Catholic Community Services welcomes Brad Drake

Intermountain Catholic

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Brad Drake (left) the new executive director of Catholic Community Services, shares a joke with Aden Batar, director of the Refugee Resettlement Program. They stand before the board that reveals the refugees who are expected. IC photo by Barbara S. Lee

SALT LAKE CITY — In business for himself for 30 years, Brad Drake said he felt it was time he gave something back to the community. In 2001, he sold the for-profit grocery business he’d nurtured for 30 years, and went to work for a women’s shelter in Brigham City for five years.

Effective July 1, Drake became the new executive director of Catholic Community Services of Utah, and as such, is responsible for the administration of services at two locations in Salt Lake City, and one facility in Ogden.

"I sent in my resume, then met with the search committee," Drake told the Intermountain Catholic. "Then I met with (Diocesan Vicar General) Msgr. (J. Terrence) Fitzgerald and Bishop (John C.) Wester. We had very pleasant meetings. Then I toured the facilities and met with my predecessor, Maggie St. Claire. After that, I got a real feeling that this is where I want to be."

Drake said he found the CCS facilities – Marillac House for women and St. Mary’s Home for Men, the administrative offices and the offices of the Refugee Resettlement Program on 300 South in Salt Lake City; The St. Vincent de Paul Soup Kitchen and the Weigand Resource Center on 200 South in Salt Lake City; and the Joyce Hansen Hall Food Bank in Ogden – to be "very diverse and challenging. They are worthwhile places, and they have great staffs."

At 60 years old, Drake is certain he knows what his goals are.

"It’s all about helping people," he said. "That is something CCS is very good at doing."

Although he’s been in the executive director’s chair for a little over a month, Drake can already see what is needed as CCS moves forward.

"There is a great need in the community for supportive services like those we already offer," he said. "And I will be talking with the various staffs to see what we can do to increase our services. There will be more opportunities for us to serve and more programs the community will need. One program I am thinking about is adding a thrift store to the food bank up in Ogden. I think a thrift store will augment the food bank beautifully.

"I can also see the need eventually for an in-patient women’s treatment center like St. Mary’s Home for men. I would also like to see us do more for the children who are so much in need. Eventually I would like to see children’s programs in both Salt Lake City and Ogden."

Drake pointed out that the Refugee Resettlement Program now has a refugee foster care program under the direction of Buu Diep, a case manager.

"Buu came to us as a refugee from Vietnam, and now she is working for us coordinating the Refugee Youth Foster Care Program. It’s an exciting program for children who are unaccompanied refugees. Adoption is not an issue at this time because most of the unaccompanied minors’ parents are still living."

Currently, the CCS Refugee Foster Care Program works in partnership with Utah Youth Village in finding foster homes, and CCS tracks the children continually.

"The Refugee Foster Care Program began under the leadership of Maggie St. Claire, and Aden Batar, our director of the Refugee Resettlement Program works with the program.

Married for 36 years to Sallee Drake, and with four grown children, six grandchildren and one on the way, Drake said, "Family is my life." He was born in Ogden and raised in North Ogden, and is a graduate of Weber State College (now Weber State University). Drake and his family now live in Layton.

In the middle of the CCS Refugee Resettlement offices is a huge white board. On it are the names of refugees who are on their way to Utah who await resettlement through the program coordinated by Aden Batar, a native of Somalia. The board reveals that refugees are coming from Burma (Myanmar), Congo, Malaysia, Bhutan, Iran, and Jordan. This month alone will see 63 refugees, said Kathryn Brussard. "They speak 19 languages. We contract with translators so we can be sure everyone’s needs are met."

Drake said the first three Burmese refugees were unaccompanied children, so they were cared for through the Refugee Youth Foster Care Program. They were siblings, so a foster home was found that could take all three. Family Reunification is very important to us."

Drake said when he agreed to take the executive directorship, he had no idea how complex the system was. "But I’m getting more comfortable with it. I plan on spending a couple of days a month at the Ogden facility, and I’ll serve lunch at St. Vincent’s a couple of days a month. I’m a very ‘hands on’ person, but all of my plans will help me become better acquainted with the programs and the staffs.

"I have the greatest admiration for those people who already work with the poor and the marginalized people in our community. The CCS staffs are remarkable."