NORTH TONAWANDA — He lived every parent’s nightmare, trying to deal with an out-of-control teen.

Craig Abelson’s son, David, moved from Erie, Pa., to live with his dad last year after his mom couldn’t control him any longer.

At first, Abelson thought his troubles were over, that his boy had “settled into his school,” but it was just a honeymoon period, he recalled.

“Teenagers are going to be teenagers,” he said, “and you have to keep an eye on them.”

Abelson has had help doing that, thanks to Catholic Charities’ Multisystemic Therapy program in Lockport.

It’s one of the many programs supported by this year’s Buffalo Diocese Catholic Charities Appeal, which has topped $8.8 million, according to latest figures, or 83.8 percent of the $10.5 million goal.

The appeal continues through June.

Abelson’s results with David, now 15, have been good, and it is just one of the many Catholic Charities success stories.

It could have turned out much differently for this father and son, when a principal’s phone call sounded an alarm. Abelson remembers receiving daily calls from the principal because his son was late to school every day, which got him detention.

“We live too close for busing — under a mile-and-a-half — so he’d just lollygag to school,” Abelson said. “Then he’d skip detention. He wasn’t doing his homework. He was defiant to teachers. I reached out to so many different people, trying to find some help.”

Then someone told him about Catholic Charities’ therapy program.

“I called the Lockport office, and the woman I spoke with said it would take a lot of work. I was skeptical,” Abelson admitted. That was last year.

“What MST does is teach you how to more effectively and efficiently parent, and how to give a child consequences. That’s really helped. We now have the tools and resources.”

The hard work has paid off.

“He’s not late, he rarely gets into trouble at school,” Abelson said of his son. “He does an hour-and-a-half of homework every day. He does chores, and he has a set bedtime. He’s much more on a routine now.

“We have a father-son night. We never had that before. We might hit the go-carts, or visit an arcade, or just play video games together at home, hanging out.”

He’s learned the importance of being consistent with his son, not to raise his voice and to “give a child consequences quickly.”

Making services like Multisystemic Therapy available to parents of all faiths is especially important to Catholic Charities “because of the national economic downturn,” Bishop Edward U. Kmiec said not long ago at a news conference.

Abelson earlier this year shared his story with 50 parish workers, clergy, volunteers and staff from eastern Niagara County during a volunteer training workshop at Tuscarora Inn in Lockport — the first workshop of its kind in the county.

There, the bishop pointed out that “last year, a year full of hurdles and struggles for so many in our community due to the strained economy, Catholic Charities helped more than 5,400 individuals and families from this community alone.

“Through programs such as emergency assistance and advocacy, kinship case management services . . . the Domestic Violence Program for Men and the Monsignor Carr Institute’s Children’s Clinics, this organization was able to answer the needs of so many in Niagara County.

Besides the therapy program, offices in the Bewley Building in Lockport provide individual, couples and family counseling, as well as emergency relief services, and special services, including Kinship Care Case management, Child Permanency Mediation, Our Kids: Parent Education and Awareness Program, Women Infants and Children nutrition program, the Domestic Violence Offenders Program and Monsignor Carr Institute Children’s Clinic.

Sister Mary McCarrick, interim diocesan director of Catholic Charities, pointed out that “Catholic Charities is always there for whoever is in need of help — infants, children, the evicted adult and single parent, low-income families; wherever help is needed — in Lockport, North Tonawanda or Niagara Falls. We are in every city in Western New York, and whenever help is needed — in a troubled marriage, with parenting skills, or with a substance abuse problem.”

Catholic Charities is the most comprehensive direct human-service provider serving all eight counties of Western New York, with 70 programs and 61 locations. Founded in 1923, Catholic Charities provides, without regard to religious affiliation, comprehensive counseling services for children and families, anti-domestic violence programming and emergency services, among other social and mental health services.

For more information about MST or any of its services, or to donate to the appeal, call 218-1400.

Have an idea for Religion News? Write to Louise Continelli, The Buffalo News, P. O. Box 100, Buffalo, NY 14240, or e-mail lcontinelli@buffnews.com.