By Sue Denny • Posted September 29, 2026

When a client became seriously ill and hospitalized during the COVID-19 pandemic, the staff at Catholic Charities of Philadelphia’s Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Services refused to give up on him.

When he was released, weak and listless, staff rallied around him, encouraging him to eat, helping him to regain his strength, doing whatever they could to bring back his spirit.

“What touched me was everybody wanted him to get better,” said Maureen Lewis, curriculum director of the Adult Training Facility on the Our Lady of Fatima campus in Secane, Delaware County. “To see him become his old, happy self was just very heartwarming.”

For Lewis, moments like these embody Catholic Charities’ mission to recognize the dignity of every person and the importance of accompanying individuals through life’s most difficult challenges. The mission goes beyond those receiving services.

Two days a week, nine men climb into a van, load it with prepared meals, and set off to deliver them to homebound and older adults in the Philadelphia area.

They’re not the typical Meals on Wheels volunteers—not retirees, not working adults with flexible schedules. They’re men with varying intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) enrolled in a day program at the Communities of Don Guanella and Divine Providence, part of Catholic Charities’ IDD Services.

On their scheduled days, two groups arrive at Good Neighbor Senior Center in Sharon Hill or Friendship Circle Senior Center in Darby. Accompanied by Catholic Charities’ staff, the men work three-hour shifts and rotate duties—picking up meals, loading the van, and knocking on doors of each home on their assigned route.

Their regular visits provide nutritious meals for older people who struggle with mobility issues, access to food, and meal preparation. They also offer socialization to isolated adults.

“There are certain people they see on a regular basis,” said Lewis. “They’re making connections with the community.”

The men look forward to delivery days. “They can’t wait. They ask if they’re going to work the next day,” Lewis said. “It’s a meaningful thing for them. They get to get out and do something for someone else.”

Removing Barriers, Opening Doors

Empowering people with IDD is one of Catholic Charities of Philadelphia’s four pillars of service—rooted in the belief that everyone deserves a life of purpose and inclusion.

Exclusion and Isolation were the norm for much of the 20th century for people with physical and intellectual disabilities. They were often institutionalized or confined at home, with little independence or interaction with society.

By the 1970s, advocates, professionals, and families began pushing back, arguing that people with disabilities can lead fulfilling lives in the community with the right support.

Today, IDD Services carries that vision forward, offering programs to help clients develop skills, gain confidence, and contribute to their community—like the men delivering meals twice a week.

“It’s important for them to have lives like all of us,” Lewis said. “I want everybody that comes here, individuals as well as our staff, to feel they’re part of the community.”

A Career of Service

Lewis joined Catholic Charities’ IDD Services in 2009, working seven years on the overnight shift as a part-time direct care provider for three men at Divine Providence Village in Springfield, Delaware County.

She later moved to the Adult Training Facility’s Community Outreach Program, spending her mornings helping clients build and maintain life skills with individualized lessons in washing hands before meals, exchanging money with a cashier, mastering a communication device, and more.

In the afternoons, she led client activities and outings: touring museums and nurseries, bowling and playing miniature golf, and dining at ethnic restaurants tied to lessons on different cultures.

“We want to provide them with a meaningful day,” Lewis said, emphasizing that personal planning is key. “We gear the activities to the individual and what they like to do.”

The training center now serves about 120 adults with physical and intellectual disabilities, including autism and dementia. Clients range in age from 23 to their late 70s.

Their support needs vary widely—some people are fairly independent while others require total care. The typical staff ratio is one caregiver to three clients.

Lewis, curriculum manager since 2020, manages more than 50 employees, and she’s regularly struck by their dedication to this vulnerable population.

Looking back, Lewis knows she made the right decision when she came to work for Catholic Charities 17 years ago. “It gave me an opportunity to be able to serve and also to grow professionally and grow in my faith.”

She’s grateful to be part of this valuable and personally satisfying work. “I’ve always believed that we need to be doing some kind of service to be really true to our faith.”

For Lewis, holiness is lived in service to others—a belief that is reflected by her own career and the volunteer work of nine men.

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This piece was previously published in Catholic Charities of Philadelphia’s 2026 Summer Magazine. View the full magazine here.