Catholic Charities Western Slope Marks 30 Years of Service

This August, Catholic Charities of the Western Slope celebrated three decades of compassionate service in Garfield, Eagle and Pitkin counties—thirty years of walking alongside neighbors and standing in the gap for struggling families and extending the healing ministry of Jesus Christ to this unique mountain region.
From its home inside the historic St. Stephen’s Catholic Church in Glenwood Springs, the Western Slope office has grown since 1995 into a lifeline for the community, with satellite offices in Avon and Eagle. Here, a small but dedicated team tackles challenges that come with serving a region defined by contrasts—where the luxury of ski resorts like Aspen and Vail meets the hard realities of working-class families trying to make ends meet.
“You have the ultra-wealthy with their second, third or fourth homes up here, but we also see families crammed together—three or four households in a single two- or three-bedroom unit,” said Marian McDonough, who has served with Catholic Charities for 17 years.
High living costs and limited affordable housing are persistent hurdles, compounded by the region’s rugged geography and lack of public transportation.
Despite the obstacles, McDonough and her team have helped hundreds of families and individuals secure stable housing since 1995, often providing rent assistance while clients wait for housing vouchers. Along the way, they’ve kept families—and their pets—together.
For many people in the area, they have been in the community for decades. They’ve built communities
The team’s impact stretches beyond housing. From emergency assistance like rent and utility payments to bus tickets for clients traveling to shelters in Grand Junction or Denver, the Western Slope office meets critical needs every month. They also fight wage theft, recovering tens of thousands of dollars for hospitality and construction workers—many of them seasonal employees and immigrants—while educating them on their rights.
For McDonough, the success of the past 30 years is rooted in trust. “We’ve built a reputation of being trustworthy,” she said. “Once people know we can help, they reach out and it becomes a ripple effect.”
Looking forward, the team is eager to expand awareness of its homeless prevention program, especially with the opening of the St. Benedict affordable housing project, they’ve already referred a number of adults 55+ to live there. They also hope to grow staff capacity to meet increasing demand.
“We’re a small but mighty team,” McDonough said. “And we’re doing incredible work up here.”
From Glenwood Springs to Eagle, Catholic Charities’ Western Slope ministry has spent 30 years proving that compassion, persistence and faith can make a profound difference—even in the face of steep challenges. Here’s to the next thirty plus years of providing service and hope to the Western Slope.