On January 1, 2025, Sandy Figueroa and I became the Society of St. Vincent de Paul’s newest representatives to the UN Working Group to End Homelessness (WGEH), and members of the Famvin family. Although we have been Vincentians for many years, we immediately found ourselves overwhelmed by a plethora of acronyms and protocols both within the Vincentian family, and even more so, in our new work at the United Nations. We were assured by more seasoned members that this feeling of being overwhelmed was consistent with many other newcomers. They compared this with learning a new language but assured us that it would all “fall into place over a period of time.”

A senior Famvin NGO of the Congregation of the Mission went the extra mile and immediately took us under his wing and became our mentor and was instrumental in obtaining our UN credentials without which we would not have had access to the UN.

Last month, Sandy and I made our initial visit to the UN to attend CSocD meetings along with several side events. We were impressed with members’ knowledge and passion for their work in areas such as migration, human trafficking along with our common theme of homelessness.

We, as many people, were unaware of the massive work that is done behind the scenes at the UN to alleviate much of the global suffering that people endure. Current government administration has dramatically changed the way both government and non-government agencies do business, thereby creating additional challenges to the UN’s 2030 Agenda and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals.

I just returned from the National Conference for the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, held in St. Louis, Missouri. Our spiritual leader, another Vincentian, Archbishop Andrew Bellisario, C.M. of the diocese of Anchorage, Alaska, spoke of the need to continue to move forward and focus our positive energy. Our responsibility is to continue to advocate for the homeless and all our brothers and sisters in need by keeping our eyes centered on Jesus and our Catholic teachings and values without getting trapped in bureaucracy or politics. In this world, we need to weave through this polarization to find and seek the truth, and we all know that the truth can only be found in Jesus Christ.

Let us continue to pray for our Holy Father, Pope Francis.

Robert W. Smith
NGO representative of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul to the United Nations