St. Vincent de Paul Juneau
Serving Juneau since 1984
“Old things break” could sum up the last year for St. Vincent de Paul Juneau, as the organization has dealt with burst pipes, oil leaks and a persistently potholed parking lot. Now, the charitable organization is looking forward to the future as it works to rapidly address the issues and prevent future breakages. READ MORE…
I didn’t know Dan Austin well. One of his closest friends asked me to join the St. Vincent de Paul board on Father’s Day 2018. I doubt he nor almost anyone else knew that five weeks later Dan would pass away. I did not know the circumstances at the time, but I have heard many stories since I came to sit at his desk. I have come to appreciate his visionary ideas of providing the neediest with housing being the highest form of assistance, while still being in awe of the vast programs he created while he led St. Vincent de Paul in Juneau as well as other housing projects in Juneau and Haines.
Dan managed St. Vincent de Paul for over 20 years. His presence in service to the neediest within Juneau was always quiet and centered on meeting needs. While St. Vincent’s started serving meals on Teal Street, soon the agency provided aid in new and different ways. Food could calm a hungry stomach for a short period of time, but more was needed. Services that provided clothing and shelter soon became a priority. Dan had the vision to build shelter rooms above the thrift store on Teal Street. In the 90s, long before Housing First was a concept, Dan realized getting needy people help included shelter as well as food and clothing.
Once people received shelter, they could work on establishing healthier habits and work towards more positive situations. He found that working with individuals required people who focused first on relationships, then on removing the hurdles to housing that most people would not think about. Routine information like identification, social security cards, and ways to be contacted are not always easy for people with no place to call home. In Dan’s mind providing the tools to get housing and supporting people once in housing was not a hand out but a hand up. He built low income housing units and family shelter rooms on Teal Street and assisted other developments including Dusty Trails and HAL (Haines Assisted Living), housing complexes for veterans, low income families, and seniors in Haines.
Today in Juneau, St. Vincent de Paul operates 101 units of housing in Juneau from family shelter rooms to senior housing. In our Teal Street Shelter, Paul’s Place, Strasbaugh, HillView, Channelview, and Smith Hall residences, people ages 1 year to 94 are housed. We take people off the street and give them hope.
Many people are aware that during COVID, St. Vincent de Paul ran the Warming Shelter downtown at the old armory. This was originally an emergency shelter for the winter on nights the temperature dropped below 32. With COVID limiting capacity at traditional shelters and many usual places for the homeless to spend time closed, the emergency shelter averaged 46 people a night, housed on cots.
Fewer people were aware that for every person housed at the emergency shelter, St. Vincent de Paul housed at least 3 other people in housing that kept them off the streets and in a safe, secure room where they could have their own meals and security.
Dan’s vision extended to the needs of the community. For a while St. Vincent’s operated a childcare facility to provide affordable child care so young parents could work. It included aid to those who may otherwise lose their housing. St. Vincent continues to support many families and individuals who have come through their housing with emergency food or utility assistance. Our aid budget is a constant challenge to meet, yet it is a key part of Dan’s vision and St. Vincent de Paul’s mission.
One of the best descriptions of Dan Austin’s work was that he had a “100 burner stove.” As he sought to serve the neediest, he knew he would have to find funding. While shelters and aid can come from grants, and donations, low income housing of the truly low income individuals in an expensive housing market is an extreme challenge. He struggled with combinations of grants, loans, and housing vouchers. Pieces may have fallen through a crack, but it was always his hope that he could find a source of revenue not government dependent.
He was on the verge of this “10 year dream” at the time of his death. St. Vincent de Paul Societies throughout the world have sought to gain funds for serving the neediest through thrift stores. When St. Vincent de Paul’s thrift store moved from its Teal Street shelter to the corner of Shell Simmons and Glacier Highway, he hoped the extra revenue would provide needed support for his many programs. His untimely death made the transition very rough, but ironically a COVID closure allowed staff the opportunity to make key remodeling and reorganization that has resulted in significantly improved sales.
Dan’s relationships with those he served and those whose agencies worked with him ran deep. I saw this first hand when I was called to the hospital in April. A woman served by SVdP who was successfully housed and returned to be a regular volunteer and helper around the office had listed the St. Vincent de Paul general manager as executor of her will. I met her in the hospital and established a relationship based on her memories of him. A few changes needed to be made to her will, but I returned days later to see her one last time as her health deteriorated quickly. As I left, I received a call from the hospital’s head case manager. She thanked me for handling a dying friend’s request in a way that would have made Dan proud.
Dan was also a great mentor and friend to many social service agencies in Juneau. Mariya Lovishchuk, Executive Director of the Glory Hall, told me that Dan was one of the most influential mentors and a dearest friend. Without Dan, several projects including Juneau Housing First Collaborative, Juneau Medical Respite Program, the Navigator program, currently at the hospital, unsheltered counts, and much more would have much less of a chance to become reality. There are many other people in Juneau who feel the same way.
