Category: News

Message from the President

Message from the President

Posted on by St Vincent De Paul

Maintaining our Food Pantry as an Essential Service for those in need

We are privileged to be able to maintain our Food Pantry as an Essential Service for those in need of food during this incredible time of disruption. Our operation has changed to maintain separation for both Guests and Volunteers. I am grateful for our new, younger Volunteers who have come forward to replace older Volunteers who’ve had to stay home to protect themselves.

NeighborImpact, our regional food bank, assures us they will provide us an ample supply of food to give to folks who lost their jobs due to COVID-19 as well as our regular, low income Guests.

I wish to acknowledge the tremendous support and mentoring I received from Tom MacDonald who stepped down as Treasurer and Board Member on April 1st. Tom’s business advice and expertise this past year put us in a firm financial position. Tom’s new role will be Advisor to the Board.

Elsa Hyder is our new Treasurer. She’s been retired 19 years. Her last position was Executive Assistant to the president of Pacific Racing Association.

Socorro (Cookie) Benton was promoted to Vice President of Operations in recognition of her dedication, hard work and leadership.

Food Pantry

Households are eligible for food every two weeks. They receive non-perishable food weighing forty pounds or more, based on number of people in the household, plus two kinds of meat, eggs, milk, and fruit, depending on availability.

Guests enter a Drive-thru off NE Loper Avenue between N Main and NE Elm streets. They are told to stay in their car. A volunteer takes their information and posts it on a sticky note on their car’s windshield. Three volunteers load their vehicle with food.

Our pantry is open 1-3 PM, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Guests are encouraged to come on their assigned day as determined by the first letter of their last name: Tuesday (A-G),
Wednesday (H-Q), Thursday (R-Z).

Emergency Services

We continue to assist folks needing help with rent, utilities, shelter, transportation, and propane. Please call 541-447-7662 to request assistance.

Donations

We rely on the generosity of donors to fund our operation which costs $5,000 per month. Please consider making a donation, either by mail or online at svdpofcc.org.

Peace,
Charles H. Kurtz
President

Volunteers work to get food out to guests

Posted on by St Vincent De Paul

Thinking outside the box-or in this case outside the pantry

Story courtesy of the Central Oregonian

By Ramona McCallister

For volunteers and patrons at St. Vincent de Paul in Prineville, it was a busy first week of COVID-19 operation at the local Food Pantry.

"Food distribution moved outside to the parking lot just north of the pantry," said Charlie Kurta, president of Prineville SVDP. "Guests were directed to stay in their cars and enter the pantry queue off Northeast Loper Avenue."

Kurtz noted that at opening of business Thursday, cars were backed up on Northeast Loper Avenue waiting in line.

"For the week, 103 families received food boxes, which is close to our all-time weekly high," Kurtz said.

Volunteers started packing food boxes at 10 a.m. and loading them onto the pantry truck. By 12:30, the truck, fully loaded with 30-35 boxes of food, was moved into the parking lot. Large carts with apples, oranges, milk and coolers of frozen meat were stationed on north side of the truck in the shade. About 10 more food boxes were prepared during the afternoon to keep up with demand.

Guests were offered a choice of two meats, plus milk, fruit, and a food box of nonperishables sized to their family.

"Their cars were loaded in one to two minutes," said Kurtz. He noted that he felt like part of a pit crew at the racetrack, having watched "Ford vs. Ferrari."

"Gov. Kate Brown's office considers the network and its partners and programs essential locations," said Alicia Atalla-Mei, statewide network manager of the Oregon Food Bank. "Our operations, and that of our food distribution partners and meal sites, are exempt from both the restriction on gatherings of over 25 and orders that are restricting restaurants."

Kurtz said St. Vincent de Paul is in need of more volunteers and more shifts to alleviate the workload.

"Many volunteers who started packing food boxes at 10 a.m. stayed to distribute food in the afternoon," he said. "We need two shifts of volunteers: morning and afternoon."

He added that the nonprofit also needs younger backs to lift and place food boxes in guest's car seats.

In addition, food can be distributed in two hours. Opening hours will be shortened to 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.

"This was week one of what may be week 26 or 52. We don't know, but we need to plan for the long haul," Kurtz concluded.

Hours of operation at SVDP:

Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday: 1 PM to 3 PM

Closed Saturdays

The Friends of St. Vincent de Paul Celebration was canceled last week because of COVID-19.

St. Vincent de Paul spent more than it took in December through February due to increased demand for emergency services. Operating the pantry and emergency services costs $5,000 per month. Monthly donations can be made by visiting svdpofcc.org, and clicking the Donate Now button or mailing a check to St. Vincent de Paul Society of Crook County, PO Box 545, Prineville.

Read this article on the Central Oregonian website --->

St. Vincent de Paul wraps up 2019 with gratitude for community support

St. Vincent de Paul wraps up 2019 with gratitude for community support

Posted on by Dhyana Kearly

St. Vincent de Paul releases 2019 Statistics

There are over 23,000 people living in Crook County. Thirteen percent of these people have income under the federal poverty level. That means 3000 people in our County need help just to survive. St. Vincent de Paul Society of Crook County’s mission is to help these people meet their basic needs. We couldn't accomplish everything we do without the generous support of this community. Today we are sharing our statistics for the past year, with a special note of appreciation for all those volunteers, community members, donors and supporters who made last year a success.

