St. Vincent de Paul

I went to St. Vincent de Paul’s last Friday to serve dinner those in need. It was a great experience and this was opportunity to gain insight from those working and from those receiving the food (which in many cases were the same people). I had a chance to speak to cooks, volunteers, and some homeless who were receiving the food. One of the men in particular has been in the United States for about 10 years now. Prior to working at St. Vincent de Paul, he found it difficult to obtain a job. He now attends the local community college and works at the same time. He loves being in America but finds that people complain too much. He was born and lived most of his adult life in Africa, where people literally have nothing and still are not complaining because they are alive. He claims that people here have a lot but because they want more they complain and are greedy. It was even evident that when serving food people wanted more than the servings that were given to them. He came to America for a new/better opportunity, which he finds hard to come by.

I thought it was interesting how some of the people who were served food were able to come back as many times as they wanted and others were not. It was good to see the relationships that all of these people have with each other. They knew each other on first name basis and treated each other with much respect. The servers and cooks even knew the people who were vegetarians and let us know beforehand so we could serve that individual accordingly.

Some individuals are at St. Vincent de Paul because of the economy and the effects of losing a job and currently have no job or have taken the job that pays less. Other individuals are at St. Vincent de Paul’s because they have been previously released from jail/prison and need help readjusting to life outside of cell walls and barbed wired. These individuals also come to St. Vincent's to keep themselves clean and away from alcohol and/or drug use.

St. Vincent de Paul is a great place but the downfall is there are so many people and a lot of the time not that much room. People get put on the waiting list for weeks and sometimes months before they even here a response. One gentleman said that he was on the waiting list for 4 weeks after being released from prison. He was able to receive food but couldn't do much helping and couldn't stay in the facility until being cleared. He says he couldn't really complain because he is in, and feels bad for those who aren't as lucky as he is.