St. Vincent de Paul of Contra Costa County, (SVdP) is in need of emergency financial support to shore up our ability for SVdP to meet the basic needs of residents in local Contra Costa communities created by the impact of COVID-19.

SVdP has already begun to help those impacted by COVID-19. Many neighbors no longer have a place to go to work due to mandatory closures. The workers primarily impacted are non-managerial staff from retail, restaurants, event staff, warehouse workers, maintenance staff, custodians, laborers, food packagers, Uber drivers, and of the much of the Web economy. Many of these jobs are minimum and/or hourly wage. The families that SVdP normally helps are those living paycheck-to-paycheck, and now their paycheck is gone.

St. Vincent de Paul’s branches, (“Conferences”), provide emergency help to our Contra Costa neighbors who lack basic human needs of food, shelter, clothing, utilities, medical & dental care, etc. SVdP focuses on helping through a crisis, but also with an intent to move the individual or family to sustainability. If called for, this help can range from Car Repair, Rental Assistance, Rental Deposits to move the homeless into a sheltered living, Transportation, Emergency Shelter, PG&E, Water Bills, Medical & Dental Emergencies. The unique process that SVdP employs, of making home visits to authenticate and fully understand a family’s need, is central to the work we do. With so many individuals & families affected by the mandatory “shelter-in-place” order, meeting basic needs will be a struggle many will face, and we are creatively adjusting to conduct our “home visits” via phone or Face Time.

Prior to the COVID-19 emergency, escalating rents and evictions had begun to absorb a significant portion of SVdP’s resources, limiting our ability to expand essential services we provide and forcing us to concentrate on keeping families housed. These families were already extremely vulnerable, and now the COVID-19 pandemic is knocking families that have been living on the edge, right off the cliff.

We anticipate needing (at minimum) an additional $15,000 per month for the next three months in unrestricted funds to aid with basic human needs due to the current displacement of families affected by COVID-19 (not just homelessness and housing).

If you can help, please follow this link to donate. Your donation will support our struggling neighbors through this crisis.