March 13, 2022 From Our St. Vincent de Paul Society

During the parish Synod listening sessions, many of you expressed a yearning to be a part of the experience of giving yourselves in service to others. The dilemma? Your other priorities, including family and work. You don't have enough hours in your day for a big commitment. We might have found a way for you to participate.

Would you be willing, even eager, to commit to an hour week, perhaps even two hours a month? Your task would be to reach out to those neighbors who call us for assistance but live outside the area we serve.
Our St. Vincent de Paul Society receives many more calls of late - pandemic support programs have expired, yet great need for assistance remains. Our dispatchers normally return calls to every neighbor who contacts our helpline, and that our challenge right now. We need to grow our capacity to respond lovingly with Christ's heart and voice to all who reach out to us. Could you help relieve some of that stress by making a few calls once a week? once a month?
 

• You would not be a caseworker, but would be offering a loving ear, and contact information for other resources. 

• You would need to be Ethics & Integrity in Ministry certified. Two opportunities for that training are available at St. Austin's on April 2 & 3. Learn more at EIM. 

• Members of our St. Vincent de Paul Society would train you with some history, provide a script and training in how to conduct a call, and share a resource list with other programs and sources of assistance.  

Interested in learning more? We're at the very initial planning stages, but want to gauge the interest of our parishioners. We are in high need of Spanish speakers. If you want to know more, please contact Huddie at [email protected]. Thanks!