Now in its seventh year, the Collaboration for Ministry Initiative (CMI) encourages partnerships and networks among women religious and between women religious and their lay partners.  The effort grew from Foundation-supported research conducted in 2001 that identified collaboration as an important strategy for strengthening and sustaining ministries.

 

CMI currently supports research on the ministries of women religious in Cleveland and its inner ring suburbs by Rob Fischer, Ph.D., Co-Director of the Center on Urban Poverty & Community Development at Case Western Reserve University.

 

This research is looking into the impact of the Diocesan reconfiguration process on these ministries and the Sisters’ vision and challenges for these ministries as they move forward.  CMI also supports active collaborations of congregations such as the Collaborative to End Human Trafficking, in which six congregations work together to build awareness and expand resources on the issue of human trafficking in Ohio.

 

The Sisters of Charity Foundation of Cleveland continues this work through the Collaboration for Ministry Initiative, which now includes a partnership with the Sisters of Charity Foundation of South Carolina to assist women religious throughout that state.

 

Several collaborative ministries are now operating in Northeast Ohio. Here are a few that were spotlighted by the Conference of Religious Leaders:

 

 

Beatitude House, a ministry of the Ursuline Sisters of Youngstown, provides community housing and supportive services for disadvantaged women and children in he Youngstown area.  Humility of Mary Housing provides transitional housing for families, including case management, youth advocacy, and emergency assistance, in Youngstown and nearby Girard, OH.  

Together, these ministries of 2 congregations have collaborated to strengthen programming and improve operations in sites across Mahoning and Trumbull counties.   These efficiencies are essential to improving the lives of women and their children in need of housing and support in a particularly challenged economic environment.

This high-quality, faith-inspired residence for independent and assisted living in Bedford, OH emerged from the missions of both the Sisters of Charity of St. Augustine and the Sisters of Charity of Cincinnati.  In 2004, Light of Hearts added a Community Services Program for seniors in the surrounding community.  Since that time the facility has served more than 600 clients with social services, including transportation arrangements, food, and referrals to other community services through its Seton Safety Net program.