St. Vincent de Paul
Corpus Christi Conference
Corpus Christi Catholic Church
6300 McKenna Drive
Mobile, Al 36608
Parish Office: (251) 342-1852
To seek assistance, call (251) 366-6443; leave name and phone number.
Corpus Christi’s St. Vincent de Paul Society is part of a worldwide community of Catholic volunteers. Vincentians provide caring support to promote emotional and physical well-being. Through the generosity of benefactors, monies are used to provide short-term financial assistance to those in crisis, providing medicine, rent, utilities, clothing, food, etc.
Vincentians go out two by two to visit persons requesting assistance to gain a better perspective of the situation and to explore various means of assistance. Referrals are sometimes made to other agencies with resources that can provide assistance for a long-term solution, including job training, employment assistance, housing assistance, basic necessities of life, and medical care.
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The love of God and the love of neighbor are one and the same
A Neighbor’s story
The Corpus Christi Parish’s St. Vincent de Paul Society recently had a request from a family of four—a mother and three children who were living in a car. The mother, who worked while the children were in school, was evicted from her apartment because it was condemned. She did not have the money to pay a deposit and rent for a new place. The children ranged in age from 2 to 10 years old.
We remember the visit so vividly. We met at McDonald’s and she had just finished her workday. She cried and sobbed for a long time before we could hear her story. She was so “beaten down” by her circumstances—swollen eyes, tired, unable to hold her head up, looking very depressed and yearning for anybody to listen to her story. We sat there waiting for her to regain her composure—all the while feeling her pain and crying along with her. Her work uniform disguised the worn and torn pants that she was wearing. Her hair was matted to her head because of her inability to take a shower.
She finally told us about how she had to use the local fire station’s microwave to heat frozen food that she had bought at the store. She related in a very emotional way how her children felt so embarrassed going to school without having taken a shower and how they felt so ashamed that they were living in a car. She tried to pull their hair up on top of their heads so the greasy hair would not be so visible. She cried again and again because of the shame and embarrassment she and her children were experiencing because of having to live in a car; and she cried again as she talked about the fact that her older child could not invite her friends to a home.
She had a mother who lived in the area but who would not allow her daughter to move in with her temporarily. However, she did allow her and the children to take a shower occasionally when her mother was in a good mood. This family spent many nights in the car parked in her mother’s driveway.
We started the process of helping by bringing food from our pantry that she could prepare easily at the fire station; we also gave her $150 in Goodwill vouchers so she could buy clothes for the children. Then we asked her to find a house for rent that she could afford, and we would pay her rent and the old power bill that had to be paid before power could be turned on at a new house. She did have an appointment with Housing First, but it was several weeks away. Within a week she had found a house because she had hope now that her life would be better because she had found St Vincent DePaul.
We finally met her at her new house along with the landlord. We had already paid her past due power bill and were hoping that the landlord would allow her to pay her deposit in installments because we did not have enough money at that time to pay for all her needs. The landlord agreed with us to allow her to pay the balance over several months, so we paid her first month’s rent while the children ran happily from room to room in the house. We received hugs from the family and the landlord as we left. The mother was so thankful and her demeanor had changed dramatically—the tears had turned to smiles as she spoke confidently with the landlord as he showed her the new paint job, the new carpeting and the new stove. And the children were dressed in the new clothes that she had bought at Goodwill.
The fulfillment our St. Vincent de Paul members had was immense after experiencing the sad home visit, the hopelessness of the mother and the many phone calls and time dedicated to this situation, to see God’s hand at work in the joy of this mother and her children. A lot of things had changed: the children were dressed well and were happier, and their mother had real hope for the future.
We attended mass shortly after that and thanked God for the opportunity He had presented to us to make life better for a family who had lost hope. If you would like information about joining our volunteer work, or to make a donation, visit our Facebook page or call us at 209-0026.
“Remember that our Lord is hidden behind those rags”
Blessed Rosalie Rendu
An overwhelmed father called the St. Vicent de Paul Society (SVdP) to ask for help for his adult daughter who was recently in a car accident and she and one of her children had broken a leg. There were so many needs he could not find a path forward.
The Corpus Christi SVdP conference made a visit to the trailer in which the woman lived with her 2 children, ages 6 and 11. As we approached the trailer, the young boy emerged from the window to open the door on the outside. Litter was scatted everywhere—coke bottles, candy wrappers, paper. The white garbage barrel had spaghetti sauce dripping down on the outside to the floor. The counters were loaded with everything—empty cartons, dishes, and rotten food.
We proceeded to the bedroom where the woman was sitting on the bed, rocking back and forth. Again, the entire bedroom was littered with wrappers, soda bottles and popcorn. We were so overcome with the surroundings while trying to remain calm and unmoved by everything. She did not have a washer or dryer and had not washed clothes in 3 years, and the children were wearing these clothes repeatedly. The 11-year-old girl was responsible for removing waste from the commode and digging a hole in the backyard to dispose of it. As we left the trailer, we noticed that maggots were crawling in the kitchen area. The backdoor was broken and was never closed; they stayed in that bedroom because it was the only air conditioned room in the house.
Two SVdP conferences joined together to tackle this situation. We cleaned the trailer, replaced the broken refrigerator, replaced the air conditioner with a heat pump, fixed the broken door, provided new locks for the doors, cleaned up and mulched the front yard, took all the clothes in the house (145 lbs) and washed them and returned them clean and folded, we got the children registered for school, we paid the school registration fees, paid for gym and school clothes, we took the mother and her children to doctor visits and paid for the copayments for medication, and bought an air mattress and sheets for the 11 year old daughter since they were all sleeping in one bed. It was clear the mother was struggling with mental health problems along with her injury and poverty, and we referred her to an agency to address her mental health challenge and ability to care for her children.
This was a huge undertaking, but what motivates the SVdP members is that through working with our neighbor to mutually address her crisis, we as Vincentians gained so much more spiritually. All the donors to our local SVdP made this possible, with God providing the guidance. We served one need which lead to another, and before long God lead us to transform this family’s life. While challenging, this family gave two conferences of St. Vincent de Paul the opportunity to grow closer to God in our volunteer work as Vincentians.
INVITATION TO SERVE
You are invited to serve people in need in our Corpus Christi Parish area by donating or joining the Society of St. Vincent de Paul. Please make a donation to the Poor Box in cash or a check (payable to St. Vincent de Paul Society), or donate on-line or drop off at the church office. To join our conference, contact the president at 251-209-0026. Please visit our website: SVDPCCC.org or our Facebook page at Saint Vincent de Paul Corpus Christi Conference-Mobile AL.