A new program is helping furnish stable starts for those SVdP newly rehouses
In the elation of a morning fi lled with good food and good music, two unhoused guests of St. Vincent de Paul’s downtown Phoenix Dining Room grabbed each other by the hand as a live band played “Sweet Child O’ Mine” by Guns N’ Roses. It was sheer joy, as everyone, for a single moment, left the harsh realities outdoors and shared in the innocent happiness of two people dancing freely to a favorite American classic.
P.O. Box 13600, Phoenix, Arizona 85002-3600
Diocesan Council President
Steve Attwood
The Rob and Melani Walton
Endowed CEO
Shannon Clancy
Chief Marketing Officer
Mary Chou-Thompson
Editor
Marisol Saldivar
After caseworkers rehouse SVdP guests experiencing homelessness, a new SVdP program works to set up the newly rehoused with furniture and household essentials thanks to the efforts of SVdP thrift store and transportation teams.
One volunteer is employing his expertise in sound to help produce thrive and grow bigger, faster at SVdP’s Mesa Urban Farm thanks to the use of optimal frequencies for plant growth and happiness.
Take in the renderings and blueprint of the new building SVdP is set to break ground on this summer, which will expand on the nonprofi t’s success with transitional housing and provide space for workforce readiness programming and a companion animal clinic.
Writers
Andrea Ariza
Sarah Farrell
Troy Hill
Marisol Saldivar
Photography
Alejandra Bucon
Troy Hill
The Society of St. Vincent de Paul is an international nonprofit organization dedicated to serving people in need and providing others with the opportunity to serve. SVdP has been assisting central and northern Arizona families since 1946 and has a network of more than 80 parish neighborhood pantries. SVdP offers services for the homeless, medical and dental care for the uninsured, charity dining rooms, transitional housing and homelessness prevention assistance.
Vincentian Connection magazine shares the stories of compassion, hope, healing and impact SVdP has in building a better community. The magazine has a circulation of 35,000.
Kendrick, a single dad, holds his infant daughter in their new apartment as SVdP’s Bringing Hope Home team sets up the thrift store furniture and household essentials to welcome them home. The father and daughter had been living out of their car. With a new job, Kendrick didn’t have to worry about spending his first paychecks on household basics, including a brand new crib gifted by SVdP to Kendrick’s baby girl.
I’ve heard elderly people say, “I can’t imagine bringing children into today’s world.” I guess that sentiment is understandable given global pandemics, the atrocities being committed against Ukrainian people, and the divisiveness in our own country, but I’ve always had a more optimistic outlook on the future.
Most likely, my optimism is a byproduct of the time I spend with young people (those who are the age of my children and grandchildren) who give so much of themselves in service to others. Our CEO, Shannon Clancy, always reminds me that the goal of St. Vincent de Paul is not just to serve those in need, but also to give others the opportunity to serve, and thereby enrich their lives as well.
Rising Leaders is one example of how young people are finding more purpose in their own lives by positively impacting the lives of others. Co-founded by staff members Hannah Whitwer and Erin Monnin, Rising Leaders offers young professionals the opportunity to become servant leaders and, in doing so, live more meaningful lives. “There is a crucial need for those in their 20s and 30s – the next generation of
leaders – to be educated and aware of the needs of their community,” Hannah said. “Rising Leaders offers young professionals a path to become well-rounded leaders.” Although the group is still in its early stages of development, the initial response and level of interest from the professional community has far exceeded expectations. Rising Leaders has 36 inaugural members, all committed to working together to grow personally and professionally and to make a positive impact on their community by actively engaging in and financially supporting the work of St. Vincent de Paul.
In the coming pages are profiles of several people who are making a positive impact on their community, including one member of Rising Leaders. Perhaps you are someone, or you may know someone, who recognizes that professional success is only part of what constitutes a meaningful life. Rising Leaders is a wonderful opportunity to engage with like-minded men and women to become true servant leaders and positive examples to future generations. If so, I would strongly encourage you to reach out to Hannah at hwhitwer@svdpaz.org or Erin at erin.monnin.8@gmail.com. You will be glad you did.
Yes, our world has fallen off track in many ways, but the character and vision of our young people gives us reason to hope for a better tomorrow.
