More questions surrounding CCHD Grantees (Part 1)

Our initial CCHD Campaign report highlighted five grantees about whom we had enough solid evidence to call for their removal from the CCHD grants list.  Our criteria was that we needed indisputable and conclusive evidence from multiple sources showing that a certain grantee was acting directly in support of grave evils condemned by the Catholic Church.

However, a number of other grantees were borderline cases where we felt we did not have quite enough evidence to call for their defunding.  These grantees warrant further investigation by the CCHD and the USCCB and bolster our case that the CCHD grants process is in need of major reform.

We will now present two examples of these borderline cases for your consideration:

Preble Street – This grantee has received CCHD grants for a number of years for their work in empowering the homeless. However, they operate a day shelter where “family planning services” are made available by human service agencies.

Exhibit A:  A screen shot from Preble Street’s web-site taken on August 5th of 2009 (the site has since been updated) states:

21 human service agencies visit the Resource Center to offer services such as mental health and psychiatry, family planning, and transitional housing. (see image for source)

The San Francisco Organizing Project (SFOP) : This PICO affiliated grantee has been funded by the CCHD for at least five years for a variety of projects.  However, they have given major support to health clinics which provide family planning and emergency contraception services to both adults and minors.

Exhibit A: the SFOP lists several major accomplishments in the health care field including:

Won $200,000 for Mission Neighborhood Health Center and Excelsior Clinic for Women and Children.

Saved Excelsior Clinic and the public pharmacy at SF General Hospital. (source: SFOP web-site)

Exhibit B: The Mission Neighborhood Health Center and the Excelsior Clinic provide family planning and emergency contraception services to minors and explain that minors do not need parental consent:

Our Teen Clinic offers Sensitive Services that are FREE and CONFIDENTIAL for all young people of all genders from ages 12 to 21. Services offered cover sexual and reproductive health, including:

• Health education
• Family Planning/Counseling
• Pregnancy tests
• STI (sexually transmitted infections) check and treatment
• Pap smears
• Emergency contraception
• HIV tests and counseling
• General counseling and referrals
• Mental Health Specialist on site

If you are a young person over the age of 12, you can register for Teen Clinic services on your own, without the consent of an adult (California Family Code 6925). All services are FREE and CONFIDENTIAL. (taken from Mission Neighborhood Health Center web-site.  See also: Excelsior Clinic web-site)

In the second part of this series we will present new information on seven other CCHD funded organizations.  This should be posted within the next two days.  In the meantime please visit www.reformcchdnow.com and forward this information to those you know.