continued on 5
As partner in SkillBridge program, CHRISTUS eases service members’ shift to civilian careers By KARI WILLIAMS
When Air Force veteran Shelby Lopez’s initial plans to transition to a civilian career fell through, CHRISTUS Health system offered a new path. In May 2022, she became the first of 50 veterans onboarded to work for the Irving, Texas-based system through a collaboration with the Department of Defense’s SkillBridge program. SkillBridge, established in 2011, connects the military with civilian organizations to give military members within 180 days of leaving uniform the opportunity to work in the civilian sector. CHRISTUS is among more than 3,200 civilian organizations in the program. Other Catholic health systems that participate in the program include Ascension and Bon Secours Mercy Health, according to the program’s website. “I was just excited to start something new but do it with an opportunity to find Continued on 4
Shelby Lopez was still in the Air Force when she began her transition to a job with CHRISTUS Health through SkillBridge, a partnership between the Department of Defense and civilian employers.