Catholic charities in the UK are warning that that youth homelessness is on the rise. Young people are leading a significant rise in the number of people sleeping rough and facing homelessness in various ways. “If you care about homelessness, youth homelessness should be at the top of your agenda,” the chief executive of the Read more
A severe hail storm in Hawkes Bay seriously damaged a St Vincent de Paul Opportunity Shop in Napier on Tuesday. Shop manager Richard Kelly-Lowe said water came flooding in “like a river” and caused the suspended ceiling to collapse under the pressure. Kelly-Lowe was at the front window with staff and shoppers fascinated as they Read more
Palmerston North city councillors have asked staff to “please explain” after the surprise decision to charge Ozanam House full rates. Ozanam House provides accommodation for regional cancer patients staying in the city for radiotherapy treatment at Palmerston North Hospital has previously had $18,000 a year in general rates remitted. Read more
A Wellington op shop is taking the classic “reduce, reuse and recycle” message one step further in an effort to bring its textile waste down to zero. Caroline O’Reilly, the new textile recycling coordinator at St Vincent de Paul in Kilbirnie, is helping reduce the amount of waste the store sends to landfill by repurposing Read more
A Home Away From Home Like No Other, published by the Ozanam House Trust to celebrate a half-century of the House’s operations, tells the history of this charitable endeavour. Conceived by the Society of St Vincent de Paul and developed in 1971 in collaboration with the Cancer Society Manawatu, the original Ozanam House began with Read more
The first thing I noticed was his Mercedes. It was only when he got closer that I realised he was also wearing a pretty expensive-looking suit. We don’t see the likes of — well, let’s call him ‘John’ — coming to our soup vans every day. When you’ve been visiting the streets of Melbourne serving Read more
Australia’s St Vincent de Paul Society – Vinnies – is condemning a Federal Government ultimatum to 7,500 asylum seekers. They are being told to shape up with their paperwork or ship out – back home or somewhere else. Anywhere else. They have until 1 October to produce the documentation the Government wants. Vinnies National Council Read more
It’s not unusual to experience setbacks in life, and most people, with the right support, can overcome them. But sometimes, a tragic circumstance such as a difficult childhood or the death of a loved one can set us off course. In these situations it takes a special encounter to get back on track and make Read more
The executive director of the Society of St Vincent de Paul in Phoenix, AZ, has paid tribute to the volunteer work of the late boxing champion Muhammad Ali. Steve Zabilski wrote that Ali, with his wife Lonnie, were regular volunteers at the society’s dining rooms. Mr Zabilski stated that Ali was part of the Vincentian Read more
A group of young Kiwi men associated with the Society of St Vincent de Paul are helping bring underprivileged kids into the digital age. A project has been started by several men, some of whom are former Young Vinnies, to help give south Auckland children access to computers who otherwise wouldn’t have this. The men are Read more