Who We Are

Our Past, Present, and Future


St. Vincent de Paul Louisville, a faith-based organization, serves individuals and families in need including those who are homeless, living in poverty, suffering from addiction, enduring mental illness, experiencing acute economic crisis or fleeing domestic violence.
 

Since 1853, SVDP Louisville has been a safe haven for the community where everyone can rebuild their lives with dignity. Our mission is to house, feed, and support those in need with compassion and dignity. Our campus is unique because we provide a comprehensive set of housing alternatives (emergency shelter, transitional shelter, and permanent supportive housing) and supportive services such as case work, housing navigation, food, mental health, and substance use counseling, transportation passes, utilities assistance, move-out items, and more. All of our clients have experienced homelessness, have little to no income, and often have a mental or physical disability in the family. Our organization assists people, regardless of their background or faith, with the goal of helping each person achieve self-sufficiency.

 

 

 

The Beginning

Our mission traces its roots back to nineteenth century France where college student Frederic Ozanam and his friends were stirred to action because of the suffering people were facing. It was a time when there was a wide gap between those that had and those that did not in Paris.
 

The story goes that one day Ozanam and his friends were debating with some university students about the validity of the Catholic Church. Their opponents replied, “We agree that at one time your Church was a great Church and was a great source of good … What is your Church doing now? What is she doing for the poor of Paris? Show us your works and we will believe you.”
 

As Ozanam and his friends made their way home, they thought their opponents made a strong point. They started regularly visiting those in need amidst the slums of Paris. In 1833, the Society of St. Vincent de Paul was born.

The Conferences

Ozanam and his friends set up a group of volunteers—called a conference—and named it after the patron Saint Vincent de Paul. They devoted their time, talents, and treasures to the individuals and families who needed help, and their mission started to spread to the United States.
 

In 1852, Bishop Martin John Spalding of the Louisville Archdiocese traveled to Paris and learned about this group of volunteers. He returned and founded the first conference in Kentucky at the Cathedral of the Assumption on Dec. 11, 1853. This eventually became St. Vincent de Paul Louisville (SVDP).

Conferences are the heart and soul of SVDP. Over the years, we have grown to have SVDP parish-based conferences throughout Louisville and Central Kentucky. Conference members—known as a Vincentian—volunteer on the frontlines and provide person-to-person assistance to people in need. While the Special Works Campus offers emergency, transitional, and permanent supportive housing, food outreach, and wraparound services, the conferences prevent households from entering homelessness. Whether it’s a family on the brink of eviction, someone in need of utility bill assistance during the winter, or groceries to make it to the end of the month, the conferences answer the call.

Our Campus

In 1982, we were gifted St. Paul Catholic Church, St. Paul School building, and the rectory. We expanded our conference services to support those in need in new ways. This launched housing, feeding, and supportive programs on what has become our Special Works Campus. 
 

Saint Paul Catholic Church transformed into the Open Hand Kitchen, and St. Paul School building was converted into Ozanam Inn Men’s Emergency Shelter. In 2011, a multi-million dollar expansion project included the construction of four new buildings and 54 total units. By 2014, the Family Success Center was founded after the Thrift Store & Warehouse Operations moved off campus.

Today, we have a large campus footprint including owned and leased property totaling approximately 200,000 sq. ft. Our Special Works Campus is alive and active every day of the week, and truly offers a safe haven for those in the community. We serve a wide range of people—children, Veterans, those with disabilities, single parents, grandparents, the chronically homeless, and those fleeing from domestic violence. 

Our Mission

Our mission -- to house, feed, and support those in need with compassion and dignity -- has been built brick by brick and made meal by meal through our donors’ hearts of service and financial generosity. Despite wars, pandemics, economic depressions and recessions, weather events and other disasters and challenges, we are still standing and serving those most vulnerable in our community. 

 

Every night, we house 400 people, including those fleeing domestic violence, families, men experiencing chronic homelessness, or Veterans. Our community kitchen serves lunch and dinner to 325 people every day. At our Food Pantry, 675 households receive groceries each month.

Through our Case Management team and Mental Health & Substance Use Program, we offer wraparound services, and one-on-one or group counseling to every client in our housing programs. 

The Future

One thing is for certain—our mission of housing, feeding, and supporting those in need with compassion and dignity will never change. However, what we do and how we do it may change. While we hope and pray that the need in our community will end because of the abundance that we are all blessed with, we know that the reality is that it most likely will not. In fact, it is more likely that demand will grow and we will need to do even more in the future.
 

At SVDP Louisville, we choose to be a lighthouse in the storm—guiding our clients in their darkest hour. This forever remains our obligation to our brothers and sisters in need. We will work towards this end. One question remains—will you join us?

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