Nine local businesses from the Executives’ Association of Greater Phoenix combined their generosity to purchase 1,200 boxes from Brownie Girl Scout Eliza and donate them to SVdP. Special thanks to Burns Pest Elimination for organizing all parties and to
Dircks Moving & Logistics for getting the donation to SVdP. The boxes, including Eliza’s favorite — the new adventurefuls cookies — are always a hit with guests and went fast at SVdP’s Family Evening Meal. It made for a wonderful, sweet treat with dinner that night.
A sweet donation of Girl Scout cookies came in this spring
In response to the steep increase in homelessness Arizona is seeing, St. Vincent de Paul has set an ambitious goal to move 2,025 people experiencing homelessness into permanent housing by the year 2025. The nonprofi t calls this goal its ‘Housing 2025’ initiative.
“St. Vincent de Paul has the heart, skill, and a sense of urgency to step up when it’s needed most and serve the community in the moment as needed, especially in crisis,” said Shannon Clancy, SVdP’s Rob and Melani Walton Endowed CEO. “As we go about our lives, we all see more people living on our streets. That doesn’t feel right to any of us. Housing 2025 is St. Vincent de Paul’s commitment to respond boldly, urgently, and compassionately to better meet the needs of our unhoused neighbors.”
SVdP rehouses people through its two different shelter and transitional housing programs, as well as its Resource Center and dining rooms. The programs work together and in partnership with agencies across the Valley to fi nd the best permanent housing solution for each individual or family.
“It takes a community to help solve homelessness one person at a time,” said SVdP Ozanam Manor Director Julia Matthies, who oversees one of SVdP’s transitional housing programs and is project manager for the Housing 2025 goal. “We cannot do this work without our partners.”
1. Moving people into permanent housing (not shelter, not transitional housing, not temporary housing). We are moving people HOME.
2. Increasing SVdP’s permanent rehousing rate by 20%. While we work on all kinds of rehousing, this goal looks to increase specifi cally permanent rehousing so that people are less likely to return to homelessness.
3. Offering the community a shared goal to rally around and inviting people to do their part in helping address the homelessness they see.
SVdP began working on the goal in October 2022, in alignment with its fi scal year. As of April, the nonprofi t already found homes for 526 people.
“This work isn’t new to us,” Julia said. “Every day, St. Vincent de Paul moves people into permanent housing. It’s just a matter of having the resources, funding and collective will to do more.”
Stay up to date on goal progress and support the initiative through SVdP’s Housing 2025 monthly newsletter. Subscribe here.
Pamela stood in the doorway of her new apartment with two blue suitcases. At one point, not long ago, all she had fit into those two little cases on wheels.
She had been living out of her car until getting into St. Vincent de Paul’s Ozanam Manor, a transitional housing facility for people over 50, veterans and adults with disabilities. Pamela lived there for two years while regaining stability and eventually qualified for an apartment in a complex just outside of downtown Phoenix.
There was just one problem: She didn’t have any furniture or household basics. Like so many people freshly rehoused, Pamela would have faced an empty apartment and the burden of acquiring essentials if it weren’t for SVdP’s new program: Bringing Hope Home.
Bringing Hope Home comes in after SVdP case managers have helped secure housing for someone previously on the street or in a SVdP shelter. The program combines the resources and power of SVdP’s thrift stores and transportation team to set up the newly housed individual or family with household essentials and furniture, which SVdP delivers on move-in day.
“Bringing Hope Home literally helps finalize the rehousing process by furnishing that home,” said Mike McClanahan, the director of retail operations at SVdP.
On this day, it was Pamela’s scheduled move-in and chance to experience the magic of the program.
Mike and team developed the Bringing Hope Home program in the hopes of reducing the number of individuals or families returning to homelessness simply because they couldn’t overcome the large upfront costs that come with moving and acquiring furniture.
“We like to say that we turn houses into homes,” says Irma Leyendecker, SVdP’s director of mission advancement who teams up with Mike to help manage the program.
When Bringing Hope Home first started, the team helped one individual or family each month. But the need for such a program and its success in easing the transition into housing became quickly apparent. Now it helps up to eight individuals or families per week.
SVdP case managers working with individuals and families in the rehousing pipeline refer guests to the program after they’ve helped establish housing for them. After receiving the referral, the Bringing Hope Home team coordinates a date with the guest to go to a SVdP thrift store and pick out new furniture and household essentials for their apartment.
Individuals are given up to $1,000 to spend in store, while families receive up to $2,000. That money goes far thanks to the affordable thrift store prices. And the items aren’t beat up or on their last legs either. SVdP does quality control and requires gently used donations, so shoppers and guests are sure to get things in good condition.
