OKC Downtown Conference of Saint Vincent de Paul Needs Volunteers

OKLAHOMA CITY — Gloria Reich is president of the Saint Louise de Marillac Conference of Saint Vincent de Paul, and she’s looking for volunteers. The Saint Louise de Marillac Conference operates out of the Catholic Charities office. Unlike most Saint Vincent de Paul (SVdP) conferences, it is not attached to a particular parish.

And that is the problem. Most SVdP conferences get their volunteers from the parish in which they are located. Since the Saint Louise Conference does not operate out of a parish, Reich is using less traditional methods to find volunteers.

Reich said the Catholic Charities branch of SVdP assists between 18-30 people a month.

“The by-laws of SVdP specify that everyone we help gets a home visit to better assess what they need. It takes a lot of time to call all of these people and make the home visits,” Reich said. “At present we have five volunteers working here, but we could use many more. New volunteers could help out with home visits if they are comfortable with that, or they could answer phones for us.”

The archdiocese is divided into SVdP service areas. Many calls to the Catholic Charities branch are from people outside the jurisdiction of the Saint Louise de Marillac Conference. Volunteers direct these people to the SVdP conference they should contact for help. The Saint Louise de Marillac Conference helps the rest.

  “The downtown branch of Saint Vincent de Paul assists mainly with utilities, sometimes, with rent, depending on how much money we have,” said Reich. “We don’t pay the whole bill. We might pay between $50-80 of it. Last week, we paid the last $75 a 90-year-old couple owed on an electric bill.”

 Working with Travelers’ Aid, the Saint Louise Conference helps travelers who are down on their luck. They also pay the $15 fee for the IDs homeless people need to get jobs and supply some food although they do not have a food bank.

“We don’t rule out any thing,” Reich said. “We try to see that everyone who calls gets some assistance. Last year we helped a gentleman pay his co-pay for surgery. If a large-costing item is needed, we can go to the District Council and get money from them. Sometimes, we set up partnerships with other Saint Vincent de Paul conferences in the parishes.”

All volunteer calls for the Saint Louise Conference are made during the day so volunteers can work around their schedules. Reich checks her calls at 9 a.m. every day. Then, she has the whole day to call the people back.

Volunteers go through a training program and receive a packet with all the information they need to become good volunteers. The SVdP voice mail can be accessed from their homes, and they can make all their calls from home. Only those making home visits need to visit the office. “And all home visits are made in pairs,” Reich said.  

SVdP clients do not have access to volunteers’ personal phone numbers. “We have a way to keep the people we call from getting our home phone numbers, so volunteers don’t need to worry about that,” Reich said.

Those interested in volunteering to help the Saint Louise de Marillac Conference of Saint Vincent de Paul should contact them at Catholic Charities at 523-3026. They should leave their name, phone number, and a brief message saying they are interested in becoming a SVdP volunteer.