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Young
adult participation
The group has some 20 member, Pereira said, and
it is fairly typical of local conferences,
smaller than some, more active than
others. But Lu Cuevas, director of conferences
and Vincentian life for the Alameda County
District Council, said Assumption stands out
because it has attracted more young adults. Vincentians,
Cuevas said, are often seen as "the old
guys who've retired who deliver food
baskets." But this does not apply to
many at Assumption, where at least of the
members are still working. Moreover,
Pereira is in his 30s, his wife Rhoda, an
associate, is 28 and several others are employed
persons in their 40s with families. "They've
got people ready to take over from those who've
been doing it a number of years, Cuevas said,
and the group "can serve as a model"
for the district's effort to recruit more young
adults. Assumption
and other St. Vincent de Paul conferences serve
anyone in need within their boundaries, which
may be the limits of their parish or may include
other parishes without active
conferences. Vincentians
visit new clients in their homes, always in
pairs. Many of the clients are referred by
parishes. Although a large conference may
staff a help desk, others, like Assumption,
maintain a telephone line that clients call to
leave a number. In
the past two years, requests for help have gone
up, and this has put a strain on finances, which
depend on donations and the fifth Sunday
collection. "Our
accounts are really shrinking," Pereira said.
"We had $10,000 in October; now we have
$5,000." Most of the money is going into
rent deposits which can cost $2,000 at a
time. Increasing
need
Assumption now gets about 10 requests for rental
assistance every three months, Pereira
said. They used to get only three or four.
"Each year the number of people in need
seems to have increased," said Lita
Flinders, Gary's wife, "and this year more
significantly than others." The
members expect the housing crisis to get worse
with state budget cuts, and they are preparing
to go beyond their usual efforts and join the
Catholic Housing Initiative sponsored by
Catholic Charities of the East Bay. The
program encourages parishes to help in the fight
for more affordable housing. "We
should make some attempt, Pereira told his
fellow members, "to get the City of San
Leandro to recognize that something needs to be
corrected. We can begin by collecting
data." Assumption
Vincentians also reach beyond their boundaries
and sign up to work at the St. Vincent de Paul
Dining Room in Oakland and Fairmont Hospital,
where they take wheelchair bound patients to
Mass. Some also volunteer at Visitation
Center in Oakland, a program for women run by
the Daughters of Charity and the St. Vincent de
Paul Society. But
the heart of the their work is one-to-one
service with those in need, and when they speak
of their work as Vincentians, they highlight the
personal stores of the people they serve and the
gifts that come from knowing them - a Native
American man with terminal cancer who has made
his own coffin, a mainly with three endearing g
children living in a motel, a woman struggling
to hold onto her dilapidated trailer home. Some
remain clients for years at a time, but most
people, Lita Flinders said, are "here and
gone." Almost all of them are
genuinely needy; rarely do the Vincentians find
someone "working the system," and when
they do, they circulate the name to other
conferences as a warning. Vincentians
"try not to be judgmental about
lifestyles," Lita said, "and that's
shy we go in twos. It makes a world of
difference, and we never say no without offering
them another alternative." Assumption
members say work with the poor has opened their
eyes to the many needy persons in their
communities, and it has left them with a deep
sense of gratitude. "It
makes me much more aware of how luck I am,
"Lita Flinders said. "There are
so many people out there. I just count my
own blessing." In
spite of their circumstances, some clients are
infused with faith and hope. "You
find people so down," Pereira said,
"about to get kicked out of their homes,
but they are cheerful. They praise God that we
are there. It's so amazing. Some people
are like that." Disabled
clients
Tom Casey, an Assumption member, works closely
with several disabled people, one of them a man
with cerebral palsy. "I kind of act
as the liaison between the cerebral palsy center
and the different facilities. I also work with
rest homes," he said. He
brings his clients' needs to the attention of
the other members, asking for support and
advice, giving suggestions in turn. During
a meeting this summer her reported on efforts to
get a private room for his client with cerebral
palsy. "I'm
just going to stick on 'em like glue," he
said of agency personnel. "If they
put him in a three or four bed ward, he'd die
within six months." Casey
carries a "few goodies" in his care -
a wheelchair to help frail parishioners into
Mass, a wool blanket, umbrellas - just in
case. "Then I always carry a list of agencies
in case somebody needs help. I take them
to the doctor, whatever they need. I'm kind of
an easy tough." He
joined the group when Gary Flinders resurrected
it in 1996 because he has never forgotten the
men who showed up at his home to buy a used refrigerator
many years back. There were Vincentians
looking for appliances to help their clients.
" I was so impressed by that," Casey
said. "Of course, we didn't take the
money." Later,
he said, "I was on Piedmont Avenue in
pouring rain, and there was this poor guy in a wheelchair
all wet. I decided to join because the
next time I saw someone I would know what to
do." Annual
basic training
New members receive training in how to work
with the needy. They get a list of guidelines
and make home visits with more experienced
Vincentians, and they also attend sessions at
district offices. The Alameda County
district gives basic training annually and also
holds a day of reflection for conference members. Pereira
said he was drawn to St. Vincent de Paul partly
because his own father, Ilidio, is an active
member (He is president of the St. Michael
Parish conference in Livermore.) and
partly because he was looking for a way to grow spiritually. "It's
not easy work," Pereira said.
"Sometimes you get a call and you're not in
the mood for his. Then you start talking to that
person and you get back into perspective."
HE added, "You start to understand.
These people are hurting." Casey
said each community is of people in pain.
"It's amazing, amazing how many people need
help. A lot of people are too proud to ask for
help, but if you're right there on one..."
He paused and said, "It's the greatest
thing I've ever done." |