No one is perfect and if Dan had a blind spot, it was the vast number of people and projects he was involved in that left some items unfinished. His death came too suddenly and unexpectedly. Few people knew he was fighting cancer until shortly before his death. He didn’t have time to transfer his knowledge and his activities. The hundred burner stove kept going, but some pots didn’t receive the attention they deserved. The loss left a big hole in St. Vincent de Paul without a secession plan in place and a gap in the service providers of Juneau. I have listened both to many leaders of the service providing community as well as people who started in our shelter and became successful contributors within our community. I continue to learn, both of Dan’s impact on their lives personally and on the many programs he helped to serve the neediest here in Juneau.
Grief and healing takes time.
On Sunday, July 25, we had planned to meet and remember a man who made a giant impact on many lives and on the agency he ran for so long. The upswing in COVID within our community makes such a meeting unwise at this time. This COVID crisis has left agencies scrambling to protect both those who serve and those we serve. It is a never ending challenge that will require visionary leadership to address new challenges. The economic hardships, mental health challenges, and social stress caused by the COVID pandemic will last longer than the health crisis. We will need to move forward with vision and compassion, knowing that Dan had those in abundance. We will remember and ask for the strength to continue his service within our organization and within our community.
Sunday at 8am, the Warming Shelter at the armory will close for the final time.
Under our original contract, St. Vincent’s would open a shelter for 15-25 people from November 15 to April 15 from 11pm to 7am on days when it was below 32 degrees. Last winter had an unusual number of cold days. From December 12 until March 14, 2020, the shelter was closed for only 3 days. Then COVID came.
The shelter was moved from too crowded conditions on Teal Street to the old armory where it replaced the JACC. As the city shut down, our hours expanded from 8pm to 8am and we were open every night. Over the summer numbers averaged over 55 guests a night. As fall hit, so did COVID and staff was exposed. We managed to keep the shelter open with all healthy hands on deck but it was not easy. More warming shelter workers came down with COVID or were isolated due to exposure than the rest of the staff and tenants combined.
Management cannot thank Jackie Bryant and staff enough. They performed a difficult job in the most difficult conditions and treated guests with compassion and dignity. Jackie’s leadership and dedication made this service possible. The staff that supported her performed admirably and did a very valuable service to our community.
Until July we served an average of 46 guests a night at the shelter. Through July 15, our shelter at the JACC has provided over 21,000 bed nights.
Click here to listen to our General Manager, Dave Ringle, talk about SVdP services on Capital Chat.
Read the original article published on The Inside Passage.
Who are you? What is your mission?
I ask this question of myself and the St. Vincent de Paul Society in Juneau often. The Gospel of Sunday, August 2, tells the story of Jesus feeding the 5,000 with five loaves and two fishes. This has new meaning in my life as General Manager of St. Vincent de Paul. Our mission is to provide material and spiritual charity and work towards social justice for all people.
St. Vincent de Paul spoke about this, “We must pass, …from affective love to effective love. And that is a love which takes flesh in works of charity, service of the poor which is undertaken with joy, constancy and tender love.” Effective love can sometimes be difficult and finding joy requires serious examination.
Sometimes joy is obvious. When I walk by our navigator office and hear someone tell me they have a place to rent and the funding to go from a homeless shelter to a place of their own, I sense his relief and happiness. The joy can turn quickly when cell phones and bank cards are lost or stolen, and weeks of work seem to be lost, but supporting the needy means helping them through good times and through tough times.
Other service organizations work with us, such as the Knights of Columbus, who held a food drive to stock the pantry shelves at St. Vincent de Paul. Restaurants that donate meals to our warming shelter and volunteers use cardboard boxes from the thrift store to recycling every Friday. All these groups and individuals help our organization run smoothly and serve those in need.
St. Vincent de Paul is also providing outreach to those who cannot travel to our offices or get free clothing from the Dan Austin Center. Our Home Visit Team checks in with those in difficult situations to meet people where they live. The team always visits in pairs, listening to the need with compassion, and providing the most appropriate aid for the situation. Working together with landlords, housing agencies, and Family Promise, they recently helped a man catch up on rent–and find a more affordable apartment for him. Due to quick action once help was requested, one less person has entered the homeless system.
It is not always the material charity that is needed. During these times of physical isolation and fear, people need to take the time to reach out to others. This can be done by assisting those who do not feel comfortable in public by shopping, checking in with a homebound neighbor, or having a conversation with someone you used to regularly see at church, community events, or the store. These are all ways to break the isolation that too many people are feeling right now.
We are social people, but health has required us to use caution in all our interactions. At St. Vincent de Paul, our offices were locked down because they are located in Smith Hall. That was done for the safety of our elderly tenants, but our interactions with clients have continued. We meet them outside. We meet them at the door. Physical distancing has not stopped us from socially serving those in need. Perhaps we are a sign of hope for some, that even with physical touching, even while wearing a mask, we can show the love and concern for our brothers and sisters.
Executive volunteer, Scot Allen told me he thinks the mission of St. Vincent de Paul should be: “We do the impossible every day.” As we provide for the needs of the neediest, it seems like miracles are needed. Sometimes they come in unexpected ways.
Small acts of charity can be everyday miracles. Little actions make a big difference in people’s lives.
Dave Ringle, General Manager,
St. Vincent de Paul, Juneau