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"I don't think any of us think that giving up is an option." St. Vincent de Paul remains resilient amid the pandemic
by Troy Hill, ASU Lodestar Center
April 9, 2020
Since COVID-19 was announced as a national emergency, and then a pandemic, fear and uncertainty have run amok. But in spite of the difficult circumstances, there are groups and organizations who are practicing overwhelming resiliency and trying to make a difference in their communities.
The Society of St. Vincent de Paul of Arizona is one such group.
Jessica Berg, SVdP’s chief program officer, said SVdP has shifted many of their workers and services to accommodate the new situation.
In the last few weeks, SVdP has sent half of their staff home to work remotely and told almost all of their volunteers to stay home to stay in accordance with social distancing. However, they’ve been able to keep volunteers with one of their programs - their community garden. There, people are already wearing gloves and are apart from one another as they tend to the plants.
One of the programs they’ve shifted is food service. On a normal day, they’d serve hundreds of people in a large dining room. But with a limit on groups of people, it is difficult to serve in this same capacity. What they’ve done instead is shift their staff from programs that are on hold for now - such as their thrift store and transportation programs - and placed them in other programs such as the kitchen.
These workers cook the food and give it to people at the door as they arrive. This way, there is less social contact and the people of the community are still being served.
Many of the staff at SVdP are also engaged in “pandemic planning,” where they are making plans in case residents of their transitional housing facility get sick or start to have symptoms. They have shifted their medical and dental services to “emergency only” in order to focus on the underprivileged population who are suffering from the effects of the virus.
SVdP has continued to serve people suffering from homelessness through their resource center. For everyone’s safety, they only let 10 to 20 people in the building at a time.
“People come in for showers and hygiene products and new clothing, so we're making sure they sit six feet apart when everyone comes in,” Berg said.
Berg said they also take this opportunity to check up on the health of those people.
“We're taking their temperature, asking them about any symptoms. The staff are wearing protective gear,” she said.
They are also continuing to help those at risk of experiencing homelessness with rent and utility assistance; those services are now available over the phone.
SVdP has also been making sure to check in on their usual guests and volunteers.
“Some of the silver lining is… we heard a lot of stories today about volunteers being so grateful that we're reaching out to them, checking in on them because they miss us,” Berg said.
One of SVdP’s core values is partnership. Erica Hodges, the ASU & SVdP program manager, said that partnership is no longer merely something they are striving for, but an “absolute necessity” for the situation.
“Unless all of our partners, especially on the campus, are in communication - one break in the chain, and we all fall down,” Hodges said.
Berg said SVdP talks about addressing both economic and social poverty. She said there is a lot of both right now, and that there is only going to be more in the future.
“It's not a question of ‘if’ we're going to keep moving,” Berg said. “People are in need and we want to be able to have an impact. ... I don't think any of us think that giving up is an option.”
The ASU Lodestar Center for Philanthropy and Nonprofit Innovation wants to better understand the greatest needs of Arizona’s nonprofit sector during the COVID-19 Pandemic. This survey will take 5-7 minutes to complete. All responses are confidential to the ASU Lodestar Center’s research team. The results will only be shared in aggregate and your identity will not be linked to your responses. Results will be aggregated and contribute Arizona voices to a broader national conversation about COVID-19 and the nonprofit sector.