FAMVIN: The International Vincentian Family

The Vincentian website in Australia leads us to story about the impact of World Youth Day on the homeless. The St Vincent de Paul Society is concerned over a decision to move meals for the homeless away from their usual distribution venues during World Youth Day.

A policy paper entitled Which Way Home? A New Approach to Homelessness has been published by the Australian government. The paper’s purpose is to educate, to encourage public discussion, and to offer proposals, with particular focus on changing underlying causes of homelessness. Summary and full report.

The Overnight Parking Program (OPP) of the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul in Eugene, Oregon USA has helped homeless families and individuals obtain “safe and legal, temporary overnight parking”. OPP services make it easier for hosts to say “yes” to hosting overnighters. See the Web page or go to famvin archive story.

75 low-income families are now renting apartments in St. Vincent’s Gardens, a new affordable housing complex in Santa Barbara run by the Daughters of Charity. The complex “is already shining as a symbol of subsidized housing done right.”

“A Journey to Social Inclusion” is the name of a new plan in Victoria, Australia to effect changes needed to break the cycle of homelessness. A St Vincent de Paul Society representative says options for housing have decreased at a time that need might well expand. Read the article.

Criminalizing homelessness seems to be the result of an ordinance referred to a task force by the city council in New Orleans. A Daughter of Charity has spoken out against the proposal. Read the story.

The March, 2008 newsletter of the Sisters of Charity of Saint Elizabeth highlights the Elizabeth Coalition to House the Homeless and describes how the Sisters are involved. There’s more. Download the .pdf.

Saturday the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul in Phoenix, Arizona USA hosts the Saint Vincent de Paul Experience, a game in which players see minor things — a car repair or medical bill, for example — escalate into full-blown crises that put players on the street: homelessness. See a slide show about the game.

“Meet the Birketts,” the headline invites. Four months ago this middle-aged couple had a home and a mortgage, and then electrician Mark Birkett had a stroke. Now he has paralysis in one arm, is legally blind, and has a hole in his heart — literally, and because his family is scattered. Read their story.

Frederic Ozanam Housing Association, operated in Adelaide Australia by the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul, is set to become the preferred housing provider for the Archdiocese of Adelaide. The result should be an increase in housing for those who need it. Read the story.

Rising interest rates and other financial pressures contribute to increasing rates of homelessness in Queensland, Australia.  Chairman of the Society Justice Committee of the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul Robert Leach invites people to leave “heart prints of kindness” with donations to the Society. Read the rest of the article.

Children who live in traumatic situations need more than day care. The Society of Saint Vincent de Paul in Eugene, Oregon USA has full day program that early childhood educators say is unique.

Forcing a person to choose between sleep and obeying laws that prohibit sleeping on the street: maybe that violates one of the rights guaranteed in the United States Constitution. San Diego, California USA has a task force taking a look at homelessness, and some folks are taking a look at the task force. Read the [...]

No longer will the pay phone at the local shelter be the only way to reach a homeless client. Whether applying for a job, waiting for medical test results, or trying to get in touch with family, Project CARE provides homeless clients with link to the real world and an ability to connect.

A concern about bedbugs resulted in a relatively long story about the efforts of the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul to care for homeless in Port-of-Spain. There’s an explicit discussion about the link between mental illness and homelessness. Read the article.