Catholic Charities Twin Cities operates 365 days a year, 24/7, said Mike Rios-Keating, director of culture and belonging for the organization. Last year, it served 33,000 people.
“Our doors never really close when it comes to our emergency services. I think that in some folks’ minds, homelessness comes up in their mind in the winter months in Minnesota. Obviously, we get these sorts of uniquely cold snaps, these blizzards. And they are life threatening. But heat is just as dangerous,” Rios-Keating said on the “Practicing Catholic” radio program set to debut at 9 p.m. Aug. 1 on Relevant Radio 1330 AM.
During the summer, Rios-Keating said, Catholic Charities Twin Cities has to respond to heat in much the say way it responds to cold, by having safe places for people to be indoors.
“We need to be able to get people out of the heat as just sort of a bare minimum.”
In addition, more people are outside and in need of help during the summer, Rios-Keating said.
“It is a little more accessible to travel (by) public transportation to get to an opportunity center, to come from central Minnesota down to our spaces,” Rios-Keating said. “(Summer) is busy. But we try and recognize that we need to be serving folks all year round.”
The number of volunteers also declines during the summer, when school is out and weekends are busy, Rios-Keating said.
“We get really generous folks coming in before Christmas and that is important and we need jackets and we need warm socks, but we also, in the summer, (we) need shorts and we need everyday things like belts and underwear,” Rios-Keating said. “It really is a continual puzzle of where are the resources? Where is the energy throughout the calendar year?”
The organization, Rios-Keating said, leans into the dignity of the human person as a foundational principle. During new employee orientation, staff are told that there is an expectation to uphold this principle in the organization’s programs and interactions.
To hear the full interview with radio show host Patrick Conley, listen to this episode of “Practicing Catholic,” which repeats at 1 p.m. Aug. 2 and 2 p.m. Aug. 3.
Produced by Relevant Radio and the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, the latest show also includes an interview with Bishop Kevin Kenney on ways to avoid needing approval and affirmation. Also, Lacy Apfelbeck, founder of Edge of the Red Sea Ministries in St. Francis, shares ways to feel secure amidst uncertainty and instability.
Listen to interviews after they have aired at archspm.org/faith-and-discipleship/practicing-catholic or choose a streaming platform at Spotify for Podcasters.
