Our Programs
The Society under the inspiration of St. Vincent de Paul and Blessed Frederick Ozanam is organized under a simple principle called The Rule. The essence of The Rule is “to follow Christ through service to those in need and so bear witness to His compassionate and liberating love. Members show their commitment through person-to-person contact.”
Food and clothing
St. Vincent Store sales and community donations are combined to support the Dan Austin Center Free Store Here, the residents of St. Vincent’s Transitional Housing Shelter, the homeless and those in need can get food. This resource helps every household in the shelter stretch their income to meet the nutritional needs of their family. In addition, during the “Project Homeless Connect” community event, SVdP distributes an additional $2,500 in gift certificates for groceries to those who are homeless in Juneau.
For more than 30 years at St. Vincent de Paul we have strived to make sure “no one leaves hungry.”
Navigator Program
St. Vincent de Paul now houses a Community Navigator service through the Juneau Community Foundation’s support. Navigators tend to serve those who are the most hopeless, and have toughest time finding permanent housing, and other services. They offer services from assistance with obtaining ID, filling out housing applications, and assisting with the paperwork necessary for disability eligibility, income verification for subsidized housing, and other challenges faced by people seeking housing. There will be a housing navigator providing services Monday through Friday from 9am to 1pm at our Community Center located in the corner of the L shaped shelter building past the Free Store. During Holiday program organization and the renovation of the Sobering Center, the navigator services will be moved to Smith Hall, next door.
Emergency Cold Weather Shelter – aka “the Warming Shelter”
From October through April 15, 2024, St. Vincent de Paul will operate the Warming Shelter from the hours of 9pm to 7am at 1325 Eastaugh Way off of Thane Road.
Transportation to the Warming Shelter will be provided by the Glory Hall with two trips from 8517 Teal Street in the 15 passenger van with stops at IGA Foodland and the downtown Transit Center. These trips will be at 8:30 and 9:30pm.
A Capital AKCess Van will make rounds downtown at 11pm, midnight, and 1am. Anyone in need of transportation during shelter hours can call 907-419-7213.
Holiday Programs
Supported primarily from the Walk for the Poor and holiday season donations, over 400 Thanksgiving Dinner Baskets—frozen turkeys with all the fixings, including pumpkin pie—are distributed to needy families. Most families are sponsored by one or more service organizations or agencies. Long-time donors and volunteers make this happen with the support of SVdP staff.
Every Christmas, SVdP connects donors with local families in its Adopt-a-Family program for those families that cannot afford even the most modest Christmas for their children. Volunteers and staff coordinate the applications from families and find donors to shop for specific children by age and gender with information on clothing and shoe size and that “something special” wished for. In 2022, more than 350 children benefitted from this program.
Aid
In addition to the above programs, SVdP helps local folks with utility bills, medical expenses, eviction prevention, and other “bumps in the road” through its aid programs, including its Home Visit Team. We are one of the few places a person who is not a regular “case-managed” client of a social service agency can go to ask for temporary assistance. At the same time, we work closely with all our colleagues in the Juneau Coalition on Housing and Homelessness to help the members of our common family. We do not amass large sums in operating reserves. If we have it, it is available to help others. That is what we do.