Update: Catholic Social Services Scaling Back

Now for another look at a store we mentioned Monday on UGN News.

The Marquette Catholic Diocese is finding it harder and harder to support one of its service agencies in the region.

At the end of January, Catholic Social Services of the U.P. is closing 4 of its 7 branch offices.

Only the Marquette, Escanaba and Iron Mountain offices will remain open.

Marquette Police Chief Mike Angeli is also the president of the group’s Board of Directors.

He says they’d known for at least 6 months that they were struggling financially and needed to do something.

Angeli says they examined every way imaginable to keep the agency going without resorting to closures and layoffs, but none of those proved feasible.

9 of the agency’s 26 employees will lose their jobs.

Those 9 work out of the Houghton, Ironwood, Iron River and Sault Ste. Marie offices.

Angeli says the group had to do this to survive.

He adds that once it hires a new director, which it’s in the process of doing right now, they’ll eventually examine whether or not they can return to those areas.

Angeli says they do want to return.

We asked the Diocese of Marquette if we could speak with anyone in the Houghton office, since that’s 1 of the 4 that will close.

The Diocese directed us to Angeli instead.