Before launching into this month’s column, I want to take a minute to thank the hundreds of Pilot readers who responded to last month’s column and envelope on Catholic Charities’ need to restock our shelves. We are deeply moved, and even more deeply appreciative. We will put your generosity to good work.

It has become our tradition at each quarterly meeting of our Board of Trustees to have a staff member present on one of our programs. This quarter, Robert Hibbard presented on our English for Employment and English for Speakers of Other Languages programs at El Centro del Cardenal in the South End. Between the two programs, we serve about 145 people per year as they try to improve their English language skills and move themselves and their families toward economic self-sufficiency.

Most people know Catholic Charities for our basic needs and emergency response services. The work we do to help people achieve long-term economic self-sufficiency is just as important. That’s one of the things I love about being at Charities -- we give a fish and teach how to fish.

Each year, 15 women participate in our English for Employment program at El Centro. While the program helps them improve their English skills so that they can improve their job prospects, it does a lot more than that. Their instructor works as a case worker. We help them navigate the requirements to receive state aid through various programs. We help them prepare for citizenship, and learn how to communicate with the teachers at the schools their children attend. Imagine the tremendous pride of a student who has just gone to the doctor alone, without the invasion of privacy of having to bring a child or a friend to help translate.

We do all this for about $4,000 per person per year. The economic case alone for this kind of work is strong. The Department of Transitional Assistance maximum monthly cash benefit for a family of four is $731. That adds up to roughly $8,700 per year. The DTA cash assistance is just one component of what a family receiving support from the state might receive. If it costs $4,000 per year to help someone become economically self-sufficient through this program, and being economically self-sufficient saves at a minimum $8,700.