[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 86 (Thursday, June 17, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1302]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


            TRIBUTE TO SISTER ESTELLA IBARRA OF TOLEDO, OHIO

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. MARCY KAPTUR

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, June 16, 1999

  Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Sister Estella 
Ibarra of Toledo, Ohio, who is being honored this evening in a special 
tribute for her work in our community. Since her 1988 arrival in 
Toledo, Sr. Estella has tended to the housing, employment, and 
educational needs of South Toledo residents, while ministering to their 
spiritual needs as well.
  After coming to Toledo to establish Marianist Social Ministries, Sr. 
Estella witnessed the critical housing situation facing many of her 
clients and it spurred her on to action. While working as Hispanic 
Outreach Coordinator for Catholic Charities in the Diocese of Toledo, 
she proposed and initiated CHIP: the Charities' Homeowners Initiatives 
Program. Since 1992, CHIP has provided close to thirty low-moderate 
income families with financial counseling, legal assistance, training 
in budgeting, home management, and retirement planning in preparation 
for buying a home. Starting in the city of Toledo, Sr. Estella is 
replicating the program in seventeen other communities in the Toledo 
Catholic Diocese.
  To aid families in housing crises, Sr. Estella founded La Posada, a 
temporary shelter for homeless families. The shelter, named to honor 
the Mexican Christmas tradition in which families walked through the 
village by candlelight reenacting the Holy Family's search for shelter 
on the night of Jesus' birth, allows families in need to stay up to 
ninety days while re-establishing a foothold. Sr. Estella founded La 
Posada in 1991 through the combined efforts of herself and five 
churches in Toledo's Old South End: SS Peter & Paul, Immaculate 
Conception, St. John's Lutheran, First English Lutheran, and Peace 
Lutheran. Serving largely Hispanic families in need, La Posada provides 
help to about 120 people each year, most of whom are migrant workers, 
recent immigrants, and refugees, as they strive toward self-
sufficiency.
  St. Estella also works closely with Toledo Central City Neighborhoods 
Development Corp (TCCN), which is sponsored by ten Catholic churches 
and rehabilitates and builds affordable homes in Toledo's central city 
neighborhood. She began service on TCCN's Board in 1994, and even 
served briefly as the organization's interim director in 1996.
  Sometimes referred to as the ``Mother Teresa of Toledo,'' Sister 
Estella has helped hundreds of Toledo's ``poorest of the poor.'' In a 
time when many in our government and across our nation have abdicated 
our responsibilities toward one other, Sr. Estella has chosen instead 
to follow Christ's teaching; ``Whatever you do to the least of my 
brethren, that you do unto me.'' She is a quiet and humble example of 
how we might live as true followers of Christ, and how we might seek to 
truly impact the life direction of people. Sr. Estella Ibarra is 
ensuring that our future will not only be different but better because 
she has been here. I join our community in honoring her achievements 
and thanking her in the most heartfelt way for the positive changes she 
has brought to people in need.

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