Volunteers and representatives from the church of St. Vincent DePaul in Worcester County help families who are struggling to make ends meet. The charity helps people who are less fortunate by giving them things they need or by referring them to places where they can get help.
The main goals of this organization are to provide free food to those who are hungry and to help those who are homeless by providing them with one-time rent assistance or access to shelters. The solutions to the problems that St. Vincent’s clients are facing will also require careful management and planning, and the clients will need to address the root causes of their difficulties. The charity has relationships with churches and other religious groups in Worcester.
The case management services help individuals and families to achieve their housing and income goals. This is done through individualized plans that focus on the root causes of homelessness. After an initial assessment, case managers from St. Vincent or one of its partners will work with clients to develop a plan and set mid to long term goals. They will then monitor the person’s progress and provide support as needed.
For the duration of this time period, people in the community may be able to get help paying for expenses like utilities or back rent. There is also food and maybe vouchers for prescription medications. You may be able to get help with these expenses through referrals or directly from social services like St. Vincent de Paul, or from some of their partners. Some of these partners may offer loans. This means that someone will keep checking in on you even after you leave the hospital or doctor’s office.
The charity provides temporary rental assistance to help prevent homelessness. When funding is available, the Worcester County St. Vincent DePaul helps individuals who are currently homeless and persons who might be evicted soon because they haven’t paid their rent.
Agency workers, along with Vincentians, interview individuals to assess their living situation and see what kind of assistance they may need. This includes emergency assistance programs and intervention services. Additionally, there are resources available for those who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless, such as rapid re-housing and short-term shelter services. These services are available in western and central Massachusetts.
There are often not enough housing services to meet the demand, including government grants for paying a security deposit or first month’s rent. The staff are responsible for making and organizing the lists for people who need help with housing, money, and other programs to help them transition to a new place.
The charity has also partnered with other nonprofit agencies and charities to offer housing resources to individuals in need. This is just one example of how grants from the HUD SSVF program can be used to provide financial support for services designed specifically for military members and veterans. There are also links to food pantries, credit counseling agencies, and many other organizations in the area.
St. Vincent de Paul provides free, nutritious meals to needy individuals, including seniors and children from Worcester. The agency and its partner churches provide soup kitchens that are open every day of the year for breakfast, lunch and dinner. There are also other places where people can get food, like food banks. The kitchens provide meals for both local county residents and anyone else who needs help, including the homeless.
There are also special health centers in Massachusetts that are qualified by the federal government, and St. Vincent de Paul can give you referrals to them. The locations provide medical care for low-income individuals and families per year as well as the uninsured. The clinic provides a variety of health services at little to no cost, including primary care, dental care, medications, preventive screenings, psychiatry, and health education, among other things.
Physicians, nurses, health educators, and community volunteers work at local clinics to help patients manage chronic conditions, such as hypertension and diabetes. The goal of the health centers is to make it so people with either basic or chronic medical conditions have to visit the emergency room less and have an overall better quality of life. St. Vincent de Paul provides medical care and case management to help stabilize people so they can get a job and a place to live.
Federally Qualified Health Centers offer low-cost or even free dental care. The restorative dentistry program provides dental cleanings, checkups, and other services. There may even be dentures for senior citizens or other individuals who have severe tooth decay. St. Vincent de Paul has developed partnerships with hospitals and organizations in order to address the medical and psychiatric needs of clients.
Some of the main phone numbers people can call for referrals to programs offered by Saint Vincent, or additional referrals in Worcester, are (508) 752-4232.