The example of St. Vincent de Paul (1581-1660) inspired French university students in the early 19th century. With the guidance and support of Sister Rosalie Rendu, they learned about the saint who would become the patron of their organization, known internationally as the Society of St. Vincent de Paul.
When Blessed Frédéric Ozanam gathered other French young adults in early 19th-century Paris to care for the poor with the guidance of Daughter of Charity Sister Rosalie Rendu, St. Vincent de Paul had already been dead for almost 200 years.
Today, another 200 years have passed since the founding of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul. What those students created now exists in more than 150 countries with 800,000 members and 1.5 million volunteers. Affiliate conferences serve 30 million people every day!
Where the heart is
Sheltering the homeless, one of the 7 Corporal Works of Mercy.
In 2025, workers at the Society of St. Vincent de Paul (SVdP) in Phoenix, Arizona, set themselves an ambitious goal: to prevent homelessness for 12 people for every 1 person they rehoused. In other words, they set a “prevention-first approach” to stop homelessness before it starts.
In early January 2026, The Catholic Sun, the official news source for the Diocese of Phoenix, reported that the local SVdP had more than doubled their intended impact in Maricopa County. During 2025, they prevented homelessness for more than 39,000 individuals through assistance and stabilization services. They also rehoused almost 1,200 individuals experiencing homelessness into permanent housing.
These results are roughly 33:1, from their 12:1 ratio goal. This is an incredible contrast from the 2024 Maricopa County’s governmental report that more people entered homelessness than exited.
Local SVdP leadership combined strategies to accomplish the goal: landlord negotiation and mediation, ongoing case management, emergency shelters and interim housing, exploration of non-traditional housing options and expanded collaboration with funding partners and service providers. They saw the crucial impact just $2,000 or less could make for individuals and families facing the crisis of homelessness.
Aleteia spoke with Laurie Sobel, SVdP Phoenix’s Homelessness Prevention Manager, who admitted that homelessness is a difficult reality to conceptualize for people who have never directly been affected by it. She said it’s also "really hard for people who have never experienced the risk of losing their home to, all of a sudden, be put in that position."
“It’s so traumatic, so dramatic and stressful for them!”
Sobel has worked with the organization for seven years and calls her work “really fulfilling.” She said people come to her for many different reasons.
What was a small program had “lots of money thrown around” during the COVID-19 pandemic. “Amazingly, even after the COVID money went away, a lot of our non-profit community partners and private donors have pitched in.”
Deciding it was worthwhile to keep these programs going, Sobel and her team have been blessed to continue helping anywhere from 200 to 300 households a month.
One program they run is called “Angels on Call.” Through an app that donors can download, stories are pushed to new and repeat donors, so they can contribute directly to a specific person or situation.
She reiterated that “people of all walks of life” can find themselves with emergency needs and others, “so many just living from month-to-month.” She hopes that awareness grows -- not only of the need to give, but especially for those in need to know that resources are available.
From stress to security
Here's a look at just a few of the people who have been helped by the Phoenix SVdP’s outreach:
Brendan Lorente: After Brendan Lorente’s wife was hospitalized for weeks with a severe bacterial infection, Brendan struggled to balance caring for their children and maintaining his job. Eventually losing his main source of income meant bills were piling up and rent was falling behind; the family of six faced the risk of eviction. After reaching out for help, St. Vincent de Paul’s Vincentian volunteers visited the family, provided food assistance, and worked with their landlord while securing funds to cover overdue rent, utilities, and late fees through SVdP’s homelessness prevention program. The support allowed the Lorente family to stay in their home. Both parents are working again, managing their bills, and rebuilding stability for their children.
Chavi Padgett: Chavi Padgett and her boyfriend were at risk of losing their apartment when Chavi contracted pneumonia. Shortly after moving in she had to miss work, leaving them unable to cover one month of rent. After being turned away from several assistance centers, they came to St. Vincent de Paul, where the Family Support Services team stepped in, worked with their landlord, and provided eviction prevention assistance to cover the overdue rent. Today, the couple remains housed, both are working full-time, and they are steadily rebuilding stability in their apartment.
Quentin Waller: When Quentin Waller's reduced hours at his security job and less gig work left him unable to cover rent, he faced the risk of losing his home. St. Vincent de Paul's Family Support Services stepped in with rental assistance during that critical month, giving Quentin the time he needed to secure a new job with better hours. Today, Quentin and his son remain safely housed, and he continues working while pursuing his goal of starting his own security business.
