SIDNEY — In 2015, the Northern Area Office of Catholic Social Services of the Miami Valley provided assistance to meet the needs of more than 3,000 residents in Shelby County and surrounding areas.

According to Kathy Sell, director of the Northern Area Office, “In keeping with the CSSMV mission of strengthening individuals and families through actions of faith, service, and charity, the agency focused on mental health counseling, senior services, preschool intervention, pregnancy counseling, and adoption support.”

Elaine Schweller-Snyder, marketing/development coordinator for CSSMV Northern Area Office, has submitted the following report:

With the Sidney location as its base, the Northern Office of CSSMV provided vital services to residents of all faiths in Auglaize, Champaign, Darke, Logan, Miami, Mercer, Preble, and Shelby Counties. Services impacted all ages from preschool to the elderly.

CSSMV offered professional Mental Health Counseling services to individuals, families, and groups. Licensed, experienced counselors helped clients deal with a wide range of issues including relationships, stress, grief and loss, and depression. By empowering clients to resolve these issues, CSSMV worked to help individuals and in turn, stabilize area families.

Social workers and counselors working in the CSSMV Early Childhood Program promoted healthy social and emotional development in young children, both as individuals and in group settings. They supported educators and parents in local daycares and preschools by assessing disruptive behaviors and reinforcing positive social skills and behaviors necessary for early learning achievement and future educational success.

Maintaining its role as a full-service pregnancy counseling program and licensed adoption agency, CSSMV continued to work with women and couples experiencing unplanned pregnancies. Professional counselors offered support for those who decided to keep their babies and helped birthmothers choosing adoption to consider all the available options.

Since 1984, the Northern Area office of CSSMV has continued to collaborate with the Ohio Department of Aging to administer the PASSPORT waiver program, matching individuals with long term services and support.

In the past year, CSSMV Northern County continued to collaborate with the Shelby County United Way, PSA-2 Area Agency on Aging, and other local community agencies to provide services to Shelby County individuals. Licensed social workers and registered nurses at CSSMV coordinated community resources and educated families on available options for long term home and community based services through care management.

The Director and staff at CSSMV have made it a priority to keep abreast of the programs and policy changes at the state level that are leading to changes in the senior services PASSPORT system and in community based long term services for all populations. CSSMV is committed to expanding its services as necessary to meet the long term needs of residents in area communities in the years to come.

A new year always brings new challenges. CSSMV has found that one of the barriers to connecting individuals to services that can enhance the quality of life in rural communities is finding adequate transportation. Thanks to a grant from the Ohio Department of Transportation, CSSMV is rolling out a new program for 2016 that will enable our agency to be a call center devoted to educating consumers on types of transportation available in their communities that will meet their mobility needs.

Thanks to community support from the United Way and generous donors, Catholic Social Services looks forward to another year of serving the residents of Shelby County and the surrounding areas.