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The Society of St. Vincent de Paul is an international voluntary Christian organisation. Membership of the society is open to anyone who can adopt our ethos. We draw our inspiration and energy from the Gospels and Catholic social teaching and attempt to live the core values (Love of God and Love of our neighbour) through an action oriented programme, working directly with people in need. In 1994, we celebrated our 150th anniversary in Ireland. We currently have a total membership of 9,000 people nationwide, who are organised in over 1000 Conferences across 32 counties. With an annual budget of approximately £16 million in 1999, funding is raised by Corporate and public contributions, internal collections and government support for projects tackling social exclusion. Members make a contribution towards our administration cost at each weekly meeting. Founder of the Society Blessed
Frederic Ozanam (1813 - 1853) Frederic was born in Milan in April 1813. In 1832 he went to Paris to study at the Sorbonne University. By the age of 26 he had obtained a Doctorate in Law and Literature. This was a time of great social unrest in France, following the French revolution. Ozanam and his friends participated in many debates at University and Frederic found himself defending Christianity from the attacks of other students. He was aware of the great poverty there was in Paris and Frederic realised the Church must back up its faith by concrete charitable actions. He approached the Daughters of Charity who introduced him to poor families and he and his friends began to live the Gospel command 'show love to your neighbour' by visiting those living in dreadful poverty, and bringing what food and comfort they could. The first Conference of the Society was formed in 1833, by Frederic and his companions, and placed under the patronage of St. Vincent de Paul. Frederic died in 1853 at the early age of 40 years. Pope John Paul II beatified him in 1997. Inspiration of the Society St.
Vincent de Paul (1581 - 1660) St. Vincent de Paul was born in 1581 in the village of Pouy near Dax at the foot of the Pyrenees. The de Paul family was poor but by no means destitute. In 1595, Vincent's father recognised Vincent's talents and enrolled him in the boarding school at Dax with the Franciscans. His proficiency in Latin won him admission to Toulouse University. In September 1600 he was ordaining a priest at the age of nineteen. It was while visiting the galley slaves in prison that Vincent got the idea of organising a mission for those condemned to the oars. He started to go from village to village preaching and giving missions. The Congregation of the Mission was established by him in 1625 and is known today as Vincentian Fathers. His mission was "to go all over the earth to inflame people's hearts to do what the Son of God did". Missionaries
came to join Vincent from all over Europe amongst them John Skyddie
and James Water, both from Cork.
Our
work primarily involves person-to-person contact with people who have
a variety of needs.
In solidarity with those with whom we work, we stand against social injustice. We reject the view that poverty is inevitable in modern Ireland. Our authority in speaking about these issues comes from our experience in working with the effects of poverty. Reflecting on this experience, we see that the problems generated are more often structural than individual; access to employment opportunities, education and health services are key determinants of social well being. There is also a significant spatial dimension to poverty, especially in urban housing areas and remote rural areas. It follows that we do not see poverty as primarily a consequence of negative individual characteristics, lack of performance or effort. In this environment the Society of St. Vincent de Paul plays a number of distinct roles. While we act as a short-term safety net for those who fall outside the care of the Welfare State or need emergency financial support, we try to embrace those who are marginalised by helping them to rekindle their self-respect and sense of worth. Our Mission is also to rectify the causes of poverty which perpetuate the problems faced by those we work with. See links of interest in Info Resource.
Visiting
(home, hospital, prison) Administrative Support The
Society supports its members in their work by providing administrative,
financial, developmental and social policy support. This support is
available in most Regions and there is a Central Support team in the
National Office in Dublin. The Society is guided by the principle
that members undertake the direct work with people in need - staff
support them in this regard.
We
operate a scheme whereby a sharing of funds takes place between Conferences.
Conferences in less well off areas often have greater financial needs
than those in better off areas. Where Conferences have excess funding,
this is shared with Conferences working in areas of disadvantage.
