Extension Magazine - Fall 2021

30 INSPIRE
Lumen Christi Past Finalist
IN ADDITION TO introducing
our 2021 finalists, Extension
is highlighting the ongoing
ministry of three Lumen Christi
finalists from previous years:
2020’s Father Ken Schmidt
and Sharon Froom from the
Diocese of Kalamazoo (current
page), 2016’s Father Edward
Brienz from the Diocese of
Youngstown (page 32) and
2015’s Sister Kathleen Atkinson,
OSB, from the Diocese of
Bismarck (page 34).
These humble servants
continue to radiate and reveal
the light of Christ present in the
communities where they serve
long after they are honored.
Sisters use technology
in service of their mission
A PHONE-BASED APP HELPS BRING MORE SUPPORT
TO THOSE SUFFERING MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES
In 2020 Father Ken Schmidt
and Sharon Froom from
the Diocese of Kalamazoo,
Michigan, were honored as
Lumen Christi Award finalists
for their groundbreaking
work in founding Trauma Recovery
Associates (TRA), an organization
designed to assist adults in
overcoming the effects of trauma.
Since its founding in 2002, they
have trained 7,200 people in their
model across the U.S. and in seven
countries.
Among those trained this past
year was a group of more than 70
Latina sisters who minister in Extension-supported
dioceses.
These sisters were invited by
Catholic Extension to participate
in this training due to high rates of
mental health issues they were reporting
among the communities
they serve. This connection was
made possible by a phone app.
In March 2020 Catholic Extension
developed a special app to
help monitor the impact of a particular
group of sisters ministering
in nine different Extension-supported
dioceses. Then the pandemic
struck, drastically altering
the economic and psychological
stability of the people the sisters
serve.
The sisters immediately began
using this technology. Over the
course of a year, they collectively
logged 20,000 “human development
services” that
they provided across the
country through Zoom,
Father Ken Schmidt, MA,
LPC, NCC, and Sharon
Froom, MA, LLP,
created the Trauma
Recovery Associates
to train professionals
who serve people
suffering from trauma.
over the phone or through in-person
interactions.
Upon reviewing the anonymous,
aggregate data, Catholic Extension
could see that the sisters
were encountering high levels of
mental health issues among Latino
immigrants during the pandemic.
The sisters were reporting frequent
instances of anxiety and depression.
“You can see in the numbers
how much mental health was just
a real concern,” said Joe Boland,
Catholic Extension’s vice president
of Mission.
Although the
sisters are not
psychologists,
they are trusted
by the
people
in their
communities.