No Act of Charity is Foreign to the Society of St. Vincent de Paul of Galveston Houston

Charlie, a 62-year-old neighbor, contacted the Society of St. Vincent de Paul because he needed financial assistance for his medical prescriptions. Help is all our Vincentians needed to hear for their Vincentian spirituality to take over. "Two of our Vincentians immediately scheduled a Home Visit with Charlie. This opportunity to talk to him face-to-face, side-by-side, and get to know him on a spiritual level is what St. Vincent and Frederic Ozanam inspired us to do," reports the Conference Vice President. When the Vincentians arrived to meet Charlie, they were greeted graciously with a hug and began telling us his life story.

Charlie's mother believed going to school was not a necessity. The lack of support from their mother pushed Charlie and his older brother to look for support elsewhere. Sadly, when Charlie was 12, his 14-year-old brother died in a building fire. After years of being in and out of prison, Charlie met the love of his life. "She was very spiritual and changed my life for the better. We were married for 10 years and lived a loving and happy life, until she passed away," he said. Charlie admitted that after her passing, he finally allowed the Holy Spirit to take over him. Since then, he has not receded to the habits of his past. He recently moved back to Houston from Austin, bringing with him his only material possession - a car.

"My brother and I started hanging around with older kids who introduced us to smoking, drinking, and drugs. We learned these vices provided a temporary escape from our reality," said Charlie.

Sadly, Charlie encountered financial troubles. He lacked the money to rent an apartment, but an old friend allowed him to stay at his home temporarily. Soon after, Charlie suffered a stroke and spent two weeks in the hospital. Upon his release, he found that his car had been stolen, and he had no money to buy his medical prescriptions. The Society provided the funds for his medicines through the Underserved Communities Initiative grant. Additionally, Vincentians helped Charlie find an affordable place to live, relieving him from depending on his friend.

"When I tell my story, I'm giving God glory because I know God is in charge of my life." - Charlie

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About the Society of St. Vincent de Paul (SVdP): The Society is a faith-based nonprofit organization helping families living in poverty in the greater Galveston-Houston area since 1871. We are a network of more than 50 parish-based chapters with over 1,700 Vincentian volunteers actively doing Home Visits every day.