“ If we didn’t intervene, what would happen is that person would spend their first two or three paychecks just trying to get a bed or a couch for their family,” Mike said. “Now they don’t have to worry about it, and that lifts a huge burden off that family.”Along with the SVdP transportation team, Director of Retail Operations Mike McClanahan unloads a television from the truck for one of Bringing Hope Home’s first move-ins.
Mike said one of his favorite moments is when he sees the reaction on children’s faces when they realize they have a bed.
“Because I’ve talked to kids, anywhere from six to 10 years old, and they’ve been sleeping in the car for the last six months to a year. They’re finally getting a bed and they realize that’s where they’re going to sleep tonight, and they’re jumping up on the bed because they’re so excited,” Mike said. “You just tear up every time. They usually say, ‘Mommy, Daddy, I got my own bed! I got my own bed!’ Stuff that we take for granted but is so appreciated by an innocent child.”
Both Mike and Irma are reluctant to take much credit for the huge influence the program is having on many people’s lives. They see the program as another step in the SVdP service journey and a credit to the community who helps make the work possible.
“It’s not just us, it’s the organization and the community as a whole,” Irma said. “It’s the Resource Center, the dining rooms, the shelters, and the generous people supporting our programs who are getting them housed. We’re just a continuation of the work.”
“
We have got to give people a head start,” Mike said. “We have to get them in a situation where at least they have a competitive edge to stay ahead of [falling back onto the street].”
SVdP is even hoping to extend the support structure beyond move-in day to after a guest has been in their own place. Currently, the nonprofit is piloting a “Homecoming Corps” to be operated out of its network of neighborhood food pantries and assistance centers across the Valley. They will continue with any needed food and bill assistance as rehoused guests adjust to their new circumstances.
The Bringing Hope Home team urges those interested in supporting rehousing efforts to consider donating gently used household items, especially those home essentials ranging from furniture to pots and pans and bedding. And
the same transportation team that helps on Bringing Hope Home delivery days is the exact same team who makes scheduled donation pickups possible.
“We have drivers that will go pick it up, and we have people that will bring it back. And we’ll get to give it a new home and a new life with a new family.”
Back at Pamela’s new apartment, the transportation team started hauling furniture inside. Only a few days earlier, she had shopped at SVdP’s Hope Chest Thrift Store to pick out some of the things she would need to make
a new home — a bed, a couch, a wardrobe, some nightstands, a table and chairs.
Pamela looked up from her two suitcases and saw her apartment filled. She had a solid table to eat on, a place for her clothes, a couch to kick up her feet and a comfortable bed to rest and lay her head.
Pamela was home.
Scan to watch more Bringing Hope Home success stories.
As you walk down the steps of St. Vincent de Paul’s Mesa Dining Room to the Urban Farm, you’ll hear sounds of rhythmic drumbeats interspersed with classical music and electronic dance music songs. Alongside that is the sound of volunteers chatting, diligently planting, weeding, watering, harvesting, and maintaining the Mesa Urban Farm.
Go further into the farm, and you’ll notice a white sphere amongst the planters — that’s where the music is coming from — and a
man kneeling to adjust the sound system. The man is Jim Dilettoso, and the music is part of a new sonication project he and his partner Ka-linda Blackner have been working on at the Mesa Urban Farm since October 2022.
Sonication is the use of sound to help plants grow. Well, it’s much more complex than that, but that’s the short defi nition.
Jim’s work at the Mesa Urban Farm has been multifaceted. He’s used sounds and music to help some of the struggling
plants — like the banana trees — thrive again. He began treating some of the seeds that weren’t sprouting before they went into the ground. He even started teaching classes on Saturday mornings to help volunteers make their own kazoos, whistles, and other instruments to help the plants grow. Volunteers play their instruments along with pre-recorded bioacoustics mixed with original music.
“Our goal with St. Vincent de Paul is to demonstrate that [sonication] actually works,” Jim said, “and show others how toto
to do it. And develop that simple training program, so that other SVdP farms and gardens around the world can use this.”
Jim grew up around plants and farms in Virginia, but his career didn’t initially take him into agronomics. He spent over 30 years in the music production business, producing records and tours for startup artists to big-name bands.
“I was the engineer, producer. I had a sound and lighting company and a crew, and we’d wrap around The Moody Blues and Alice Cooper and go do a tour. Over and over and over again for 35 years,” Jim said. “And in the winter, we would come to Arizona.”
