St. Vincent de Paul is a unique Catholic organization in Phoenix that has few limits on what it will do to help those who are in need of assistance. Vincent has been serving the community throughout central and northern Arizona since 1946.
In 1952, the Society leased a small restaurant in downtown Phoenix called Johnny’s Restaurant, and converted it into a Human Services Campus dining room.
The different ways that St. Vincent de Paul takes in donations is through their churches, dining rooms and thrift stores. At any locations in Phoenix, there can be donations made and will be accepted.
The programs that Saint Vincent de Paul in Phoenix provides to the community are services for the homeless, medical and dental care for the working poor, charity dining rooms that serve thousands each day, food boxes for hungry families, thrift stores throughout the region, housing shelter, and general assistance for individuals in need.
A new thrift store opened in Phoenix, Hope Chest is the sixth Vincent thrift store in the Valley and opened just in time for the holidays. All of the nonprofit’s thrift stores help generate funding for Vincent’s charity work.
Hope Chest store hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. Individuals can drop off donations from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the back of the store, or a pick-up may be scheduled online.
This Thanksgiving, Vincent still served 4,500 meals on Thanksgiving Day despite pandemic and limited volunteering. There were Thanksgiving to-go meals for individuals experiencing homelessness and low-income families on Thanksgiving Day.
“COVID-19 required us at St. Vincent de Paul to completely shift our service model, and as we enter the holiday season, we have had to continue to be innovative in the ways we serve,” Associate CEO Shannon Clancy said. “(This year) has been challenging and we hope to provide comfort and a moment of peace to each family we serve through a delicious, hot and healthy Thanksgiving meal.”
Due to the coronavirus outbreak, and to protect the health and safety of St. Vincent de Paul’s donors, volunteers and staff, they have suspended all donation pick-up operations until further notice.
However, donations like food drives and money from St. Vincent are still being donated through grocery stores in Phoenix, at Albertson’s, Bashas’ and Safeway.
St. Vincent is also practicing social distancing by pivoting their services, like providing package meals in their dining rooms, limiting the number of guests at one time in the resource center, and providing telemedicine in their clinic as appropriate.
In order to keep guests, volunteers, staff, visitors, and partners safe. St. Vincent de Paul took action to take precautions by increasing their cleaning, providing access to hand sanitizer, more signage and verbal reminders to wash hands and to minimize personal contact.
Teresa Zamora, a Phoenix resident, is an individual who was unemployed and struggled to pay her electricity bill, came across St. Vincent.
“I was unemployed about two years ago and couldn’t afford my light bill. I was crying all the time because I didn’t know what to do. I wouldn’t use my AC, I would sleep without AC and I would be without AC the whole day,” she said.
She ran out of ideas and reached out to the recourse center at St. Vincent de Paul. Where they helped her pay her electricity bill. It just took $150 dollars to prevent Teresa from experiencing homelessness.
“There is help out there. We’re not alone,” Zamora said.
Contact the reporter at krangel@asu.edu.
