CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — The Catholic Charities- Corpus Christi organization is launching 'Circles of the Coastal Bend' to help reduce poverty and remove barriers in the community, but the program is still in need of volunteers and food donations first.
Program coordinator Isabel Jones said this 18 month long program is the first in Texas but it has shown successful results across the nation.
"The root of the problem sometimes is usually that the person is experiencing poverty, so we take care of the problem and everything else will be better not only for individuals but for the community as a whole," Jones said.
The federal poverty level is 11 percent and in Texas it is 14 percent. Here in Corpus Christi, it's 17.3 percent, a number that Big View Committee Chair Jim Klein said is a concern for the city.
"We got a large, underserved population here in Corpus Christi," Klein said. "We got some nonprofits that are doing really good work, but we can always do more. We're not fully meeting the need yet so I think there is room for Circles."
For two decades, the Circles USA program has successfully helped families get out of poverty. Jones said the Circles of Coastal Bend chapter is hoping to do the same here.
"The data to back up what they have done in the past and we can see how the numbers have showed an improvement in their income after they participated in the program," she said.
Although the program is set to begin in June, Jones said they are still in need for volunteers and food donations.
"So what we're trying to provide for them is a full-style meal, so that day they don't have to worry about what they're going to eat and also for our volunteers," Jones said.
She said this program is crucial to help families break the cycle of generational poverty.
"So we're hoping that if a person moves out of poverty, then the chain of poverty will end there and that will be the end of that," Jones said.
To donate food or volunteer with the Circles of the Coastal Bend, click here.