ABOUT US
What We Do
The Society of St. Vincent de Paul is a volunteer organization that offers direct aid to those in need across the United States and internationally. The Society provides short-term financial, material and emotional support. In addition, through advocacy, education and referrals, people are empowered to reach the goal of self-sufficiency by addressing the underlying root causes of their basic needs. https://ssvpusa.org/
Many Catholic parishes throughout Albuquerque have local chapters of St. Vincent de Paul. These local parish groups are called conferences. This website is prepared by one of the St. Vincent de Paul conferences – Risen Savior and Prince of Peace Catholic churches in Albuquerque, NM. Our conference is located in the far northeast of Albuquerque. We are a 501c3 nonprofit organization.
What We Did Last Year
In 2023 our annual report for the Risen Savior/Prince of Peace conference identified these numbers which show the substantial assistance we gave to the community.
How We Helped in 2023 (statistics)
Home Visits – 166 Families, helping 412 individuals
Direct Services to Local Neighbors – $127,385
Domestic Twinning (Financially Assisting Other Conferences) $90,300
International Disasters – $20,000
Number of Volunteers in Our Conference – 37
Hours of Volunteer Service – 983 hours
Estimated Miles by Volunteers – 1101 miles
Emergency Assistance and Systemic Change
Whether it’s a financial gift to help cover a month’s rent or coupons for food to hold the family over between paychecks, Risen Savior/ Prince of Peace programs offer help that make difficult times in life a little easier to weather.
But we don’t stop at relieving short-term crises. In building personal relationships with our neighbors through home visits, we work with them to identify root causes which limit their abilities to provide a better life for themselves. Our SVdP programs provide solutions to systemic contributors to poverty in our Albuquerque community.
Home Visits
One of the very unique aspects of SVdP is the home visit. Our conference members, called Vincentians, make arrangements with the family in need to come their home and visit with them about their needs. This visit takes about one hour and provides the family with time to share the full story of their need. In turn, this home visit enables the Vincentian team to make a plan for assistance that matches the needs. This is the beginning of the relationship.
Our Story
St.Vincent de Paul – At the turn of the 17th century, Father Vincent, a Catholic priest in a small town in France, asked his congregation about a family who he had not seen in recent weeks. He learned that they lived several miles away , had all fallen ill and were too weak to make the long walk to town to get food or to attend Mass. This family shaped Father Vincent’s ministry: he began walking to their farm each day to bring food and companionship. What he saw along the road to the family’s home was all of his parishioners either going to or from the needy family’s home. He suddenly through, “We do not lack charity, but we lack organization.” The next day he organized the ladies of the parish into a group and coached the group on how to visit the poor with compassion and with a plan.
Our History
The Vincentian Family Tree – In 1833, Fredric Ozanam was a 20-year old law student in Paris, who, along with his seven friends formed the first “Conference of Charity” that is now called the Society of St. Vincent de Paul. In the beginning, Blessed Rosalie Rendu, A Daughter of Charity mentored these young men as they visited with the poor people of Paris. Today, The Society is in 152 countries, has 47,200 conferences, 800,000 members, 2,000 assistance workers and 30 million who are served each day. In the United States, the first Society of St. Vincent de Paul was established in St. Louis, Missouri in 1845 and today, the National Headquarters of St. Vincent de Paul remains in St. Louis. For more history, see https://www.ssvpusa.org/
National Newsletter. Our newsletter is called Fredrick’s E-Gazette and is published on a weekly basis. https://members.svdpusa.org/members/Membership/Publications
Link to the national SSVP Website. https://www.ssvpusa.org/