Any monies raised in a particular area are used to benefit the people
of that area or shared with a nearby less well off area.
Members
of the Vincentian family include the Daughters of Charity, the Vincentian
Fathers and the Society of St. Vincent de Paul who share a common
bond in the service of those in need. We endeavour to work with other
organisations where this will benefit those we seek to help, particularly
where we are faced with specialist needs which are outside our scope
of competence. In working with people in need, we are in close contact
with a number of statutory bodies, including Government Departments,
Local Authorities and Health Boards. With regard to promoting long-term
self-sufficiency, we are involved in job creation programmes, educational
and developmental programmes with other agencies. We work together
with other Networks of Interest, such as the Simon Community, Focus
Ireland Anti-Poverty Networks and the Money Advice & Budgetting
Services (MABS).
In areas where we do not have particular expertise, we work with individuals and organisations who have specialised expertise to support those who come to us for support. We do not have the in-house skills or resources to address the diverse range of issues which we encounter and work closely with those better equipped to do so. An example of this is the Money Advice and Budgeting Service (MABS) now available throughout the country with which we liaise closely. However, we never reject someone who approaches us and we normally maintain contact with that person if they so wish. Given the complexity of the work undertaken and the diverse range of problems encountered, we play many roles. To assist our members, we try to provide support guidelines to ensure that each of the relationships developed have appropriate goals (promoting self-sufficiency, respecting the dignity of the individual to choose to change or not change etc.).
The response from the local Conference will be to come and visit them at their home and discover in what way they can help them best. The aim of such visits is not to pry, but to discover their needs as fully as possible. Members will call quietly and anonymously and will treat everything said in the strictest confidence. The Rule of the Society and our commitment to justice and respect preclude any breach of this. If the need is financial, there may be allowances, rent rebates, social welfare benefits of which people are not aware. Members are knowledgeable about social welfare entitlements and often discover people are not claiming allowances for which they are eligible and which could ease their situation greatly. If there is a bill a person can't meet, if they are threatened with gas or electricity cut-off due to non-payment of bills, the SVP may be able to help. Often their first point of contact with a family is in just such an emergency. Sometimes the SVP will help families with their pressing debts, but the aim would be to try and assist them manage on their income rather than making dependants of them. So in the case of ongoing financial hardship, members will be interested in discussing how the gap between income and expenditure can be bridged. They can be helpful in offering practical, financial and budgeting advice, or refer people to their local Money Advice and Budgeting Service (MABS). See Info Resource. Again the aim is not to patronise, but to be fully informed of the circumstances. Members must establish that there is real need, as they have a duty to spend wisely the money raised through fundraising and public support. If people are in need of clothes, furniture, household or nursery equipment, the SVP can help also. Again this help is given discreetly, often from one of the shops. If advice is needed more appropriately from another source, the SVP will act as a referral point, and put people in touch with individuals or agencies dealing with their particular needs. © 2000 The Society of St. Vincent de Paul | All Rights Reserved |
In
addition to direct assistance to people in need, we try to promote
self-sufficiency, enabling people to help themselves. Any assistance
offered by the Society is given in a non-judgemental spirit of compassion,
based on the need of the individual or family. We accept people as
they are. We try to create a caring, non-threatening environment,
respecting the dignity of those who seek our help. We only offer advice
when it is asked for, and do not believe in telling people what they
should do. Our aim is to maintain the dignity of the individual and
to promote long-term self-sufficiency. We do so by treating people
with respect, while endeavouring to build a relationship of friendship,
trust and confidentiality. 
Our
Central purpose as an organisation is to ensure that poverty and social
exclusion are eliminated. Given the range of our involvement, our
role is quite "generalist” in nature; and, by and large,
we tend to view ourselves as "general practitioners" rather
than specialists in any one area. Notwithstanding this, we have developed
expertise in certain areas, for example, the areas of personal development,
homelessness, early education, and social housing provision.