Every time Jim visited his parents in Arizona, he fondly remembers going to volunteer with his family in downtown Phoenix and on the west side — even bringing along his crew members from time to time.
“St. Vincent de Paul was home for us,” Jim says as he pulls back his jacket to reveal his mom’s Vincentian service badge from the 80s, which he still carries with him.
Jim saw the love and the mission through his parents Angelo and Shirley Yakis who volunteered with SVdP for 47 years through the SVdP pantry at their parish, St. Raphael in Glendale. His dad Angelo even served as president of the Vincentian volunteer group for a time and helped with the development of the main campus on Watkins Road.
In 1980, Jim was editing together a video of planting ceremonies from different tribes, including one he filmed from Findhorn, Scotland, to use for the opening of a Moody Blues tour. It was the middle of the winter in Arizona, and as the weeks of editing went by, he noticed the ivy outside his house started growing through the cracks in the adobe — trying to get closer to the sound. He didn’t fully understand the science behind it yet, but he knew he was on to something.
His curiosity led him to seek out experts in math, farming, chemistry, and plant growth — like his partner Ka-linda — as well as other people who were experimenting with sound and plants.
He learned that this phenomenon he witnessed with his ivy was sonication. The different sound frequencies vibrated parts of the plants with sympathetic resonance — essentially, the same phenomenon that is happening when you use a tuning fork to tune an instrument. The vibrations from a piano string, for example, go through the air and hit the fork causing it to vibrate as well.
“ There was a lot of studying involved because I was a different kind of engineer,” he said. “I wasn’t an agriculture engineer. But when you like something, you study it, you find out about it.”A speaker sits among the plants on the Mesa Urban Farm, playing sounds and music at frequencies aimed to help the plants grow faster, in turn supplying more food for the Mesa Dining Room.
Early on, he observed that many of the sounds used in planting ceremonies were copying sounds in nature — thunder, birds, and bugs.
So, the sounds he has developed are bioacoustic copies of sounds found in nature. Drumbeats, imitating thunder, for example emit the right frequency to open the stomata in plants.
This fascination with sounds and plants launched Jim into a decades-long career in sonication. He studied the frequencies and wave shape, created music to match perfectly and lay over — oftentimes bringing in bands he worked with as a music producer to his home in Chandler to record — he also worked with his dad who was an aerospace engineer to design equipment to better deliver the sounds. Throughout her life, Jim’s daughter, Savannah, has also worked with him to find the right waveshape and frequency to maximize plant growth.
“The most important thing about it over the years became more food faster,” he said. “Less fertilizer. Less water. That’s a big thing. More food faster, less fertilizer, less water, by playing a drum and whistle. Well, why isn’t everybody doing that?”
Test after test, study after study, they kept seeing amazing results. Slowly, they began to figure out the right sounds to use in the right amount at the right time to help the plants grow better. And what began as a niche field is now being studied in universities such as Cambridge, Cornell, and the University of Arizona.
In 2022, Jim was looking for a way to use sonication to give back. He got involved with the City of Chandler’s innovation program. Through the mayor of Chandler, he happened to meet Charles Gonzalez who works for Chaplaincy for the Homeless and regularly visits SVdP’s Mesa Dining Room.
“I tell people, this [St. Vincent de Paul’s Mesa Urban Farm] is a true place of love,” Charles said. “I come in here to get zoned back in. And if he were able to acoustically enhance that, we’d be looking at even more calming effects. So, not just the growth of the plants here, but the interaction that it [music] has with people. That’s important to me.”
Charles introduced Jim to Mary Ann Ricketts, the volunteer running the Mesa Urban Farm. She liked the idea of integrating sonication into the work at the farm. Shortly after, Ka-linda, who has decades of experience working in agriculture and running big farms all over the world, became the Mesa Urban Farm program coordinator.
Jim’s daughter, Savannah, stretches to bring the sounds and music closer to the plants, helping the sounds reach them so they might grow and produce food faster. She’s followed her father’s work closely and says sonication works every time the waveshape and frequency are correct.
“ The rattles were actual rattlesnake rattles that the Hopi would gather up,” he said. Then the wet seeds were put into the rattles to be stimulated before planting.
Since Jim and Ka-linda started at the farm, Mary Ann has seen a big change in plant growth, especially with the banana trees. They’ve slowly been moving the banana trees from one part of the farm to another, and the trees have really responded to the sonication. The next step is to expand this work to SVdP’s two other farms, including the Rob & Melani Walton Urban Farm on SVdP’s main campus.
