CLEVELAND — Catholic Charities USA today announced that the Diocese of Cleveland is one of three winners of their $1 million Innovation Challenge.
The Diocese of Cleveland was the winner of the large agency category and will receive $333,333 to launch the Max Kolbe Program (MAX), which is a certified peer support program involving job training, community collaboration and social efforts to help those in poverty struggling with addiction.
"I'm very happy that we've received this award, especially because it's going to help us serve more people on the road to recovery and enable us to equip and empower other Catholic Charities to do likewise in their diocese," said Patrick Gareau, President and CEO of Catholic Charities, Diocese of Cleveland. "I'm especially proud of our team for all the hard work they did to make this a reality, including everyone behind the scenes who worked on our proposal and video content, as well as the colleagues who joined me on the panel for the Finals Show."
MAX will expand upon an existing Peer Recovery Support program in Summit County that pairs peer recovery coaches with clients in crisis as they begin their road to recovery.
Other winners of the Innovation Challenge included Catholic Charities of Omaha and Catholic Charities West Virginia in the small and medium agency categories.
