The 13 Houses Campaign is one-year-old today! In these 12 months, the Campaign has grown from a single house in Little Rock, Arkansas (USA) to 37 projects in 28 countries. And this is only the beginning! We are expecting 24 new countries to join in the coming months!

A year ago, we launched the Campaign to change the lives of 10,000 homeless people around the world in 3 to 5 years. Since our first beneficiary, Vincent, moved to his new house in Little Rock, more than 3200 people have been housed by the Vincentian Family branches working together!

More than 500 houses are planned or have been built. Some of them are for victims of natural disasters, like in Mexico, others, for migrant workers, as in New Zealand, or to provide better accommodation for people living in slums, like in India. But not all “13 Houses” projects involve building houses or in that number. In Spain and Colombia, Vincentians have organised outreach services to go to the poorest or the poor living on the streets, in Peru they support Venezuelan refugees fleeing their country.

This shows that the name of the Campaign does not prescribe one single solution, but wants “13 houses” to stand as a metaphor for all those actions that aim to provide safety, community, warmth, hope and a future, similar to Vincent’s project for the abandoned children 400 years ago. The common thread of all projects is that different branches work together in a joint effort.

Our 14 volunteer ambassadors have also been instrumental in promoting the campaign with their local Vincentian Family branches, taking every possible chance to present it and encouraging Vincentians to join.

After this first year, we stay true to the values and goals that inspired us to launch it, and we aim to have at least 10,000 lives transformed in countries where the Vincentian Family is present in the world. If you want to join the Campaign with a new project, we have recently updated our website to include more information on how to draft the projects and how to apply for funds when needed.

You can also help us to find the financial support that some projects need to become a reality. We are currently looking for $485K for new housing and systemic change projects in Colombia, Peru, Ethiopia, and Madagascar.

We have achieved a lot in just one year, help us to achieve even more and keep changing the lives of more homeless people around the world! Join the 13 Houses Campaign!

Source: https://vfhomelessalliance.org/