Story reposted with permission from The Times-Standard.
When it comes to homelessness in Humboldt County, St. Vincent de Paul serves as the trusted hub for people seeking services, most of whom come for the daily meal. I spoke with Board Member and Volunteer Hannah Ozanian, who described St. Vinnie’s as “an epicenter of meeting people where they’re at.”
I started by asking Hannah to clear something up for me. What is Free Meal, and what is St. Vinnie’s? The dining room is called Free Meal. The organization is St. Vincent de Paul Redwood Region, part of the nationwide organization. The Eureka chapter predates the dining room.
Hannah volunteered there for a weekly shift as a Eureka High School student back in 2005 and stuck with it.
“It totally changed my view of the world and my hometown,” she said. “That very first shift, I was in a different part of town. I was a, quote, normal kid, unaware of the economic realities of the world. It was a shock to see people who were hungry.”
Hannah described seeing a classmate come through with a little brother and sister. “It shook me to the core,” she said, becoming emotional as she spoke.
Now serving as a board member, she sees people who were where she was as a high school student. Like her, it makes them see poverty and also that it’s okay to be there. And, like her, it makes some of them fall in love with service.
Free Meal averages 125 individuals per day, on Mondays through Fridays and the last two Saturdays of the month, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Everyone is welcome.
Services include a partnership with Open Door Community Health Centers, which provides health services from their mobile clinic from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
Providence operates a resource center inside the facility where they help with things like mail services and clothing, Monday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 12:30 pm. Showers operated by the Betty Chinn Homeless Foundation are available Mondays through Fridays with sign-ups starting at 7:30 a.m. Other partners (Providence, the Ink People and Uplift Eureka) provide art programs and other activities in the afternoon, Monday through Thursday, 2 to 3:30 pm.
I asked about the facility’s new mural, funded by a Cultural Arts District grant. It depicts a whimsical forest scene. The artists worked with Free Meal clients and other community members on what the piece should be.
I asked Hannah’s opinion about what’s getting better or worse in her world. She describes herself as very positive about several recent and upcoming projects by the city of Eureka and Betty Chinn.
“We have more housing options. The village on the Hikshari Trail really is a step in the right direction,” she said.
The next step, Hannah says, is supporting folks through that. The trauma that people have gone through make getting them stabilized a heavy lift.
“What’s not helping us is the chatter that we’ve become used to, the blame. We need the will and connection to put the puzzle pieces together. Our folks that we’re serving have been isolated from the world. We need to sit at the same table, break bread together, regardless of who we are.”
The organization needs more volunteers. Individuals can opt to serve meals on existing service days. Sizeable teams of volunteers could open up more weekend days.
Finally, Hannah says, “We could really use assistance with fundraising and with telling our story. We’re so good at running a kitchen, but not at those things.”
Of course, every dollar makes a difference. You can donate here: https://www.svdp-redwoods.org/donate.
Understanding requires interaction. An opportunity to learn comes up on July 29 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., the Annual Summer BBQ at Resource Fair. It’s a combination of a community feed, open to the public, and a resource fair that will feature some 40 organizations.
The folks at St. Vincent de Paul confront some of the hardest, most grinding social service situations in our region. They never forget that they serve fellow human beings.
If you run into someone who works or volunteers there, please thank them for their Good Work.
To nominate a deserving nonprofit organization to be profiled, please email michael@kraftconsultants.com. Michael Kraft writes the Good Work series, volunteering on behalf of the Northern California Association of Nonprofits (NorCAN). NorCAN, a DreamMaker project of the Ink People, supports connections between people and organizations that work every day to keep our communities healthy and strong by offering professional development, board support, networking connections and more. Learn more at https://norcal-nonprofits.org/.