6 | SUMMER 2011 St. Vincent de Paul Village


HOME TRUTH BY FATHER JOE CARROLL


I’m pleased to announce that our organization has been named lead agency for Project 25, a relatively new program that addresses the needs of the chronically homeless. This isn’t just big news for us; it’s big


news for the community as well. Why? Because when homeless neighbors get sick, they have no choice but to visit the nearest ER — and those visits result in hundreds of thousands of public dollars each year. This means that every time a


Maria shares a friendly moment with a guest in the meal line.


Former California First Lady Maria Shriver visits St. Vincent de Paul Village


M


aria Shriver, former fi rst lady of California, wife of two-term governor Arnold


Schwarzenneger and champion of marginalized populations everywhere, visited St. Vincent de Paul Village recently to learn fi rst-hand how our programs are helping neighbors in need. Maria and a small entourage were


welcomed at the door of the Joan Kroc Center kitchen by Father Joe and Board Members Steve Francis and David Malcolm. After greeting the kitchen’s staff, she donned an apron and took a place at the hot counter to help serve the noonday meal. A steady stream of residents fi led past and were handed their plates by a woman who was, at the time, the most infl uential in the state. Flashbulbs popped and video cameras jostled for space as Maria smiled broadly, shook hands, and passed plates of food. She and Father Joe then sat with a family in the dining room and chatted amiably about the children’s well-being and schoolwork. “I think it’s always great to be able to


shine a spotlight on the incredible work that individuals around this state are doing, especially right here at the Village,” she observed. “Over 165 children live here and I think it’s important to point out that the face of poverty, the face of hunger, and the face of security is vastly different from what most people think.” Father Joe agreed. “Most people don’t realize how many families are here. We


do food drives and they bring in cans and we say ‘baby food’ and they look at us like, ‘babies??’” “Yeah,” he chuckled, recalling the donors’ incredulity, “there are hungry babies in San Diego and we need to get everyone involved. If everyone does something, it’s amazing how the problem can be taken care of.”


Following her kitchen duties, Maria


toured Children’s Services and watched babies sleep as staff explained the unique needs of homeless infants. In another wing she jokingly tussled with some preteens, asking one boy how often he fi ghts with his brother because “I have two boys, too.” Across the street at the St. Vincent de


Paul Village Family Health Center, Medical Director David Folsom, M.D., described to Maria the kinds of comprehensive services that are provided to residents and others seeking healthcare. To illustrate the clinic’s success, he directed her toward the Wall of Smiles, a montage that displays before-and-after photos of residents whose broken smiles have been repaired through


tooth implants and other procedures. Maria focused closely on the shots and inspected each smiling face, now brimming with pride and self-confi dence. She went on: “This is a partnership.


It’s not about government, it’s not about business, it’s not about individuals; it’s about partnership. So I’m a big believer that when people come together — Democrats, Republicans, decline-to-states, Independents, men, women, children — all of these different entities, this is what can happen. I think that we have to stop looking at ‘who’s doing what?’ and ‘why isn’t this working?’ and think about it in a whole different way, which is ‘how can we all partner up to solve a problem?’” Despite her busy schedule and gracious


persona, Maria never let on that the day also marked the forty-seventh anniversary of the assassination of her uncle, President John F. Kennedy, in Dallas in 1963. Taking her cue from the Kennedy-Shriver legacy of caring — “I’ve been doing this since I was born,” she said of her involvement on behalf of the needy — she was adamant that the Village is making more than a difference; it’s making history. “I like San Diego and I like this man,” she said, turning to Father Joe, “and I like his work and I like this model. We thought this would be a very appropriate place to come because they’re doing the ground work, and I feel like I belong in a place like this.” ■


The face of poverty is vastly different from what


most people think. Maria Shriver


police offi cer has to jail a homeless man, San Diegans pay for it. And whenever someone living on the streets is ticketed for some infraction, our community is forced to absorb the costs. Some neighbors are homeless for


so long that the fees really add up. We call these people “chronically homeless” or “frequent users.” It’s a bad position to be in. Fortunately for us, our community's in a good position to help.


Service providers like St. Vincent’s have learned that offering permanent housing to chronically homeless neighbors is the best way to stabilize both them and our community’s resources. By getting individuals off the street and into safe environments, we can effectively downgrade their dependence upon the public good. Plus, it gives the chronically homeless the chance to obtain needed treatment from professionals who are specially trained to provide for them. St. Vincent’s has traditionally served individuals and families through its one-stop-shopping model. This model solves homelessness gradually through a series of programs. But Project 25 enables us to focus on the immediate need rather than the eventual result. Under Project 25, we can lend a hand quickly to those who need it instead of spooling our services out over time. County and city agencies will be


involved in Project 25, too, as will the program’s sponsor United Way. Project 25 is a community effort because that’s where the problem lies — and from where, of course, the solution should also derive. ■


Home Truth is Father Joe's regular column. For more about Project 25, please see page 4.


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