Bishops' anti-poverty program distributes nearly $9 million in grants

Published: 2006-10-03

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- The Catholic Campaign for Human Development, the U.S. bishops' domestic anti-poverty program, is awarding nearly $9 million in grants this year to support local projects working to eliminate the root causes of poverty in the United States. The grants totaling $8,909,000 will be distributed to 326 projects in 47 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. Timothy Collins, CCHD's executive director, said the agency is working with poor and low-income people to develop "creative, practical, long-term solutions to their concerns." In a Sept. 25 statement announcing the grants, he stressed that the needs of the poor continue to be great, especially in light of a recent report from the U.S. Census Bureau which showed that 37 million people in the United States, or 12.6 percent of the total population, are living in poverty. The funds CCHD distributes come from Catholics who donate to a nationwide church collection that takes place in dioceses each year, usually in the fall.

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