What Mary Ann has really noticed though is the effect that the music has on guests and volunteers at the farm.
“We love it,” she said of the music being played. “And it just has this calming effect on the whole area.”
Scan to watch Jim in action and listen to the sonication work at the farm.
Mesa Urban Farm Program Coordinator Ka-linda Blackner (at left) and her partner Jim Dilettoso, who volunteers in the farm.
By Marisol Saldivar
St. Vincent de Paul’s footprint will grow a little larger this year. The nonprofi t held a groundbreaking ceremony May 2 with construction set to begin later this summer on a new building that will expand its main campus just east while also growing SVdP’s role and impact in the rehousing arena for a crucial population increasingly experiencing homelessness.
Seniors, veterans and adults with disabilities without housing and a safety net will have an additional 100 beds at SVdP as the new 50,000-square-foot building fi rst looks to expand the success of the nonprofi t’s existing transitional housing program, Ozanam Manor.
Nicknamed “Oz,” the program currently has 60 beds in the Diane and Bruce Halle Center for Hope and Healing on SVdP’s main campus and boasts a high success rate with 95% of graduated residents remaining housed and not returning to homelessness services six months after moving out.
“For many years, we have seen the increase of seniors experiencing homelessness,” SVdP Ozanam Manor Director Julia Matthies says. “They are disproportionately affected by the housing crisis because they are more often on fi xed incomes. They have fewer options and tend to have more medical and physical health needs, making them more vulnerable.”
The new addition, referred to as Ozanam Manor II, or Oz II, is a $20-million project made possible by city, county and state funding as well as private donations. It is the second phase of capital improvements for SVdP after the building of the Diane and Bruce Halle Center for Hope and Healing and the creation of the Rob & Melani Walton Urban Farm in 2018. The expansion of the Virginia G. Piper Medical and Dental Clinic followed in 2019.
Oz II will more than double transitional housing capacity on SVdP’s campus while also bringing added services with a new companion animal clinic and dedicated space for workforce readiness programming.
A new 50,000-square-foot building will provide 100 beds for unhoused seniors, a veterinary clinic for animals of the homeless, and space for workforce readiness programming.
· Build a 50,000 sq. ft. new facility, informed by the successes of the original Ozanam Manor housed within the Diane and Bruce Halle Center for Hope and Healing (completed in 2018)
· Provide 100 beds for unhoused elderly, veterans, and adults with disabilities
· Expand case management programming for successful transitions
· Engage men and women who have been reluctant to access services by removing barriers
· Operate a 3,000 sq. ft. veterinary clinic for SVdP’s Companion Animal Program, run in partnership with Midwestern University’s Animal Health Institute to attract men and women whose pets have made it diffi cult for them to access services
· Grow SVdP’s Workforce Opportunities Program to engage men and women in developing work and life skills in positive steps toward sustainability
A resident of the fi rst Ozanam Manor sits on her bed in her very own dorm space, equipped with a desk and wardrobe closet — a stable setting from which she can work to regain housing.
“Ozanam Manor II won’t be just a building with beds, but a full program dedicated to helping residents feel safe and supported — one that offers the right services at the right time, with a focus on resilience to help each person’s unique needs as they transition from homelessness to self-suffi ciency and permanent housing.”
ShannonClancy SVdP’s Rob and Melani Walton Endowed CEO
“We are grateful and thrilled to have this opportunity to expand on the success of the original Ozanam Manor model. But we’re also dreaming bigger and creating space to broaden services and invite partnerships and the community into serving residents in more ways. We’re hoping that means we can open our doors a little wider and take in residents who need flexibility with pets or might have greater health needs.”
“We are so excited to have an animal clinic right on campus, making access easy for our guests and their pets. Care for the animals is also care for our guests. So many guests will not leave their pets behind to seek shelter. Their animals are their family and often only connection. So as SVdP welcomes animals inside, we are ecstatic to also have the space and services to care for companion animals and keep people and their pets safe, together, and cared for.”
“The workforce headquarters is going to give our guests the necessary support to prepare for and enter employment by giving them access to technology, skills training, case management, life-tools classes and more. This space will mean so much to our guests and their chances at creating better, more sustainable lives for themselves.”
The blueprint of the new building details a welcome area just inside the double door entry on the lower level, where guests with accessibility needs will have dorms and easy access to the workforce development and veterinary clinic. The upper level will offer additional dormitory wings and common areas.
