Program areas at St Vincent de Paul of Contra Costa County
Donations of clothing, furniture and household items, automobiles and recyclable materials are received, sorted and distributed to needy individuals or sold in our thrift stores. Work force training and employment in the stores and warehouse are provided to low income or unemployed individuals. Furniture, clothing and household items are provided free or at low cost to needy individuals.
The free clinic program, "rotacare pittsburg free medical clinic at St. Vincent de Paul": the free clinic was developed and built by St. Vincent de Paul, providing urgent and primary/chronic care for adults with no insurance. All patients lack medical insurance, and 98% have incomes below 200% of the fpl. All medical care, pharmaceuticals, lab services, x-ray/diagnostic testing, nutritional and healthy cooking classes, diabetes health classes, social worker assistance, and referrals to specialty care/surgical care is free of charge to our patients. The licensed clinic is staffed by volunteer medical professionals including physicians, physician assistants, nurses, pharmacists, pharmacy techs, certified diabetes educators, bi-lingual translators, social workers and administrative staff. Over 11,000 patient visits have been provided to uninsured patients since opening in 2011. Acheivements not directly measured is the well-being and suffering, productivity gains achieved by patients able to return to work or prevent loss of employment due to medical conditions being resolved. Additionally, significant expenses that would have otherwise been incurred by local emergency rooms for patient care have been prevented.
Assistance with housing, utilities, furniture, food and clothing; referral to other social services is provided directly to needy individuals by our conferences, a network of community based conferences staffed by volunteers.
Svdp workforce development program: re-entry jobs and job-training for those with barriers to employment, (such as incarceration, homelessness, addiction), are provided via the svdp workforce development program. This program provides stable employment and a first-chance work record for individuals who are ready to turn their lives around, but based upon their backgrounds, have difficulty finding work. St. Vincent de Paul is investing in the lives of these individuals, providing a part-time job, intensive job-search and life skills curriculum. The wfd program offers 24-week part-time, (22.5 hours per week), employment in retail or trucking; with weekly curriculum that includes personal and professional assistance in job search, financial literacy and life skills. Mentors are provided to each trainee, supplementing support and assistance. Since 2012, the workforce development program has provided 7 cycles of jobs and training to 40 individuals, with a post-employment placement rate of over 50%.st. Vincent de Paul free food programs are offered at our free dining room and free food pantry: over 200 guests daily are served a hot, nutritious lunch 7 days a week, 11:00 am- 12:45 pm, at the svdp free dining room, in partnership with loaves & fishes. L&f generously provides the daily meals, and we jointly manage the program. When not providing meals, the free dining room is used as a "St. Vincent de Paul community center" to host job training, health workshops on diabetes/obesity and other community events. Annually, over 40,000 meals are provided. Svdp operates an emergency food pantry in pittsburg, open daily, m-f, 9:00 am - 5:00 pm, offering a 3-day supply of food to those in need, where over 2,300 individuals are served annually. In addition to the emergency food offered by our centralized service, our 27 svdp branches operate an additional 21 food pantries, providing over $1.5 m annually in food supplies to the needy in Contra Costa County. We also provide thanksgiving and holiday food basket programs annually.