Agency - Catherine McAuley Center

The Catherine McAuley Center, founded by the Sisters of Mercy, promotes the well-being and dignity of individuals in need by providing basic education for adults and a transitional housing program for women.

Description:
Adult Basic Education Program

The Adult Basic Education Program provides free one-on-one tutoring for adult women and men. We offer extended weekday hours to allow for evening tutoring sessions. A childcare room is available while parents study at the Center. We are conveniently located on a bus line.
Assisted by staff members, volunteer tutors and a variety of materials, adult students study at their own level and pace. They may come to the Center to prepare for the GED test, study English or improve basic math and language skills. Tutorials are also available in basic keyboarding and computer skills.
The Center’s Immigrant/Refugee Coordinator provides English Learning instruction and case management services to help clients make a smooth transition into the community.
Many adult students at the Center are employed in the Cedar Rapids community. However, they want to improve the quality of life for themselves and their families. Education is the key to enhancing employment opportunities and a fuller life. With the skills they learn at the Center, adult learners function better in society, contribute to community life and grow in self-esteem.

Transitional Housing Program

The Center's Transitional Housing Program is unique in Iowa, providing unaccompanied women over the age 18 with a safe place to live and an individualized program of guidance to help stabilize their lives.
When women enter the program, their most immediate needs are for shelter, food and/or clothing. Once here, they begin to address other issues that may have contributed to their homelessness: mental or emotional health issues, substance abuse, confinement or probation within the judicial system, relationship problems and/or the inability to maintain employment. The women who come to the Center are highly vulnerable – economically, physically, psychologically and socially.
For those with substance abuse and/or mental health problems, there is a case manager on-site from the Area Substance Abuse Council. Referrals are also made to other appropriate agencies.
The Center's Transitional Housing Program is highly successful in helping women reach their goals. Almost all of those who complete the program move into independent living situations.

History:
History
The Center opened in July 1989 in the "House on Stilts" on 10th Street SE. It initially provided adult education tutoring for women, and within a few months added the transitional housing program for unaccompanied women at another location. The adult education program soon began to serve men and women.

In 1993, the Center's offices moved to the previous Immaculate Conception Convent and the second transitional housing site was opened on the second floor of the building.

The Center opened the third housing unit in 1994.

Beginning in 2000, the Center added on-site education tutoring in English as a Second Language for men and women.

The Center continues to grow with the needs of the community, in both the Adult Basic Education and the Transitional Housing programs.

Contact people:

Brianna Schwenk, Volunteer Coordinator, (phone), (email) Paula Land, Executive Director, (phone), (email) Amelia Waddle, Administrative Assistant, (phone), (email)

Address:

866 4th Avenue SE Cedar Rapids, IA 52403 (See a map)

Web Site: http://www.cmc-cr.org

Directions:

The Catherine McAuley Center is located on the corner of 10th Street and 4th Avenue SE, behind Immaculate Conception Church.

Last updated on April 4, 2013