Inside Ozanam Manor, a transitional housing facility at St. Vincent de Paul, Emily Perales has an office all her own where she does case management for several residents — connecting them to resources, helping establish incomes and overcoming barriers to housing.
But not long ago, the case manager hadn’t imagined this profession for herself. Emily originally intended to become an ultrasound sonographer. But when a local community college told her the waitlist for the program was 10 years long, Emily had to rethink her career.
A school counselor jumped at the opportunity to recommend Emily for the SVdP Scholarship Program, designed to help first-generation college students afford higher education and attend a four-year university.
The program offers workshops and pairs students with an assigned mentor who is there to guide and offer support throughout the student’s entire college career.
Beyond academic help, scholars learn practical life skills on money management, work/life balance and how to weigh future career options.
Emily applied and was accepted. She was able to finish her last semester at community college, earn her associate’s degree, and start a new path toward a social work degree at Arizona State University.
But being a first-generation college student, Emily wasn’t sure how to navigate the university system. That’s where her SVdP Scholarship Program mentor, Laura, really helped.
“She gave me a lot of life advice. Laura being a first-generation [student and] Hispanic woman, she knew where I came from and my cultural background,” said Emily, who grew up in the Maryvale neighborhood of Phoenix and is the first of her two siblings to pursue higher education. “That had to do a lot with our strong connection.”
Emily began to thrive academically and started volunteering through the SVdP Scholarship Program. She served in SVdP’s Resource Center for people experiencing homelessness, where she discovered her love for helping on the frontline and formed bonds with many of the guests and staff.
“ The more that you volunteer, the more you enjoy it,” she said. “I fell in love with the connections I was making with clients and just people in general.”
She next chose to complete an internship at Ozanam Manor, where she could see a different kind of process in helping people exit homelessness and regain housing.
“I just saw this huge amount of growth from spring to fall [during her internship],” Ozanam Manor Director Julia Matties said. “She kind of hit the ground running, was looking for more things to do and had a lot of initiative.”
When Emily graduated in 2022, the first place she applied to was SVdP’s Ozanam Manor to be a case manager.
“It was easy for me to see how she fit with both the residents and the staff and the culture at St. Vincent de Paul,” Julia said.
“The more I’m here, the more I want to give to my clients,” Emily said. “And the people are so kind, always welcoming…I just love seeing people and the joy on their face when they see that you help them.”
Emily embodies the positive aspects of the SVdP Scholarship Program that transforms lives one scholar at a time.
By Troy Hill
At 14, Eric Boulware was athletic, a good student and highly social. But a sudden turn in health quickly changed his lifestyle.
Eric began to feel sick to his stomach and dizzy. Food didn’t taste right, and he had to keep getting up to use the restroom throughout the night. Suddenly, it all clicked for his mom Jeanne Boulware, a former EMT: “I think I have a Type-1 diabetic child.”
She took Eric to the hospital, where they confi rmed the diagnosis and found his blood sugar was over 300. (A normal level is under 120.) His body was suffering from diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) — essentially poisoning itself because of a lack of insulin. Left untreated, it can be deadly.
Now, Eric has a monitor that watches his blood sugar level and a pump that automatically administers insulin. But it comes at a cost. When Eric was fi rst diagnosed, Jeanne had to go to the pharmacy to pick up his new medicine and other tools used to measure blood sugar.
The out-of-pocket cost was over $700.
“I remember pulling out my medical spending account card, and I didn’t even know if there was that much on it,” Jeanne said. “It was approved, but I remember standing there in shock, and there was a mom who was in the same situation next to me. She’s like, ‘I don’t have that kind of money.’”
Such is the case for so many of the patients who visit St. Vincent de Paul’s Virginia G. Piper Medical Clinic. So when Eric and his church youth group were scrolling through SVdP’s Help from Home volunteer opportunities and came across the clinic’s need for diabetes care packages, he felt called to help those who share his health condition but aren’t as blessed fi nancially.
“I was proud of Eric for speaking up and saying, ‘This is meaningful to me,’” said David Huband, the youth group leader. “That’s what we want. We want them to do things that are meaningful to them and helpful to others.”
SVdP’s clinic serves uninsured patients, especially low-income families who are at high risk for diabetes. So the cost of the $600 care packages are simply out of reach.
Eric and Jeanne rallied church members to help fi nance the care packages. Each includes testing kits and strips, alcohol swabs, and glucose tablets for a quick boost when blood sugar is low. After compiling everything, they delivered the care packages to SVdP on a Saturday morning. Now ten families have the diabetes supplies they need to live.
