Society Of St.Vincent de Paul

Our hallmark activity is to encounter and help our needy sisters and brothers. Ideally and for many SVdP Conferences that means home visits, where needs and life stories are heard, financial help may be offered, and group prayers bond us. While our Conference is not a ministry of St. Joseph Church, it is gifted by the parish with use of an office and phones. This generosity enables us to see many more people than if all visits were made at homes.

Twice weekly we devote time to debriefing phone calls asking for help, making first look assessment of each caller's need and eligibility, and setting up an office or home appointment. The other weekdays are devoted to office visits and (time allowing) more phone debriefing. Members work in pairs at the office on days of their own choosing for up to 3 hours. Home visits are scheduled on a case by case basis by pairs of more experienced Members.

Invaluable volunteers include people who pay the bills and manage the finances. Still others collect client interview information, organize and store it for future use, and summarize it for reporting to various SVdP regional/national groups and for financial management, IRS filings, and oversight.

On-call volunteers with Spanish language skills assist us with a few of our clients. We can adjust the timing to meet a volunteer's convenience.

Twice monthly our Conference members meet to reflect on scripture, pray together, share ideas and experiences, and simply be their inspirational selves for their fellow Vincentians.

Daily our members pray for one another, for all our clients as a body, and especially for those clients who have asked us to remember them in prayers.