Voice: A Catholic Charities Podcast

Incidental music: Point de vue by Mathieu La montagne & Emmanuel Toledo

As a society, we operate in systems: ecosystems, education, economic, political systems. How systems relate to social justice and what it means to bring about systems change is the work of Courageous Change Collective. Sindy Morales Garcia and Kirsten Johnson of Courageous Change Collective join Mike Rios-Keating for a discussion on systems change.

In this podcast, we've taken some time to explore Catholic social thought, teachings that have given Catholic Charities its grounding, and on which the agency's mission was founded. In this episode, we wanted to get into what is often referred to as the core pillar, the cornerstone tenant: human dignity. To dive into this pillar we talk with Doctor Roger Bergman, professor emeritus of Creighton University.

When explaining homelessness, statistics are used to demonstrate the scope of the issue, but can the arts create awareness and understanding about homelessness that numbers can't? Mike Rios-Keating talks with Maren Ward, Artistic Director of the zAmaya Theater Project about the organization's unique approach to community collaboration and partnership using performances and storytelling to share experiences of homelessness through those who have experienced homelessness, are experiencing homelessness and those with no experience with it.

The tendency is to think of housing as an issue at the municipal level but what role does the state play in addressing the housing crisis when each community's needs are so different? Can statewide policy really meet local housing needs, given the diversity we see across the state? Lorna Schmidt talks to Representative Mike Howard, a 2nd term legislator representing District 50A, which includes the suburb of Richfield, and who serves as Vice-Chair of the Housing Finance & Policy Committee.

Trauma exists in many forms and millions of Americans experience it every year. Traumatic experiences impact mental and physical health and significantly impacts one's overall well-being. Trauma has ripple effects for one's families and across generations. As statistics on trauma become more widely known there is a growing need for what is known as Trauma-informed Care. Lorna Schmidt discusses Trauma-informed Care with Stacie Joncas, Senior Program Manager of Clinical Health at Catholic Charities.

Mike Rios-Keating speaks to Ron Krietemeyer who has deep roots in Catholic Social Teaching and was instrumental in forming the list of ten themes that are still used as an overall framework for understanding how the principles of Catholic Social Teaching flow from one to another.

When talking about issues like homelessness or affordable housing, the phrase "housing continuum" is often referred to but many people have questions about what it means. In this episode of Voice, Amanda Horner and Mike Rios-Keating provide answers to the most asked questions.

From our daily social services to our social justice advocacy work, the mission of Catholic Charities of St. Paul and Minneapolis is built on Catholic Social Teaching. Despite its deep roots in scripture and church documents, Catholic social teaching is not universally understood. In the first of a series of episodes, Mike Rios-Keating explores what Catholic Social Thought is, its history, why it matters and what its implications are for us today.