New head of CCH tackles homelessness, immigration issues

Terrence “Terry” Walsh moved back to Oahu last fall to take over as chief executive officer and president of Catholic Charities of Hawaii, after holding a similiar post at the social service agency’s West Michigan operation, as well as overseeing its immigration services in that state and New Jersey.

While the islands’ far milder winter weather was a change after years in the Midwest, it didn’t take long to adjust. Walsh, 47, already knew Hawaii, having met his wife while attending Chaminade University, where he earned his bachelor’s degree in behavioral science. The couple has two children.

The state’s mounting social troubles, while not unanticipated, have grown more serious in the intervening years. Immigration aid remains an ongoing need and concern of the agency’s credentialed counselors.

And of course, homelessness and the needs of an aging population — “the senior tsunami,” Walsh called it — are plainly evident. Although they are national concerns, Hawaii is burdened with a housing shortage and high living costs, too.

All this means more work for Catholic Charities, just in the news for opening its Meheula Vista senior residences in Mililani.

“Because there’s a need for more services to be provided, government funding is spread thinner,” he added. “So there’s a natural expectation from government for nonprofits to do more with less. And that’s a challenge for us.”

Walsh added that the nonprofit’s coping strategy now must include collaboration with other social-service organizations.

“We don’t always have to do it all,” he said, “and we don’t have to feel like we need to be experts in every area. We have to know who else is doing what in the community, and be able to make those referrals.”

Question: Briefly, what is the range of the agency’s programs, and what is your annual budget and source of your funding?

Answer: Our organization has a staff of 300 that annually assists over 40,000 individuals through over 30 programs and services statewide. Through our programs and services, Catholic Charities Hawai‘i (CCH) has served all people, especially those with the greatest need, regardless of their faith or culture.

Because our name is Catholic Charities, there is this common misconception by some that we only serve those who are Catholics. That is not true. We offer assistance to all walks of life.

We have an annual budget of approximately $27 million. Our programs vary. We assist seniors and have the largest senior center in the state with the Lanakila Multi-Purpose Center in Kalihi. We help homeless families and veterans find permanent housing; offer counseling services to those in need; provide shelter to young expecting mothers; and overall, have given compassionate help to those who have lost hope.

Q: You’ve said 90 percent of your funds come from government contracts; the rest is private. Are you looking to change that?

A: My goal, and something to look at, would be to increase the private contribution percentage so we’re not so reliant on governmental contracts.

Q: What do you see as Hawaii’s particular challenges, as compared with Catholic Charities in Michigan?

A: Being separated from the mainland, people living in Hawaii have a much higher cost of living to deal with. So with that, and a housing shortage, there is a need for more affordable housing.

We’ve done much to transition homeless individuals and families into long-term housing, but in recent years we’ve sought ways to help fund and build more permanent housing, such as Meheula Vista. …

Q: Where do you think Hawaii has made progress in its homelessness crisis? What additional work is the most urgent, going forward?

A: From what I’ve been told and seen so far, our state has made substantial progress. But obviously, we have a ways to go in resolving the overall problem.

But there are some innovative solutions, like the state’s Family Assessment Center in Kakaako. CCH has been contracted to operate the facility and it provides homeless families with young children a temporary safe haven for up to three months while working with other social service organizations in finding long-term housing.

There are the short-term solutions and efforts to get people off the streets and more long-term ones in locating them permanent housing. All the involved agencies are working together in trying to resolve this on both ends of the problem.

Dealing with homelessness goes beyond getting families and veterans off the streets. There are social programs to make sure people don’t end up losing their home and end up homeless.

We and other agencies have housing assistance programs to provide temporary financial help in making the rent if clients are dealing with hardships such as recent loss of employment or serious medical illness.

Q: What do you say to critics who say the homelessness problem shouldn’t fall all on social services? Do you see a place for personal responsibility in the discussion?

A: I think everyone has a role to play in helping resolve the homelessness crisis. Everyone in their own way can contribute in the fight against homelessness, whether it is donating time, money or supplies, such as canned goods or clothes, to the many agencies like ours that serve the homeless.

But for the public and private agencies involved in this crisis, we understand our role in continuing to chip away at the problem. We need to continue setting the example in providing hope to the general public that we can do something about this, and not feel a sense of hopelessness about the issue.

Q: Immigration is big in the news. Does it worry you that there’s so much conflict around this issue? Does it affect what the agency does in any way?

A: Hawaii’s population is the most diverse in the nation, 75 percent of which is composed of a mixture of different ethnicities. In Hawaii, diversity within the ohana is the norm, not the exception.

My wife, whom I met in Hawaii while I attended Chaminade University, wasn’t born in this country. We have seven foster sons who are Sudanese refugees. My mother-in-law is a Vietnamese immigrant. My wife’s aunt is a Vietnamese refugee. My great-great grandparents were immigrants from Ireland.

This, in many ways, is a typical American family, made up of a quilt work of different languages, cultures and ethnicities. …

I’ve also had the unique opportunity to work with refugee and immigration programs for over 20 years. … I was also a consultant for the United Nations Refugee agency (UNHCR) as a Child Welfare expert and I served as the Division Director for the Refugee Resettlement program for the Overseas Processing Entity in Ghana, where we interviewed refugees from West Africa before they came to the United States.

With this perspective, I can say with confidence that the vetting process for refugees coming into the U.S. is comprehensive and exhaustive, with refugees going through a score of interviews with several different agencies. The process actually comprises at least 20 independent steps with several rounds of background checks.

Q: What are your top priorities for advancing your program goals? What is most in need of attention?

A: With Catholic Charities Hawaii celebrating its 70th anniversary this year, a challenge for our organization is how we can best adapt to fit the growing and changing needs of the community to provide a multitude of programs to serve our kupuna, keiki and others in need.

Like many nonprofit organizations, another challenge is to remain financially sound, yet continue to operate our programs despite reduced government funding. With recent funding cuts over the years, we definitely will need to rely more on fundraising, grants and individual monetary donations to continue our services to serve the elderly, keiki and the homeless.

Since arriving in November, I’ve been learning on the job by observing the CCH staff and admire the charitable social work they do. Taking over for longtime CEO and president Jerry Rauckhorst, I acknowledge I have big shoes to fill.

As an organization, we will make adjustments to better ourselves, but I believe the most important thing is continuing CCH’s mission of love, compassion and serving those in need.