WINCHESTER — Catholic Charities’ district office in Winchester offers a variety of services for children, families and the community. Brenda Batt, a native of the Shenandoah Valley and the office director since April, has been a therapist since 1983.

"All the work I’ve done in mental health and social services has been very child-centered and family focused," she said. "It’s one of the things that drew me to Catholic Charities — because of our crisis pregnancy outreach; our adoptions program, primarily of infants; and our family services, which is the counseling and therapy portion of our work."

The office serves the City of Winchester as well as the counties of Clarke, Frederick, Page, Shenandoah and Warren and the western parts of Fauquier, Loudoun and Rappahannock Counties. The professional staff provides adoption services; foster care; counseling for families and individuals; aid to unwed parents and their families; emergency assistance, information and referrals; and participates in community development.

Two of Batt’s specialties include working with adult survivors of childhood abuse and trauma, and also with people on vocational issues, including mid-life career entry and change and vocational rehabilitation. In addition to Batt, the staff includes two full-timers, Donna Leake, social worker in their children’s services division; Jo Ann Blaker, office manager who handles emergency assistance; and part-timer Sherry Weaver-Snook, social worker who works in home studies, international and interstate adoptions.

Batt said one of her visions for the district office is for the staff to "be out in parishes more" around their service area. "I think there are a lot of people in the parishes who have a heart for what we do" but do not realize that the personnel are available outside the office. "We hope to be out there working directly and folks feel very much a sense of connection with us and we with them."

Prior to the office’s open house last week, Batt sent letters to the priests in their district offering to visit the parish and discuss needs. "We really want to partner with the priests in serving their parish and community," she said.

The district office is involved in several initiatives to expand services. In emergency assistance, it is increasingly working closely with other social service organizations to ensure clients have on-going case management through the agencies, such as Salvation Army. They are also expanding the scope of their crisis pregnancy counseling beyond the parent’s pre-natal term. In their children’s services, they recently began play therapy for the young. Due to the growing Hispanic population in their area, the office may add a Spanish-speaking counselor in the future.

Current needs include more board members from across their service region, monetary support and volunteers, such as with the crisis pregnancy program. Batt used the example of having more helpers to transport the mothers to doctor appointments, assisting with the teenagers and babies, or providing a family home for a pregnant youth in different parts of their area.

Batt said the spiritual aspect of Catholic Charities brought her to the agency.

"I like being with a faith-based organization," she said. "I believe in our mission and I really want to connect with the people in the parishes and the community who also have a heart for the work that we do. I think that everything that we do is a ministry. It’s our mission together, the Church’s mission."

Clients do not need to be Catholic. The office now accepts insurance and also offers services on a sliding scale fee. The Catholic Charities district office is located at 1011 Berryville Ave., Suite 1, Winchester, and can be contacted at 540/667-7940. For information go to www.ccda.net.