The Society of Saint Vincent de Paul has twenty-two local Conferences in the Galway area. They meet weekly and respond to the many and diverse requests received; these may be due to a family illness, loss of a job, poverty struggles, debt arrears, financial difficulties or other unforeseen circumstances.
There are many ways the Conferences help when a need arises. Financial supports are available for Primary, Secondary and 3rd level students, to ensure their education is continued. There is a Special Cases Conference to provide for a shortfall when a significant life impacting situation occurs and there are no savings available. This provides huge relief from anxiety and worry.
Volunteers visit families who need help and listen to their stories, then try to provide assistance in tackling the challenges they face. This is core to the work of the society. The objective is to assist families to get back on their feet in a relationship of trust and confidentiality.
SVP has social housing units in Mill Street and Merchants Road, which provides housing to those in need. There is a resource centre in Mill Street, Croí na Gaillimhe, which offers people who feel lonely or vulnerable a place of welcome. A variety of activities are run at the centre where people can develop skills and meet others.
There is an SVP food bank hub in Ballybane which provides approximately 60 food boxes to families on a weekly basis. At Christmas the demand rises to 1,200 boxes. Families and those in need receive a box with a variety of household foods and toiletries. The food bank regularly works with other charities in the area and also avails of the Fund for European Aid to the Most Deprived (FEAD ). The food bank also welcomes donations; Green Earth Organics and their customers have been very generous donating produce to SVP every week, which provides fresh fruit and veg for the boxes.
The Society constantly needs new volunteers to continue the work. Post Covid it is very difficult to maintain an adequate rota of volunteers to deal with the high volume of weekly requests received.
The Society will hold an open recruitment evening in the Menlo Park Hotel on Wednesday, the 29th January at 7.30pm. The meeting will provide an opportunity to learn about the work of an SVP volunteer and speak with existing volunteers about their work.
Please consider joining the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul and making a real difference in the lives of those in need. https://www.svp.ie/ways-to-help/volunteer/
