The Society of St. Vincent de Paul USA (SVdP), which serves more than 5 million people living in poverty a year, announced it will open a second national office in the heart of Washington D.C. this year to advocate on issues related to poverty and homelessness and to expand the organization’s presence among policy makers in the nation’s capital.
Speaking at the Catholic Social Ministry Gathering (CSMG) in Washington D.C., SVdP National President John Berry said the time was right to take a bold approach to highlighting the causes of homelessness and the steps that can be taken to reduce the number of people who are unhoused.
“The Society of St. Vincent de Paul’s unique, personal approach to supporting so many people in need provides a distinct and important platform to drive awareness of how to help at-risk populations,” Berry said. “Homelessness continues to be a pressing issue that is often forgotten. We will use our experience and our national platform to drive greater awareness of this crisis and work to provide solutions that work.”
The soon-to-be named director of the Washington office will help lead the organization’s advocacy efforts, with an initial focus on homelessness among the elderly and families with children.
In December, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s “point-in-time” estimate found more than 770,000 people in the U.S were experiencing homelessness on a single night in January 2024. That was an 18% increase from 2023. This year’s point-in-time survey was conducted on Jan. 22.
At the same time, a separate report showed that the number of older women classified as impoverished rose from 11.7% to 15% in 2023. Today, one in six American women 65 years old or older live in poverty. Among Black, Latina, and Indigenous populations, the poverty rate is closer to one in five.
“Helping these vulnerable populations is something that everybody, right or left, conservative or liberal, can support,” Berry said. “SVdP USA was recently recognized as the 59th largest nonprofit in the United States, and it is only natural that an organization with a national and global impact as large as ours, should use the knowledge and front line experience that we uniquely obtain through our work to engage in debate and policy creation at the highest levels.”
“At the same time, it’s important to remind people that the work of our 90,000 Vincentian volunteers goes on day in and day out in cities and towns across the country. These are the men and women who make the difficult journeys of their neighbors their own journey, providing help, direction, and Christian friendship.”
Berry’s announcement came amid SVdP’s sponsorship of CSMG, which is the premier annual gathering of U.S. Catholic social ministry leaders. The conference is organized by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), and this year’s theme, “Missionaries of Hope, Advocates for Justice,” recognized the call to be beacons of God’s love.
Keynote speakers for the four-day conference included his Eminence Christophe Cardinal Pierre, Apostolic Nuncio to the United States; Most Rev. Timothy P. Broglio, President of the USCCB; Dr. Emile Cuda, Secretary of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America, The Holy See; and Most Rev. Joseph J. Tyson, Bishop of Yakima.
SVdP’s Berry and CEO Michael Acaldo also led a discussion about the organization’s mission and the ways it intends to advocate on homelessness prevention in Washington. SVdP’s headquarters will remain in St. Louis.
SVdP’s model includes a wide range of efforts to prevent homelessness and serve communities with tailored programs to serve with specific needs. But the core of the SVdP mission, are the person-to-person encounters that serve as the essence of its ministry. During these encounters, Vincentians may visit the homes of people who need assistance to remain housed.
Encounters also occur wherever necessary to support people in a dignified manner. This assistance runs the gamut from financial help to pay rent and utility bills, to helping with food and prescription assistance, to linking the person with other public and private organizations, to prayer and spiritual comfort. This is efficient, non-bureaucratic and effective in getting people the help they need at that moment – help that is often enough to stave off a pending eviction.
Besides living out Christ’s calling to love our neighbor, SVdP USA believes its approach offers a more cost-effective and humane solution to address the nation’s housing crisis. Research by the National Alliance to End Homelessness reveals that it costs an average of $35,578 per year to support a person who is chronically homeless, including costs for emergency shelters, healthcare, and law enforcement. In contrast, preventing homelessness through early intervention costs, on average, $2,000 per household, according to the Wilson Sheehan Lab for Economic Opportunities at the University of Notre Dame.
