Shalom Center has set records for the past two years in number of persons in residence and days of care provided.  In 2020 we saw 78 clergy and religious on our campus and 6,388 days of service were provided  But in 2021 we had 98 clergy and religious residents and we provided 6,428 days of care.  We stayed open and received new admissions all through the Covid pandemic with appropriate precautions in place to protect residents and staff.

 

We declined to participate in the Payroll Protection Program, as we were able to stay in operation and believed the funds could be better used where needed.

 

The Serra Clubs of the Houston area continue to support our mission to priests, deacons, sisters, and seminarians.  The Serra Club of Northeast of Houston has provided holiday meals for our residents this past Thanksgiving and other holidays.  This club also has provided volunteer drivers to take residents to outside doctors’ appointments and other trips, as our residents came from 32 states and other countries this year and need local transportation.

 

We are looking forward in 2022 to developing plans for a new dining facility on our campus which will free up other needed space for our busy schedule of activities.

 

We are also looking forward to participating in in-person conferences this year again after the Covid hiatus.  The Leadership Conference of Women Religious, the Conference of Major Superiors of Men Religious, the Catholic Psychotherapy Association, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops are meetings we have traditionally attended to meet with leaders about the needed services of Shalom Center.

 

After the Great Freeze of February 2021, our Board of Directors voted to expand our generator capacity to the whole campus rather than just our current kitchen and dining room.  We expect the generator to be installed in early summer this year.

 

We lost a great friend of Shalom Center, Hugh Rafferty, this past summer.  Hugh was a great help to Shalom Center since its earliest days, and we will miss his wisdom and strength in supporting our mission.  May he rest in peace.