Vincentians respond to increased needs across diocese

By Alfredo E. Cardenas | Correspondent

Like almost everything else, COVID-19 has changed how the Society of St. Vincent de Paul ministers to those in need of God’s love.
“The need is so much greater,” said Roz Gutierrez, executive director of the SVDP Diocesan Council of Austin.
St. Vincent de Paul’s 1,080 member volunteers in the diocese, called Vincentians, now do home visits on the telephone and practice the recommended social distancing guidelines. The thrift stores on Braker Lane in Austin and 24th Street in Bryan are temporarily closed but will open soon on a truncated schedule. The agency has suspended donation pick-ups for the time being but accepts them at drop-off donations at the stores and several parishes.
The stores help those in need by providing them clothes, furniture, household goods, toys, electronics and other accessories. Besides the merchandise available at the stores, the diocesan council offers emergency food, bus passes, clothing vouchers and resource referrals to meet the immediate needs of the homeless, the poor and the unemployed. At the council’s headquarters in Austin, a computer lab is available for those seeking employment and other needs. The Client Choice Food Pantry, stocked with fresh fruits and vegetables, meat, bread, canned goods and dairy products, provides healthy options to families in need.
When disaster strikes, the diocesan council in Austin provides disaster assistance for individuals and families confronted with fire, flood or other disasters. Through their “House in a Box” program, they give items to furnish an entire home: from the kitchen to the bathroom to the bedroom. The council’s Predatory Loan Conversion Program helps clients get out of debt due to payday loans or title loans. By partnering with a cooperating credit union, they can convert high-interest loans into share secured loans at a lower interest rate.
While COVID-19 has constrained the way the agency provides help, it has not stopped their mission to accomplish what God calls them to do. They have found innovative ways to meet the needs of those seeking help. Requests for assistance have increased over the last six months. The need for assistance to pay doctor and prescription bills has increased. As many people have lost jobs, they have asked for help with mortgage and rent expenses, car payments, clothing, food and other household bills.

History
Frederic Ozanam, an 18-year-old law student at the Sorbonne in Paris, founded the Society of St. Vincent de Paul in 1831. Blessed Frederic wrote extensively on social justice, influencing the church’s approach to helping the poor. This young movement found support in the U.S. when Vincentian Father John Timon introduced the group’s charism in 1845. The first conference found a home in St. Louis, Missouri, which remains today as its headquarters in this country.
Local interest in the society first surfaced circa 1885, when John Pope, a parishioner at St. Mary Cathedral, wanted to see how this group that had taken a foothold in other parts of the country could be of service in Austin. The group assumed the name of  St. Vincent’s Aid and later became the Ladies of Charity. Perhaps its most significant early accomplishment was encouraging the establishment of Seton Hospital in Austin in 1902.
This early interest in the group was before the erection of the Diocese of Austin in 1947. The St. Vincent de Paul Society in the Diocese of Austin came into being in 1963. Today the group has more than 1,000 members in 40 conferences across Central Texas. While the society is an independent organization, it provides services in the diocese with the bishop’s consent.

Parish conferences
Much like the diocesan organization, parish conferences operate independently but require the pastor’s approval to minister in the parish. A conference area of service is the geographic boundaries of the home parish’s ZIP code. After consultation with their pastor, a parish group wishing to start a conference should call the Diocesan Council, which coordinates with the pastor, makes pulpit announcements, has invitational meetings and assigns an existing conference to serve as mentors. Typically, it takes three to six months to form a conference.
Conference teams visit homes to determine the needs of each family.
“They do a lot of listening,” Gutierrez said. “Sometimes they find out that the family needs more than what they think.”
The two-person team develops a plan to serve the family holistically. They return to a conference meeting, and the entire group decides how much they can help. If it is more than what they have, they look for other ways to help, including from the Diocesan Council. The central office partners with other social service agencies, including non-profits, governmental and private corporations, to meet clients’ needs.
While Vincentians belong to a Catholic organization, they serve the entire community irrespective of faith tradition, Gutierrez said.
“I don’t serve you because you are Catholic, I serve you because I am Catholic,” is a Vincentian’s typical response if the question of faith is raised.
“That is what the church teaches us to do because that is what God wants,” Gutierrez said.
For more information about the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, visit www.ssvdp.org or call (512) 251-6995. The society will continue to open its food pantry at the Vincentian Family Center on Saturdays from 9 a.m. to noon. The society also has a convenient online locator at https://austinsvdp.info/ to help those in need of services find the nearest conference.