Edited by Thea Jarvis

The following profiles were compiled by caseworkers at the downtown offices of St. Vincent de Paul Society in Atlanta. The stories are representative of opportunities for service presented to the Society over the course of a year. Out of respect for client privacy, all names have been changed.

Catherine made her first call to St. Vincent de Paul from a battered women's shelter in Fulton County. She and her two small children had been there a week. Her voice trembled as she recounted her story.

Catherine had gone directly to a friend's home after leaving an abusive husband, but hoped-for relief didn't come. Her husband terrorized the entire household by sitting outside the home day after day. Catherine feared for her friend's safety as well as her own. She turned to the shelter for protection.

When she called SVDP, Catherine requested money for a bus ticket to Oregon, where her mother and other family members lived. She had no financial resources of her own because her husband had not allowed her to work. Returning to her family seemed a way out of a desperate situation.

St. Vincent de Paul agreed to pay $136 in bus fares to Oregon for Catherine and her children. Additionally, because Catherine's husband would have followed her to Oregon and looked for her at relatives' homes, the Council on Battered Women arranged for Catherine to live in a protected women's shelter there.

*****

Carlos and his wife, Maria, are refugees from Guatemala. They had lived in a shelter for a month with their four-year-old son and had finally found an apartment of their own when they sought assistance from SVDP.

Carlos had worked as a trainee for an asbestos company, which had promised him full-time employment and a raise in pay when he finished training. The company later reneged on its promises and Carols' limited workload and low pay wasn't stretching far enough to give him the certificate for a $150 fee.

St. Vincent de Paul paid the fee and Carlos was able to take the better job. He and his family remained in their new home and Carlos covered expenses with his upgraded salary.

*****

A caseworker from Jerusalem House in Atlanta, which cares for people with AIDS, called SVDP seeking help with a burial for one of their residents who had died that morning. The Society thought the case warranted attention.

John had had no insurance. Although his family in Milwaukee had given permission for cremation, the usual cost for the service was $670.

Everyone pulled together. The funeral home lowered cremation costs to $300. Workers at Jerusalem House found a total of $183 in cash among John's belongings in his room. St. Vincent de Paul provided the balance of $117.

*****

Marissa and her family had befriended a 16-year-old boy from their Rockdale County neighborhood, taking him into their home after his parents had put him out.

The boy, whom Marissa describes as "a good kid," had been wondering the street, without care of direction. Marissa was helping him find a summer job and taking steps to get him back in school when she called SVDP.

The boy was sleeping in Marissa's basement on a concrete floor. There was no extra money for a box spring and mattress, Marissa explained. Could SVDP help?

The downtown office of SVDP contacted its local group at St. Pius X Church in Conyers. The parish chapter provided needed bedding for the young man.

*****

Madeline, 69 and partially blind, lives with her 94-year-old mother in northwest Atlanta. The two women subsist on a meager income and were referred to SVDP by Aging Services, a division of Catholic Social Services, for help with housekeeping and yard work.

St. Vincent de Paul volunteers who first visited Madeline were astounded at the poverty she and her mother endured. There was not so much as a rag to clean with. The house was full of dust because neither broom nor vacuum was available. The kitchen was in disrepair.

Since that first visit, SVDP volunteers have continued their contact with Madeline, fixing kitchen cabinets, straightening the house, maintaining the yard. Madeline has been referred to the SVDP Thrift Store for "new" clothes and plans are for the Society to keep in touch with Madeline and her mother as long as possible.

*****

Bill came to Atlanta looking for work and was lucky to find employment with a local construction company. Things went well until he was arrested and charged with armed robbery.

The unfortunate victim of mistaken identity, Bill was ultimately acquitted by a grand jury. But he had spent two months in prison. When he was released, he had lost his job and his home.

Bill was unable to recover from two months of lost income. His best option was to return to South Carolina, he believed, where his family could at least provide him a place to stay. He contacted SVDP and the Society gave Bill the $39 he needed for a bus ticket back home.

*****

A former cook for a Georgia Tech fraternity house for over 10 years, Eileen, 56, had lived alone in a rented apartment for the last eight years. When she called SVDP, she was homebound unable to work for two months because of debilitating heart and lung disease.

Eileen asked for help with one month's rent. She had applied for SSI and been approved for general assistance. The likelihood of her receiving a maximum monthly benefit of $225 was good, but she had a three to four week wait before eligibility would be effective.

Eileen's years as a cook came with no benefits. The fraternity house had advised her that they were not in a position to help. SVDP paid Eileen's current rent and rent for the following month as well. The total amounted to $660.

*****

Charles and Elizabeth, the parents of four young children, were unable to pay their water bill of $41.48. They called SVDP because the water in their home was scheduled to be disconnected.

Outside of food stamps, the family had no income and had exhausted their savings. Elizabeth had been employed by Clark-Atlanta Headstart for the past three years, but had to resign to care for her husband, who was disabled with kidney disease, and had not worked in three months.

Charles was a self-employed home improvement contractor and had provided the main source of income for the family. He had applied for Social Security disability benefits, but was still in the process of compiling necessary medical information for submission.

St. Vincent de Paul paid the family's water bill and invited the family to contact the Society if they required other assistance.

*****

The Inmate Services division of the Atlanta City Jail contacted SVDP about Michael, a 24-year-old drug addict with a college background. The young man wanted to return to Savannah, where his family lived, and enter a drug rehabilitation program there.

Michael had had a prior experience in rehab, but felt it had not worked because he had not continued maintenance in the outpatient program. He had ended up panhandling on the streets, subject to constant assault, for six months. Jailed and released, Michael had lost an eye and had the physical appearance of a 40-year-old man.

The bus fare to Savannah was covered by SVDP at a charity discount fare of $37. The rest was up to Mark.

*****

Gladys, middle-aged and alone, was slowly moving into homelessness. Once a practicing attorney, she had become emotionally disabled. Severe anxiety disorder and chronic depression had prevented her from pursuing her profession for the past two years.

Gladys had tried to work small office jobs to keep up with expenses, but lost her home of 13 years to forclosure nonetheless. She moved to an apartment and was evicted seven months later.

When she sought help from SVDP, Gladys had been living in a motel for five weeks and had depleted her savings. She had considered living in a women's shelter but did not want to leave her animals, her only family.

St. Vincent de Paul maintained Gladys' rent at the motel for several weeks until she could be relocated to a supportive living situation. Supportive living would continue until her Social Security disability benefits started.

In total, SVDP contributed $1,000 to assist Gladys. This figure included the cost of the motel, moving expenses and furniture storage. The Society also provided volunteers to help with Gladys' move.