No more important or gratifying work for any of us, says SVdP Marin

December 10, 2015
Tom Burke

 “During the Christmas season, our first priority is to ensure that no children in Marin County become homeless during the holidays,” were the first words of the email reply to this column from the St. Vincent de Paul Society of Marin County. SVdP works year round in preventing homelessness last year visiting more than 1,300 homes with residents very near eviction and saving more than 2,500 people from becoming homeless.

“Almost half of the people we helped were children under the age of 18 who lived in these homes and had nowhere else to turn for help,” SVdP said. Conditions leading to the brink are relatable to all and include a breadwinner becoming ill, a job lost, an emergency car repair cutting into the family income.

“We go into these homes and quickly and compassionately give the one-time crisis aid they need to keep their housing and get back on track, without government red tape or delays,” SVdP told me. “Our donors offer this life-saving support, and when they prevent children from becoming homeless during the Christmas season, there is no more important or gratifying work for any of us.”

Rich Gallagher of St. Isabella Parish, San Rafael, heads the board of directors for St. Vincent de Paul Society of Marin County. “I join all of our board members and supporters in believing that preventing homelessness and hunger in Marin and serving the poor with dignity are all necessary components of living in a humane community,” Rich told Catholic San Francisco.

This year SVdP celebrates the 34th year of its free dining room in San Rafael providing hot meals every day of the year. “Each day, we serve approximately 500 meals, thanks to the support of our private donors,” SVdP said. “We also run a housing help desk, where more than 170 homeless people found housing last year. All told, we help more than 10,000 Marin County residents each year.”

swalker@vinnies.org, www.vinnies.org; St. Vincent de Paul Society of Marin County, P.O. Box 150527, San Rafael 94915.

MORE PLEASE: The family bingo and spaghetti dinner at San Francisco’s St. Stephen School included fond farewells in September. Teresa Anastasio and Tony Maffei, who for 12 years have “generously and lovingly prepared this Italian feast for more than 400 attendees,” hung up their chefs’ hats, Tanya Miller said in a note to this column. “The two received a heartfelt ‘Grazie’ for their dedication to the event and St Stephen School during a special presentation,” Tanya said.

SOMETIMES: Just a thought about bumper stickers where we brag about our kids’ accomplishments: With the ups and downs of kids’ performance in school and such, wouldn’t magnetic bumper boasts we could rotate through their various eras be a good idea?

THANK YOU, FATHER: Had the chance to pull some take home tips from three recent homilies: Capuchin Father Michael Mahoney, pastor, Our Lady of Angels, Burlingame: “Nothing is a failure but everything is an opportunity to meet God.”

Father Patrick Summerhays, parochial vicar, St. Cecilia Parish, San Francisco: “We don’t belong to the world, we belong to Christ.” Msgr. Harry Schlitt, retired vicar of administration for the archdiocese: “Everybody dies but not everybody lives. Let’s do best we can for God and for ourselves.”

Email items and electronic pictures – jpegs at no less than 300 dpi to burket@sfarchdiocese.org or mail to Street, One Peter Yorke Way, San Francisco 94109. Include a follow-up phone number. Street is toll-free. My phone number is (415) 614-5634.