Day of service for St. Vincent de Paul- St. Stephen Church

October 21st, 2013

LOVE  THY  BROTHER    

St. Stephen’s Rectory, the site of our service project. We opened its doors to serve a diverse community with

many needs.

Love Thy Brother

We are Team Love Thy Brother and we served St. Vincent de Paul Society by distributing snack packs, bags of groceries, bus tokens, shelter vouchers and financial assistance with utilities and rent.

Bagging groceries and preparing snack packs on our service day.

 Who  does  Love  Thy  Brother  help?  

 The  people  we  help  come  on  foot  or  by  bicycle  with  the  most  basic  and  urgent  needs.  Some  are  hungry,  some  need  shelter,  some  are  on  the  verge  of  eviction  or  the  loss  of  electricity.      

 

Steve

“I hate to come, but ain’t no work. I ain’t got no food.”

Antonio

“Only way I survive. It helps get me through.”

Connie

“I just need the help.”

Ernest

“This keeps me going and gives me hope.”

James

“One less meal that you got to worry about.”

Robert

Robert was grateful for a shelter voucher and said, “I’m trying to get housing. I can only find work sometimes.”

Bridgett and her two children

We contribute assistance with utilities and groceries, enabling her to provide a safe and stable environment for her children. She is very proud that her son is an excellent student.

 -­‐  Provide  shelter  vouchers  -­‐  Expand  financial  help    -­‐  Continue  and  expand  food  distribution    

Our Hope

“Truly,  I  tell  you,  whatever  you  did  for  one  of  the  least  of  these  brothers  and  sisters  of  

mine,  you  did  for  me.”    Matthew  25:40    

   

Who  did  you  serve  and  what  did  you  accomplish  that  day?    As  Team  Love  Thy  Brother,  we  served  the  St.  Vincent  de  Paul  Society,  a  Catholic  lay  organization  committed  to  helping  the  less  fortunate  members  of  our  society.  We  met  at  St.  Stephens  Rectory,  which  is  located  in  an  economically  mixed  parish  with  many  below  the  poverty  line.    Twice  weekly  the  doors  are  opened,  welcoming  those  who  arrive  on  foot  or  by  bicycle  requesting  food,  transportation  to  search  for  work,  emergency  rent  and  utility  assistance  and  shelter  vouchers.  Those  we  serve  find  themselves  in  desperate  straits  for  a  variety  of  reasons:  they  may  be  victims  of  domestic  violence,  military  veterans  suffering  from  post-­‐traumatic  stress,  men  or  women  battling  mental  illness  or  substance  abuse,  or  those  whose  formerly  solid  lives  have  been  fractured  by  natural  disasters  or  economic  difficulties.  On  our  service  day,  we  welcomed  them  and  distributed  snack  packs  (bottled    water,  crackers,  fruit,  breakfast  bars),  bags  of  groceries,  shelter  vouchers  and  bus  tokens.  We  interviewed  and  determined  need  for  those  requesting  rent  and  utility  assistance,  to  be  paid  directly  to  landlord  or  utility.  Prior  to  2013,  the  St.  Vincent  de  Paul  Society  limited  financial  assistance  to  a  maximum  of  $100.00  annually  per  household,  due  to  lack  of  funding.  Prior  to  2013,  we  were  also  unable  to  afford  shelter  vouchers,  although  we  recognized  a  dire  need.  However,  as  a  result  of  the  generous  prize  we  received  from  the  Super  Service  Challenge  last  year,  we  have  been  able  to  provide  shelter  vouchers  and  slightly  increased  rent  and  utility  assistance  to  more  households.    It  was  gratifying  to  provide  these  services  to  approximately  30  men,  women  and  children,  but  the  need  continues  and  grows.  

What  is  your  team's  plan  for  an  ongoing  relationship  with  this  charity?    Our  team's  plan  is  to  continue  our  work  to  enable  the  poor  and  suffering-­‐regardless  of  their  faith  and  physical  boundaries-­‐to  gain  the  foothold  needed  to  begin  rebuilding  their  lives  by  fulfilling  some  of  their  most  basic  and  urgent  needs.  More  specifically,  our  volunteer  ministry  will  serve  the  St.  Vincent  de  Paul  Society  twice  a  week  by  providing  food,  bus  tokens,  shelter  vouchers  and  limited  rent  and  utility  assistance  to  our  most  needy  brothers  and  sisters.  Our  service  day  highlighted  the  gap  between  the  number  of  people  we  were  able  to  help  and  the  number  of  people  needing  assistance.      

In  addition  to  this  ongoing  twice-­‐weekly  service,  our  volunteer  group  will  continue  to  purchase  food  for,  prepare  and  serve  a  community  meal  feeding  about  200  people  twice  monthly  at  the  Rebuild  Center  on  Tulane  Avenue.  We  also  provide  Thanksgiving  and  Christmas  food  baskets  with  gifts  during  the  holidays.  These  activities  help  to  raise  the  visibility  of  our  service  and  enable  other  volunteers  to  contribute  to  this  important  work.  

What  would  your  charity  do  if  they  won  part  of  the  prize  money?  How  much  money  would  it  take  to  get  it  done?    

Additional  funds  would  enable  SVDP  to  continue  expanding  this  ministry  within  and  outside  our  parish  boundaries  to  include  the  surrounding  parishes  of  Blessed  Trinity,  St.  Katherine  Drexel,  and  St.  Alphonsus  which  are  extremely  poor  and  capable  of  offering  little,  if  any,  assistance  to  the  poor.  It  is  almost  impossible  for  the  needy  people  we  are  serving  to  move  forward  in  bettering  their  lives  and  their  children's  lives  if  they  are  hungry  and  without  shelter.  Many  desperately  need  shelter  vouchers,  which  we  could  continue  to  provide  with  additional  funds.  We  would  expand  our  distribution  of  snack  packs,  bus  tokens  and  groceries.  The  prize  money  would  enable  us  to  increase  not  only  the  amount  of  emergency  financial  help,  but  the  number  of  people  we  are  able  to  assist.  

We  believe  we  are  serving  the  neediest,  most  overlooked  segment  of  our  population  in  the  most  necessary  and  fundamental  way.  We  cannot  overemphasize  the  importance  of  helping  them  achieve  some  measure  of  basic  stability  in  order  to  forge  better  lives  for  themselves  and  their  families.  As  volunteers  participating  in  this  service  we  have  also  been  transformed  by  being  able  to  help  those  who  need  it  most.    We  are  a  group  deeply  committed  to  continuing  this  work  and  expanding  our  impact  because  there  is  so  much  need  right  here  at  our  rectory  door.  

We  are  requesting  $22,710  for  shelter  vouchers,  bus  tokens,  food  items,  and  financial      assistance.  If  we  are  so  fortunate  to  receive  an  award,  we  would  spend  it  accordingly:      Shelter  vouchers                        60/month=720/yr  @  $8.00  each                                                                                                        $5,760  

 Bus  Tokens                                              10/month=120/yr  @  $1.25  each                                                                                                                  $  150  

 Snack  Packs                                          160/month=1920/yr  @  $2.50  each                                                              $  4,800  

 Financial  assistance              10  families/month=120/yr  @  $100  each                                                                            $12,000  

                                     Total            $22,710