Facility provides life-saving services

In December, tests for COVID-19 or the coronavirus were given at Catholic Charities, Diocese of Metuchen’s Unity Square, New Brunswick.

The tests, which were free of charge, were administered by the New Jersey Department of Health through the City of New Brunswick.

Julio Coto, acting executive director of Catholic Charities, Diocese of Metuchen (CCDOM), said, “We are committed to the health and safety of the New Brunswick community and are pleased to partner with the City of New Brunswick and the New Jersey Department of Health to make COVID-19 testing accessible to Unity Square residents.”

Unity Square is a community organizing and social concerns initiative of CCDOM, which is supported by the Bishop’s Annual Appeal, that works to empower community members and catalyze change in the residential neighborhood of New Brunswick. Unity Square’s efforts focus on a target neighborhood of about 6,000 low-income residents.

Unity Square addresses a diverse set of issues, including economic development, employment, civic participation, immigrants’ rights, and tenants’ rights.

More recently, Unity Square began emergency food distribution as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. Since April 2020, Unity Square has provided emergency food bags to more than 1,000 unique households.

Through the generosity of International American Supermarkets, Corp. in Piscataway, Unity Square was able to distribute food to its neighborhood of low-income residents. Unity Square also distributed Coronavirus Care Kits provided by St. Peter’s Hospital in New Brunswick. The care kits include a mask, hand sanitizer, bars of soap and educational literature on Covid-19 in both English and Spanish.

Driven by Catholic social teaching, CCDOM provides quality services with dignity and respect  to the poor, vulnerable, and all people in need and partners with families and communities to improve the quality of life.

CCDOM also offers counseling or help for someone impacted by addiction. It accepts major insurance plans, including Medicaid and Medicare. Fees for those without insurance are affordable and are based on a sliding scale. For information, call CCDOM’s Access Center at (800 655-9491.

To see all of CCDOM’s services, visit the website https://www.ccdom.org/