Catholic agencies see projected budget surplus as justice opportunity

Published: 2007-01-09

MINNEAPOLIS (CNS) -- At Exodus Residence, a transitional home in Minneapolis, intake case manager Claire Moreau has seen many people come and go through the program -- and usually when people go they are in a better situation than when they came, she said. However, it takes significant funding to provide the services at Exodus Residence and other programs like it -- funding that the projected $2.2 billion Minnesota state budget surplus could help supply, said Kathy Tomlin, director of the St. Paul-Minneapolis archdiocesan Office for Social Justice. The surplus is projected over four fiscal years, from fiscal 2006 through fiscal 2009. After receiving $10 million in state bonding to build housing as part of its effort to combat homelessness, Catholic Charities of St. Paul and Minneapolis is constructing a similar complex in St. Paul's Midway neighborhood. While the agency has the building, operating and program funds are needed for its completion, scheduled for August.

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