“We want to help others who can’t afford these supplies,” Eric said “I want people to get what they need, so they can live a healthy life just like me.”
Meghan Murphy, 28, has always wanted to use her time and talents to make the world a better place. It’s what drove her to become one of the inaugural members of Rising Leaders, the new service and leadership group at St. Vincent de Paul for young professionals in their 20s and 30s.
For Meghan, the group is a way to further her own personal drive to help the Valley that’s already given her so much.
After graduating in 2016 from Arizona State University with a degree in nonprofit leadership and management, Meghan went to work for the national Make-A-Wish Foundation. Being a Phoenix native, she found herself wanting to narrow her focus to help her hometown.
“I found that my passion was focusing on smaller groups, really being a part of a community and getting to know that community and learning its needs,” Meghan said.
She took the career leap to start The Arcadia Foundation with her family, where she serves as Executive Director. The foundation focuses on supporting the metro-Phoenix community by sponsoring nonprofit work in the area. That’s how Meghan first came to know SVdP and connect with Rising Leaders founders Erin Monnin and Hannah Whitwer.
Rising Leaders offers young professionals a space to become the servant leaders the community needs by providing its members a chance to connect with one another, grow professionally and personally, and better their community together through service alongside SVdP.
Meghan felt an alignment with the group’s purpose and wasn’t disappointed after joining. Rising Leaders plugged her into a group of like-minded peers in more than a dozen industries across the Valley.
“It was really interesting to me to find similarity in all of these people in different sectors that really wanted to make a difference in their community,” Meghan said. “We’re looking for that space and opportunity to create community, and to collaborate with each other. Not only for this mission, but for each other, and for the greater good of the Valley.”
As part of the 2023 cohort, Meghan and fellow Rising Leaders have participated in professional development workshops and several volunteering events, including serving in SVdP’s Urban Farms program.
Beyond the connection and service opportunities, Meghan appreciates the larger vision of Rising Leaders, which strives to build a next generation of leaders so well-educated about the needs of the community, that coming alongside SVdP and other causes will be naturally embedded in who they are.
“I think that being a strong leader is really just knowing the people that you’re leading,” she said. “By being a part of this group… you are aware of the struggles that people are going through in your community. And I think knowing the people in your community and the needs that they have always makes a stronger leader.”
“I think that being a strong leader is really just knowing the people that you’re leading.”
One of the greatest privileges of serving in Arizona is being able to work with a generous community of people who care about the well-being of our state. We are filled with hope and gratitude as we see our community rally and unify through a shared commitment to serve and to care about one another.
Thank you to the Arizona Diamondbacks Foundation for the overwhelming and extremely generous $1.2 million in funds raised for SVdP’s Scholarship Program. It was an honor and the chance of a lifetime for SVdP’s scholarship recipients to attend the 16th annual Evening On The Diamond, presented by Crescent Crown Distributing, at Chase Field. The evening, hosted by D-backs President, CEO and General Partner Derrick Hall, celebrated the team’s community impact and charitable giving heading into the team’s 25th anniversary and was highlighted by
signifi cant award presentations, including a paddle raise event where many dedicated philanthropists stepped up to the plate to support fi rst-generation scholarship students through the SVdP Scholarship Program.
The $1.2 million gift will help expand the program that helps students overcome barriers and increase the number of Arizona scholars who will receive scholarships, mentoring and wraparound services specifi cally designed for fi rst-generation students.
The Opus Foundation demonstrates its generosity as it continues to back its investment and belief in SVdP’s Workforce Opportunities Program. Not only did the foundation support the launch of the program, but it has now also committed $150,000 over the next three years to help the Workforce Opportunities Program impact the community. Thank you, Opus, for your trust in our model that focuses on building up our guests’ professional skills to help them sustain themselves for the long-term and end their homelessness for good.
Did you know that moving someone into an apartment is one of the most expensive parts of the rehousing process? That’s why Vanguard Hometown Grants gave SVdP $50,000 toward its “Oz Going Home Fund,” which helps support the graduated residents of SVdP’s Ozanam Manor transitional housing facility for veterans, those with disabilities, and those over 50. $40,000 will help with move-in costs as the residents transition to more permanent housing. The other $10,000 supports food assistance for the residents, providing sack lunches and more. Thank you, Vanguard Hometown Grants!
