GENERAL INFORMATION

The Society of St. Vincent de Paul (SVdP) is an international organization of lay persons, Catholic in character, who seek, in a spirit of justice and charity and by person-to-person involvement, to help those who are suffering. To provide this personal and neighborly help, Vincentians organize themselves into small working groups, known as "conferences," which are the first line of action.

Members recognize the importance of higher Councils in providing governance, support services, training, and organizing Archdiocesan wide services (for example, the Dining Room, Food Pantry, and Thrift Stores) and in developing other special works. 

The fundamental Vincentian action is expressed in the Conference's involvement with families and individuals in their immediate neighborhood and regard the Conference as the basic unit of Society life.  It is at this grassroots level that Vincentians engage in the person-to-person service to those most in need. 

For Vicentians the person-to-person work is almost always at the parish Conference.  A strong case can be made for the traditional parish as a logical and desired base for serving people.  Persons seeking assistance at times feel that nobody really cares.  Today, many individuals experience a sense of powerlessness in relation to the forces that shape their lives.  Bureaucracies often seem just too big and distant.  So community welfare planners are increasingly accepting the necessity for getting closer to people, individualizing them and their needs, and offering "nearness" to those wanting help.