This past Monday, PIX11 debuted an episode of Monica Makes It Happen hosted by Emmy-award winning journalist (and noted gala emcee) Monica Morales featuring Catholic Charities of New York CEO J. Antonio Fernández as guest co-anchor. The weekly news show turns storytelling into action to serve New Yorkers in need, including mental health and financial literacy, among other pressing needs.
Additional guests included Grace P. Bonilla, Chief Executive Officer of The United Way NYC, and Beatriz de la Torre, Chief Philanthropy Officer of Trinity Church NYC, both partners of Catholic Charities of New York.
The episode kicked off with a discussion about housing. “You know, there are a lot of people in New York City who don’t have stable housing. We are helping them pay rent and find resources,” explained Fernández. “We have affordable housing that we are getting people into as well, including families and seniors. For us, it’s a basic human need.”
Fernández emphasized the role of Catholic Charities of New York’s case managers — professionals who offer individualized assessments and support to New Yorkers in need — in combating housing insecurity. “We do eviction prevention. A lot of people get help from Catholic Charities case managers, who talk to them about the problems they are facing. Often, people have to choose between rent, food, or school. So for Catholic Charities, it’s a must that we provide respectful, dignified housing opportunities for them.”
For Morales, who experienced homelessness and financial hardships growing up, housing difficulties are part and parcel with food instability and other inequities.
“I can’t tell you how many times we’ve been in people’s homes, and we open up the refrigerator and see there’s nothing there. I have that in my personal story as well, so there’s something really emotional about it,” she explained.
Fernández noted the complexities of addressing food insecurity in New York City, where it affects 17% of residents, reaching 22% to 25% in the Bronx and Harlem.
He emphasized that, along with relief and resources to support food and housing stability, charitable institutions should focus on opportunities for upward mobility, from education to workforce development.
“Just as we need to provide people with housing, we need to provide them with food, and we need to help them get a job. And to get a job, you need an education,” he said.
Morales highlighted the Latinidad Library, located in Catholic Charities of New York’s Alianza Dominicana Cultural Center, created in partnership with The United Way NYC, a nonprofit dedicated to helping New Yorkers from low-income backgrounds build self-sufficient lives.
Grace P. Bonilla, the organization’s President and CEO, spoke about the library as part of a larger push for literacy. “It’s a beautiful thing for us to be able to create these hubs of nurturing from birth around books. It has really been a labor of love for us at United Way of New York City,” she explained. “We’ve put libraries in domestic violence shelters, in bodegas, in places where there are more smoke shops than there are books available for our kids. That is our incentive: to ensure that our smallest New Yorkers have a book in their hands.”
“Because if they have a book in their hand,” Bonilla continued, “we’re sending a clear message that there is a future for them in this city. It is an honor to be able to work with places like Catholic Charities to make those things happen.”
“You need an education to do anything,” said Fernández. “Our small but mighty library at Alianza Dominicana is there to ensure that our kiddos can read and understand the power of reading. We couldn’t have done it without The United Way.”
Morales pointed out that both Bonilla and Fernández are also heavily engaged in work that addresses the increased need for food aid following regulations that threaten to cut Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Medicaid benefits.
Bea de la Torre, Chief Philanthropy Officer of Trinity Church NYC — which funds both The United Way NYC and Catholic Charities of New York — spoke to her organization’s three-part role in addressing hunger as a parish church, direct services provider, and philanthropy.
“When we realized this is a crisis, we thought about who really responds to crises. Who has the network? Who knows who to call — Not just in terms of the nonprofit sector, but also government — and who can get this done? Who can execute?” said de la Torre. “We’re one of the bigger philanthropic funders in the city, and through that, we have been able to see the incredible work that Grace and her team at The United Way of New York City and Catholic Charities have been doing.”
