This is our community and we are all neighbors here. Those who give, those who serve, those who receive. We are not three separate groups; we are one community, taking turns showing up for each other. That’s what I want you to feel as you read this.
Today I hope you take a moment and imagine what it’s like to be on the other side of your generosity. It looks like a child getting a real bed for the first time. It looks like an air conditioner arriving just as the worst heat of summer hits. We don’t just track the numbers. We see the faces, the names, the stories behind them, and we want to share those moments with you.
Our team has the honor of witnessing these moments of hope, looking into the eyes of a neighbor in need. And I’ll tell you, honestly, there is nothing that brings me more joy than being used this way, as one small part of something so much bigger than any of us. We don’t just serve our neighbors. We get to be poured out for them, and somehow, we come back fuller every time.
As you read through this update, I hope you’ll see your own fingerprints on every page, because they’re there. Your support is what makes our impact possible, along with every moment of hope for the neighbor living it.
Thank you for the joy of letting us serve alongside you, neighbor to neighbor.
Across every service area, your generosity is helping St. Vincent de Paul
HOMELESSNESS PREVENTION
“At the Neyer Outreach Center, we are seeing more neighbors struggling with rent, higher gas and electric bills, and utility disconnections. Many are also navigating more complicated utility bills, including supply and generation charges that can make monthly payments harder to understand and harder to manage. We are seeing neighbors who have been stable for a while return because one increase or one emergency has pushed them back into crisis. From January through May, we served more families and extended more rent and utility assistance than we did during the same period last year.”
— Marnay Love, Social Service Advocate Coordinator
SWEET CHEEKS DIAPER BANK
Since January, Sweet Cheeks has distributed over 1 million diapers through our distribution partners. Behind every one of those diapers is a family with a very practical need. Diapers make childcare possible, help parents get to work, and keep babies clean, dry, and healthy. I am deeply grateful to the many dedicated donors and volunteers who have supported Sweet Cheeks through every iteration of this work, especially our Tuesday Crew. Their consistency and care are helping meet a need that too many families cannot meet alone.”
Nick
Reynolds, Director of Outreach Programs
PHARMACY & HEALTH SERVICES
“What feels most striking and hopeful right now is the continued growth of our Pharmacy and Health Services, both in the number of neighbors served and in the quality of care we can provide. From January to May, the Pharmacy saw an 18% increase in patients served and a 10% increase in prescriptions filled. Meanwhile, we have been able to offer more comprehensive laboratory testing for patients who often face significant barriers to care. These labs help us identify health concerns earlier, monitor chronic conditions more effectively, and create more informed treatment plans.”
Lydia
Bailey, Director of Pharmacy
TO RISING NEEDS
meet growing needs with practical help, personal care, and compassion.
CATINO CHOICE FOOD PANTRY
“Rising fuel prices and the overall cost of living are stretching family budgets, bringing new neighbors through our doors and bringing back others who have not needed pantry services in some time. We are seeing more visits and larger household sizes, including a near-record day in May when the Catino Choice Food Pantry served 169 families. While the increase in need is challenging, it has also been hopeful to see the community continue to respond, helping us meet neighbors where they are with dignity, choice, and care.”
Jeremy Phillippi, Director of Pantry and Resource Services
SELF SUFFICIENCY PROGRAMS
“These last few months, we’ve seen more referrals for the Catino Women’s Empowerment and Employment Program from community partners and Conferences. By building stronger connections with organizations like Cincinnati Metropolitan Housing Authority and City Gospel Mission’s employment and housing networks, we can help neighbors access the right resources at the right time. That continuity of care matters, because stability is rarely one step. It is a path, and we are walking that path with our neighbors.”
Jackie Cales, Self-Sufficiency Programs Manager
CONFERENCES
Recently, I joined Conference meetings on the West side, East side, and downtown in the same week, and everywhere I went, rising utility costs were part of the story. On the West side, I visited a grandmother raising her grandchild who was recovering from knee replacement surgery and facing a disconnect notice. Downtown, I visited a veteran and a mother with a teenage daughter who had recently moved here to feel safe, both also needing utility assistance. Every neighbor’s story is different, and while we cannot meet every need, we can make a difference where we can, one person and one family at a time.”
Chris Williams, District Council President
A SAFE PLACE TO SLEEP
Through the Rahe Bed Program and the expanded Scola Bedding Program, neighbors receive beds, bedding, and the comfort every home should offer.
Abed is one of those basic needs most of us rarely have to think about. At the end of the day, it is simply there. A place to sleep. A place to rest. A place to feel safe.
Yet for many of our neighbors, a bed is not something they can take for granted. During home visits, Vincentians meet children who are sleeping on floors and parents who are relying on couches, air mattresses, or recliners because there is no other option.
Through the Bob & Sylvia Rahe Bed Program, St. Vincent de Paul provides bed frames and mattresses to neighbors who need a safe, dignified place to rest. For families rebuilding after homelessness, moving into a new apartment, fleeing an unsafe situation, or trying to create stability, a bed can mean far more than sleep.
A VINCENTIAN’S PASSION, A
The Scola Bedding Program began with Vincentian Madonna Scola, whose own childhood made this work deeply personal. Growing up in a large family, Madonna slept in a crib until she was six years old, her legs curled up just to fit. When her parents finally surprised her with her own bed, it was a cot her father had lovingly scraped free from rust, repainted, and fitted with a donated mattress with worn
On home visits, Vincentians repeatedly see neighbors sleeping on the floor.
In Carrie’s family, love made room when there was not enough space. Carrie shares a one-bedroom apartment with her daughter, Maddy, and two grandchildren. With limited space and limited finances, Carrie gave up her own bed so Maddy and the children would have somewhere to sleep. Carrie had been sleeping in a recliner, even while managing sleep apnea and other health issues that require her to lie down.
“She made that sacrifice, and I tried to get her to take her bed back, but she wouldn’t,” Maddy shared.
When someone suggested St. Vincent de Paul as a place to turn for help, Maddy came to pick up a bed for her mom. “I’m so happy that she will finally have some comfort,” she said.
Thanks to the newly expanded Scola Bedding Program, Carrie’s new bed also came with the items that make a bed feel like a true place of rest: a comforter, sheets, pillows, pillowcases, and a laundry bag.
Launched in June after a successful pilot, the program now ensures that every neighbor who receives a bed also receives new bedding to go with it. The Rahe Bed Program provides the bed. The Scola Bedding Program adds the comfort and care that make it feel complete. Together, they help neighbors move closer to the safety, rest, and dignity every home should offer.
NEIGHBOR’S NEED
out springs. She remembers her parents laying newspaper under her blankets to keep her warm.
Years later while on a home visit, Madonna met a neighbor whose young son had no bed and those memories came back. She bought bedding for that child, then kept going, donating sheets, pillows, blankets, and comforters so more
neighbors could sleep with comfort and dignity. With the support of a close friend who matched contributions to a dedicated fund, her personal act of generosity became the Scola Bedding Program.
Madonna dedicated the program to her parents, who did everything they could to give her a safe place to sleep.
