What We Do

General information regarding assistance to those in need.

The St. Mary Conference assist residents of Wayne County, North Carolina. To request assistance (financial, food, or spiritual) call 919-922-4216, listen to the instructions and leave a message. Scroll down to read about the information you should include in your message.

The Conference is affiliated with St. Mary Catholic Church but does not have a physical location such as an office. We only have a phone message service.

The Conference is a 100% volunteer organization with limited resources. We provide assistance without regarding to race, creed, or affilitations of any type such as members of a political party or chruch, etc.

Financial Assistance Information

Financial assistance is provided one week per month, usually the third week but not always. Check the calendar. The financial assistance guideline is to provided financial assistance no more often than once every 12 months. There are exceptions; see the section on Systemic Change.

Assistance is not provided on a first-call-first-serve basis but rather on a situational basis. However, it is helpful to call early in the week because the mail box may get full and you may not be able to leave a message until the case worker has had time to listen to and then delete calls. Note that the case worker on duty that week may elect to delete calls made before Monday morning of the assistance week.

You must accept calls from an unlisted phone number. You should have your mail box set up and with enough space to accept a message from the case worker should you not answer your phone. Provide the following information in a clear message that the case worker can understand.

• Name
• Address
• Phone Number
• Need; rent, utility, etc. and the amount requested
• Brief explanation of why assistance is requested.

A case worker should return your call within the week or attempt to leave a message on your phone. Most case workers will only call back twice due to the volume of request for assistanced.

When the case worker talks to you they will ask for general information to be used to determine if the Conference can provide assistance at this time. He/She will ask for information about your income and expense, your situation and more understanding of why financial assistance is needed. If the case worker determines the Conference can potentially help they will schedule a home visit to get additional information about your situation. Typically during the home visit the case worker will make a final determination regarding assistance.

The Society of St. Vincent de Paul is unusual, if not unique, in that we visit with the clients in their home whenever possible. Occassionally it is not possible to meet in the home but that is rare.

We typically are only able to assist 10%-15% of those requesting financial help.

Food Assistance Information

Food assistance is provided throughout the month, however the guideline is to provided food to a family no more often than once every 3 months. Call the SSVdP phone number and request food and leave your name, phone number, and address.

The food items we provide are a random mix of canned vegetable, occassionally canned meat, dried beans, rice or boxed potatoes, cereal, etc. The Conference typically does not have fresh vegetable, fruits or meats. Most of the food items are donated by St. Mary parishioners or others that are interested in helping those in need.

Spiritual

This is the spiritual section!

Disaster Relief

This is the disaster relief section!

Hurricane Matthew

Hurricane Matthew struck North Carolina in October of 2016. Wayne County was one of the four most devestated counties in eastern NC with over 6,700 FEMA registrants.

With assistance from SSVdP USA Disaster Services the local Conference became involved in the rapid response and long term recovery effort. St. Mary Conference Vencentians serve on the Long Term Disaster - Wayne County (LTDRWC) group working with other memebers of the community to help those recoverying from the storm.

Recovery from a hurricane is oftern a two to five year process for many families and individuals. To learn more about the long term recovery effort in Wayne County visit the LTDRWC web site.

Other Assistance

This is the other disaster assistance section!

Yard Sale

The Conference's annual yard sale is an important source of funds. It is usually the first or second Saturday in June of each year. The items sold in the sale are donated by St. Mary parishioners and others in the community. All proceeds are used to assist those in need in Wayne County.

Breakfast

This is the breakfast section!

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