As the holiday season approaches, we receive many emails and phone calls from compassionate community members and groups asking how they can help people in need, particularly those who are experiencing homelessness. To help educate the public, the City of Phoenix and the Human Services Department created a Street Feeding Collaborative to raise awareness and direct help to organizations working with homeless individuals on a daily basis.
Here at SVdP, we're fortunate to be able to partner with many churches of all faiths, which host food drives to help feed others in our community and support our work. That's why we've put together a list of simple things you can do to help the Valley's homeless:
1. Hand out St. Vincent de Paul’s ‘Need A Hand’ card. This card lists the programs available to homeless individuals, including the locations and hours of SVdP’s 5 valley-wide dining rooms. You can print out Need a Hand Cards here.
2. Donate. Make a financial gift to support SVdP’s food bank and other programs here.
3. Sign up to volunteer. SVdP has several volunteer opportunities, ranging from serving meals in dining rooms to working retail in thrift stores. Sign up online today!
4. Host a food drive. Organizations, clubs, businesses, and schools can help by holding collection drives for items needed by SVdP. Every single can and box of food makes a difference to a hungry person. Click here to start organizing your drive today.
5. Experience an adult treasure hunt or find your next DIY project by shopping in one of SVdP’s statewide thrift store where proceeds are used to fund St. Vincent de Paul’s operations. View all locations here.
6. Celebrate a birthday, anniversary, holiday or any special occasion by purchasing an item from SVdP’s Compassion Catalog. Browse and purchase items from our online catalog.
7. Clean out your closet, garage, kitchen, etc. and donate those gently used items to SVdP. We will even pick them up! Request your pick up online today.
8. Be an SVdP Ambassador and tell others how they can get involved. Call 602.266.HOPE (4673) to purchase a SVDP hat for $10 or a t-shirt for $20. Or follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to stay up-to-date on current campaigns and events.
9. Call 602.266.GIVE (4483) to find out about current needs, such as clothing items, toiletries and types of food donations.
10. Most importantly, simply say hello to a homeless person. Ask his/her name, where they are from, and encourage them to seek out a place like SVdP.
