Heidi O’Quinn, Catholic Social Services Program Manager, was the special guest speaker at Tuesday’s Rotary Board Meeting.

O’Quinn gave a presentation informing the Rotary Board about the mission of Catholic Social Ministries as well as a 2018 year in review report about the aid provided by the program.

Catholic Social Ministries seeks to help the needy people of Selma out of poverty by providing social services and support.

O’Quinn began the report by debunking a few common myths about the clientele the program serves.

“A lot of people think that our clients are lazy and just want a check,” said O’Quinn. “Our clients want jobs but they have trouble overcoming the barriers between them and employment.”

According to Quinn, the barriers many clients face are securing a job that provides enough hours to support themselves and their families, getting transportation to get to and from work and providing child care.

Catholic Social Services helps clients overcome these barriers by providing counseling sessions as well as aid to help pay for housing, transportation and clothing.

The program provided $200,000 in charitable aid collected from private donors in 2018.

After O’Quinn gave the report, Susan Raymond, Vice President of Program Integrations at Edmundite Missions informed the board about plans for the upcoming Dr. Michael and Catherine Bullock Community Center.

According to Raymond, the community center will have a full-size basketball court, weight room, two classrooms and an art gallery.

Raymond says the project will hopefully be completed in mid-December.