Decatur Catholic Charities

Food Pantry: Our Food Pantry staff (distributing 10 hours weekly) provides thousands of free bags of nutritional food to families and individuals facing food insecurity.

Clothes Closet: Located at the food pantry, the clothes closet is open to the public Mon. - Frid. 9:00 am - 11:00 am. No referral needed to obtain clothing and no limit on amount of free clothing individuals can receive.

Mobile Food Pantry: Through the hunger relief effort, our refrigerated Mobile Food Pantry truck delivers a two-week supply of food to pre-registered individuals and families in rural communities throughout our services areas of Macon, Moultrie and Shelby Counties

4 Seasons Resale Store: Our Resale Store sells donated merchandise at nominal costs to the general public.

MedAssist: Our MedAssist program aids individuals in securing hundreds of free or low cost maintenance prescriptions valued in the thousands of dollars.

Senior Health Insurance Program: Our Senior Health Insurance Program (SHIP) is a free counseling service sponsored by the Illinois Department of Aging. We provide you with information you need to make educated decisions regarding Medicare, Medicaid and the Marketplace.

Dental Voucher Program: Our Dental Voucher Program, developed by HSHS St. Mary's Hospital and Decatur Catholic Charities, helps individuals find appropriate care for adults who need emergency tooth extractions. Those who qualify also will find relief from the burden of paying for emergency dental and oral surgery services.

Legal Services: Our Legal Services helps people with little to no income in obtaining pro bono legal assistance from area lawyers in specialized fields while also providing guidance to our clients in order to get the assistance they need right now.

Student Assistance Program: Our Student Assistance Program counselor servicing grades K-12 is on staff to assist area Catholic Schools.

Meals on Wheels: is a community service which provides the delivery of a hot and healthy noontime meals to an individual in the comfort and privacy of their own home. Our meals are planned and prepared under the supervision of a Registered Dietician at Decatur Memorial Hospital. All Meals are heart healthy and diabetic safe. The meals provide one-third of the recommended daily allowance of nutrition. Specialized diets including renal, low lactose and pureed are also available. Our meals are delivered by dedicated volunteers Monday through Friday between the hours of 10:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m.

Faith in Action: Faith in Action serves frail homebound elderly age 55 and older.  Services are provided at no cost through a network of trained volunteers from area religious congregations, service organizations and the community at-large.  Our goal is to assist individuals and their families to maintain their independence, dignity and quality of life.  Some of the services provided are friendly visiting, transportation and escort, shopping and errand running, minor home and yard maintenance, letter writing and reading, respite and occasional meal preparation. For more information on Faith in Action of Macon County call 217-428-0013.

Matter of Balance: A Matter of Balance is an evidence based program designed to prevent frequent falls among older adults.  It helps those adults who are concerned about falls, have sustained a fall in the past, restrict activities because of concerns about falling, are interested in improving flexibility, balance and strength, and are age 60 years of age or older, ambulatory and able to problem-solve.  The program focus is to help participants view falls and the fear of falling as controllable, set realistic goals for increasing activity, change the environment to reduce fall risk factors, and to promote exercise to increase strength and balance.  Classes are conducted by trained volunteer coaches.  Classes are held once a week for eight weeks.  Each class is two hours long. During the third class, there is a 30-minute exercise component added. A physical therapist will come to one class to answer questions and discuss safety issues.  Each class will have group discussion, involve problem solving and skill-building, assertiveness training, share solutions exercise training and there will be a pre and post survey. For more information on this program, call 217-428-0013.

Eldercare Options: Eldercare Options is a program that assesses, counsels, and determines the need for guardianship for disabled elderly adults who are no longer able to make sound judgments on their own. When someone can no longer manage his or her personal affairs, finances, or health care, our staff will coordinate with Physicians and Attorneys and then will secure an appropriate decision maker and testify in court as to the need of a guardian.  We also offer alternative services to guardianship, such as Power of Attorneys and referrals to other agencies, and information and education about guardianship to families.

Elderly Guardianship: Elderly Guardianship provides appropriate decision-making and advocacy for elderly adults who lack the ability to make proper judgments concerning their health, well-being and safety after being named through a court order, Guardian of Person.  Staff visits clients regularly and becomes their surrogate decision maker and surrogate family member as family are usually not available or appropriate to serve as guardian. Our caring staff makes decisions along with the client on such issues as housing, medical procedures, medications, and quality of life issues.  Staff is on call 24 hours a day and even makes plans for proper burial.