Outreach Programs

BED PROGRAM

Everyone deserves to have a safe and comfortable place to lay down to sleep at night. Unfortunately, for many families who are experiencing difficult circumstances, such as housing instability, pest infestations, or economic hardship, providing a bed for each family member may simply not be possible. Through our Bob & Sylvia Rahe Bed Program, St. Vincent de Paul works to provide stability and comfort by distributing new bed frames, mattresses and mattress covers at no cost to families. Thanks to your support, 1,668 neighbors received a new bed in the past year, including 702 children.

In August, Hope to Dream, a partnership with Morris Furniture Company and WCPO 9, helped to raise awareness for this need in our community. Seventy-five children and their families were invited for a morning of activities, culminating in a celebration as each child received a new bed of his or her own, complete with sheets, blankets, a pillow and more. Thanks to the public awareness campaign surrounding this event, $17,370 was donated to provide 100 additional beds for families in need throughout the year.

NUTRITION PROGRAMS

As pandemic restrictions eased this year, activities began to ramp up in our Ruth Jung Conway Teaching Kitchen, a space inside the Don & Phyllis Neyer Outreach Center dedicated to educating, encouraging and engaging with neighbors through healthy eating.

We partnered with the Ohio State University’s local extension office to offer EFNEP (Expanded Food and Nutrition Education) classes, which use a hands-on learning approach to teach families about nutrition and basic elements of a balanced diet.

Recognizing that food insecurity leads to additional challenges for many neighbors, we also brought in instructors from La Soupe for monthly cooking demonstrations, showing how foods found on our pantry shelves can be used to create delicious and healthy meals at home.

Our Charitable Pharmacy has also piloted the PHARMer’s Kitchen, a nutrition program created specifically for patients struggling to control diabetes. Classes work to help patients grow their understanding of how their diet impacts this disease, and empower them with tools, resources and recipes to achieve better health outcomes.

RE-ENTRY PROGRAM

Our Re-Entry Program offers compassionate, person-to-person assistance for neighbors who find it difficult to move forward after incarceration, arrest, or other challenging experiences in their background. We strive to serve with dignity and respect, providing not only material aid, but also support and resources as neighbors work toward stability and healing.

For Michael, the impact of the Re-Entry Program has been transformational. He says he had just returned home to Cincinnati when he was encouraged by his parole officer to attend a Re-Entry Resource Fair happening at the Duke Energy Convention Center. While waiting in line for another booth, he struck up a conversation with SVDP’s Re-Entry Manager.

“He says to me, ‘How would you like to have a job?’” Michael recalls.

Michael was hired and began working at SVDP’s Western Hills thrift store when he was approached with another opportunity. St. Vincent de Paul was opening its Clothing & Home Resource Center and needed someone who could manage the warehouse. Michael accepted, and he now says: “that’s when my life began to transform.”

Michael is now one of three full-time employees who keep the Clothing & Home Resource Center running six days a week for neighbors in need of clothing, basic housewares, and beds. His role is to help distribute beds from the loading dock, loading the mattresses and bed frames into vehicles for neighbors who come from all over Greater Cincinnati.

“People expect me to be here. To be on time, to show up…They trust me as well, to do that job, so that’s a great feeling,” he says.

While starting his new role, Michael participated in Working Better Together, SVDP’s workforce development program. The program helps orient new employees through job readiness training, the support of a small cohort, and coaching in key skills for success in the workplace and at home. More than just being prepared for his job, Michael says the classes helped him find meaning in his work.

“It gave me a sense of purpose. Because here, we all have a role to play in St. Vincent,” Michael says, adding: “There’s no big job, no little job. It’s all about helping others.”

With assistance from the Re-Entry Program, Michael has secured his own apartment and says he’s now focusing on bettering his health and wellness, and preparing himself for retirement.

“I encounter a lot of people here, some have been in jails, or are homeless. To see it all come back together, helping people that are desperate…It has influenced me a lot.”

In 2022, 563 neighbors were served through the Re-Entry Program with the most common forms of assistance being clothing, photo IDs, food and counseling. Sixty-four St. Vincent de Paul staff completed Working Better Together, with 69% still being employed by SVDP six months after graduation.

THE BECKY CATINO WOMEN’S STABILITY, EMPLOYMENT, AND EMPOWERMENT PROGRAM

The Becky Catino Women’s Stability, Employment, and Empowerment Program was launched in 2022 and has already begun making an impact for 12 women who were enrolled, including one participant who has successfully graduated from the program. The vision for this program is to offer highly-motivated women individualized support to reach their goals and achieve self-sufficiency. Participants work closely with Program Manager, Tara Kerrigan, to develop a career plan that, when implemented, will lead to employment and enhance overall financial security.

“One of the challenges women face to obtain self sufficiency is known as the benefits cliff,” Kerrigan says. “This is the point in which someone makes too much money for public assistance, but not enough to replace what was received by public assistance. One of the goals of this program is to offer layers of support to create a bridge over the benefits cliff, creating greater stability for the neighbor and her family.”

The first participants were enrolled in the program in July, and by the end of the year several had already met or exceeded their goals. One of these women is Erin. She had previously been employed as a Certified Medical Assistant, but her license had lapsed. Through the Becky Catino Women’s Stability, Employment and Empowerment Program, Erin received financial aid to pay the fees needed to get her license reinstated, and she also enrolled in phlebotomy classes to further her education. Erin recently received her phlebotomy certification and is now receiving one-on-one career counseling and mentorship to build a long-term career plan. She says, “This program has provided me with the ability to not just ask someone for help, but to ask for a sounding board so I can figure it out myself.”

Another participant, Sara, was working toward her bachelor’s degree in psychology, when she turned to St. Vincent de Paul. Sara needed help with transportation so that she could get to her classes, as well as financial support. The Becky Catino Women’s Stability, Employment and Empowerment program was able to help meet both of those needs. Sara has since graduated with her degree and accepted a job at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital.

“One of the great aspects of this program is our ability to focus on the individual and her needs. Just as each woman has her own goals, we are grateful to be able to provide support that is flexible and evolving,” Kerrigan says.