Thanks to a grant of $20,000 from ACF Animal Welfare, SVdP’s Companion Animal Program can help get pets of unhoused guests the care they need. So often pets are the only source of strength, courage, and unconditional love for their owners living on the street. Many will not enter shelter unless they can have their pet. Support of our CAP program ensures pets and owners can be safe, cared for and sheltered together. Thanks, ACF Animal Welfare, for contributing to veterinary care and pet essentials ranging from collars to food, beds and toys!
Eye care can be especially expensive for lowincome, uninsured patients. And when those patients are older and in greater need of regular check-ups and treatment, the bills can add up. That’s why SVdP is grateful to the Board of Visitors, Arizona’s oldest women’s charitable organization, for its gift of $40,000 to save the eyesight of uninsured elderly patients who visit SVdP’s Virginia G. Piper Medical Clinic. Their gift helps preserve the long-term quality of life for this patient population and supports the ophthalmological services and treatment that is much needed. Thank you!
Every day, SVdP works to keep people in their homes, helping them avoid eviction and homelessness by paying off rent and utility bills. It’s one of the best and most-effective solutions to keep homelessness from increasing, which is why SVdP is so thankful for the $20,000 it received from the Season for Sharing campaign held by the Arizona Republic and azcentral.com to support this effort. The funds received helped keep fi ve families in their homes so that they wouldn’t have to experience a single day of homelessness. Thank you to the news outlet and its supportive readers!
Many thanks to Phoenix IDA, who gave $50,000 to support the life-saving work of SVdP’s Virginia G. Piper Medical Clinic, which increases access to health care for an often-overlooked population — those low-income individuals and families who are working but cannot afford insurance. Over 10% of the people in Arizona are uninsured. That’s over 700,000 who are left in a near hopeless situation if they encounter a serious illness or injury. SVdP’s clinic gives them a chance to get the care they need, and we couldn’t do it without support from groups like Phoenix IDA. Thank you!
A very generous $100,000 will help support SVdP’s Ozanam Manor transitional housing for seniors, veterans and adults with disabilities thanks to the Kemper and Ethel Marley Foundation. The foundation’s gift helps give this group of people not only a safe place to stay and rebuild their lives, but also makes possible the case management, community activities and framework that wraparound each resident to bring about their rehousing success. It truly is a gift after residents go through the traumatic event that is experiencing homelessness.
Did you notice a cute, nostalgic and cuddly plush puppy for sale at your local Raising Cane’s Chicken Fingers this holiday season? If you did, you wouldn’t be the only one!
Raising Cane’s held a fundraiser for SVdP to support the nonprofit’s Companion Animal Program (CAP), which cares for the pets of people experiencing homelessness. Cane’s sold the plush puppy dressed up as characters from National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation at locations across the state, raising $16,334.76 for CAP. Thank you, Raising Cane’s, for this unique fundraiser and for helping our guests who rely on their animals for companionship, love and support!
Rob & Melani
Foundation
A compassionate and steady partner, the Rob & Melani Walton Foundation continues to breathe life into SVdP’s Urban Farms program with a generous gift of $250,000. Their gift supports the day-to-day operation of SVdP’s Rob & Melani Walton Urban Farm, which produces hundreds of pounds of fresh produce each month including a variety of lettuces, specialty greens, root vegetables and more!
Half of the produce gets cooked in our kitchen to create balanced meals for our charity dining rooms. The other half is distributed to families through food boxes and at our weekly “El Mercado” event. Thank you to the foundation for continuing to help us sustain our farm and feed people!
During St. Vincent de Paul’s 100 DAYS OF SUMMER campaign, support the ABC15 Water Drive with Bashas’ and Food City to get water to people during the hot summer months.
Arizona Public Service (APS) showed early support last summer for SVdP’s new Washington St. shelter, which opened just in time for heat relief. Still in operation, the shelter continues to provide beds for 200 unhoused guests and has already rehoused hundreds of people in the past year. SVdP wouldn’t have been able to do this without the generous support of community partners, including APS. Now the company’s corporate giving program will continue APS’ support with an additional $200,000 for the shelter and heat relief services provided out of SVdP’s Resource Center for people experiencing homelessness. Thank you, APS Corporate Giving program, for the consistent support!
Each day SVdP hands out more than 7,000 bottles of water through its heat relief sites, dining rooms, Resource Center and water truck, which delivers water on the streets. Help us keep people hydrated and alive.
From June 1-30 donate at any Bashas’ or Food City when you check out or give online at stvincentdepaul.net/water
