Glick passing the reins of a strong Catholic Charities

Turning over the reigns

Wendy turned the reins of Catholic Charities, the faith-based community impact organization which serves 15,000 people a year within the 25 counties that comprise the Diocese of Wichita, to Traci Feb. 1. She will support Traci during a 60-day transition period.

Wendy says she is pleased that she handed over a strong organization to Traci.

“The culture is better than it was six years ago; it is more collaborative,” she says. “We have been very intentional about creating opportunities for staff to come together more regularly, giving them opportunities to develop relationships which make it easier to pick up the phone and work together.”

Those relationships have played a key role in helping Catholic Charities’ 13 ministries work together to serve clients who are facing more barriers than in the past.

Turning over the reigns

Wendy turned the reins of Catholic Charities, the faith-based community impact organization which serves 15,000 people a year within the 25 counties that comprise the Diocese of Wichita, to Traci Feb. 1. She will support Traci during a 60-day transition period.

Wendy says she is pleased that she handed over a strong organization to Traci.

“The culture is better than it was six years ago; it is more collaborative,” she says. “We have been very intentional about creating opportunities for staff to come together more regularly, giving them opportunities to develop relationships which make it easier to pick up the phone and work together.”

Those relationships have played a key role in helping Catholic Charities’ 13 ministries work together to serve clients who are facing more barriers than in the past.

Complexity of client needs

“The biggest change that I’ve seen in my years with Catholic Charities is the complexity of client needs,” Wendy says, explaining that it used to be a client might need food for a short time because they were temporarily out of work. Or, they needed shelter for a few weeks due to homelessness or abuse.

“Now, when clients present themselves, the complexity of their needs and the number of barriers they face means we need to invest more time, more staff energy and more ministry resources,” she says.

It is not unusual for a one client to need safe shelter at Harbor House or St. Anthony Family Shelter, food from Our Daily Bread Food Pantry, mental health services from Cana Counseling to process trauma, and assistance to find employment and sustainable housing.

Working everyday to help those in need

The multiple barriers clients face often mean that not all client stories have a happy ending, Wendy says. She remembers one such story involving a Harbor House client.

The survivor and her six children had sought safety from her abuser at Harbor House on several occasions. When she was strong enough to leave her abuser for good, she made arrangements with her family to help move belongings out of the house she had shared with the abuser. A surveillance device on the house alerted the abuser that she was there. When he showed up to confront her, he shot and killed her before turning the gun on himself.

“We did everything right for her, everything we could do to help her succeed,” Wendy recalls. “She was strong when she moved out, yet her story still ended badly. It was hard on the Harbor House staff who were so invested in her recovery from domestic violence.”

Wendy’s takeaway from that incident: “Not all outcomes are pretty, but we have to keep trying, we have to keep coming to work everyday to help those who need us. We’d love for every story to have a happy ending, but often it is in the unsuccessful metric that we find the inspiration to continue our work.”

“I feel so good about the work I’ve done and where Catholic Charities is now,” Wendy says. “There is strong leadership in place, the organization is on solid financial footing, and there is a new executive director in place who I have the utmost confidence in to continue the important work of Catholic Charities.”