Statistics from our 2019 Year of Operation:

  • Ave. Volunteers  each Month     31
  • Volunteer Hours Works                6,000
  • Volunteer Miles Driven                17,600
  • Food Received, pounds                162,000
  • Households Served                        2,700
  • Total Guests Served                      7,300
  • Equivalent Meals Provided          110,000  (3 meals/day for 5 days)
  • Value of Meals Provided              $165,000 ($1.50 per meal)
  • Emergency Help Provided           $16,940

The impact of the housing crisis in Crook County

Posted on by St Vincent De Paul

St. Vincent de Paul provides temporary shelter, emergency rent, transportation costs and utility assistance

By Ramona McCallister, Reporter

(photos courtesy of Ramona McCallister, CO reporter)

Charlie Kurtz, and Tom MacDonald of St. Vincent de Paul of Crook County, go over cases
for housing assistance on Wednesday afternoon. In the past 7.5 months, 78% of the assistance
they paid out was to help families stay in their homes and to pay for rent and utility assistance.

Read this article on the Central Oregonian website --

Despite better economic times, the number of individuals who need assistance to stay in their homes or to pay their heating bills is at a critical point this winter. St. Vincent de Paul serves a vulnerable demographic in Crook County, with the majority living on a fixed income, such as Social Security Disability, and less than 20% working full or part time. With a whopping 33% of its clients identified as homeless, the services that St. Vincent de Paul of Crook County provide also include temporary shelter, emergency rent, transportation costs and utility assistance.

They are the main point of contact in Crook County for people needing such services, and are often the last resort for those who find themselves displaced, unable to pay utilities or rent, or any number of circumstances that require emergency services.

Charlie Kurtz, president of St. Vincent de Paul of Crook County, said the nonprofit spent $12,500 in emergency assistance helping those in crisis with rent, utilities, transportation and emergency shelter in the last seven and a half months.

“The majority of our assistance, 78%, went toward keeping families in their homes by helping

them with rent or utility payments,” said Kurtz. Of the clients St. Vincent serves in Crook County, 33% are homeless, 38% live in private rentals, 13% own their home, and 16% live in a mobile home.

“Folks we serve are one paycheck away from homelessness,” said Kurtz. “We are their emergency backup.” He added that this is taking into consideration those people who are already in rental units and then suffer an injury or any number of things that come along that prevent them from making their rent. He emphasized that in Prineville, eviction from a rental quickly becomes a crisis.

The reality of being at risk of losing your housing is more than a statistic. The circumstances vary, and Kurtz and his staff see the faces of these stories on a daily basis.  Brian is a single father of a 13-year-old son. His wife passed away from cancer several years ago. He injured himself in February 2019 and missed enough work to get behind on his rent payments. “I didn’t know what to do, and I was worried I couldn’t keep a roof over (my son’s) head,” Brian said. A friend referred him to St. Vincent de Paul, and he relayed his circumstances to Kurtz and why he was behind on his rent. St. Vincent De Paul of Crook County helped him pay his rent so he wouldn’t lose his housing. “I had no idea that St. Vincent helped out at all,” Brian said. “I happened to call (Kurtz) and he was very helpful. I don’t know what I would have done without him.”

“Affordable housing in Prineville is hard to find and precious to retain,” said Kurtz. According to interviews with several clients, Kurtz said the average current monthly costs for housing are a stretch for many of his clients. They report that the starting cost is $400 for trailer space, $1,000 for a three-bedroom apartment and $1,500 for a three-bedroom house.

“Ten local churches help fund our emergency assistance program through monthly donations,” he said. “We match their donations dollar for dollar. The current year’s budget is $20,000, of which SVdP needs to raise $10,000. We expect the demand to be greater than our budgeted amount.”

The only other point of contact for emergency assistance for rent and utilities is NeighborImpact, which serves Crook, Jefferson and Deschutes counties and the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs. Their vision is to empower individuals and families to succeed and become engaged citizens in their communities. NeighborImpact has two main departments, including Homesource and Housing Stabilization.

According to Molly Heiss, director for housing stabilization for NeighborImpact Community Services, its energy assistance department has been busy. There are also cold weather shelters supported by NeighborImpact and run by Redemption House Ministries. Currently, Heiss said the nonprofit only has short-term rental assistance funds for veterans, regardless of their housing situation.

“They can be unhoused,” she added. “They do need to provide us with documentation of military service and discharge status.” She said there is also an uptick in other parts of Central Oregon.

“Every part of Central Oregon, including the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs, is experiencing the burden of the increased cost of rental housing on our marginalized citizens with tight budgets,” Heiss concluded. “This has been trending up over the years as our housing and utility costs continue to rise.”

“This has been trending up over the years as our housing and utility costs continue to rise.” — Molly Heiss, NeighborImpact

Local Company Collects Tons of Food for Pantry

Posted on by St Vincent De Paul

Rosendin Electric Donates 11,000 Pounds of Food

The St. Vincent de Paul Society of Crook County (SVdPCC) Food Pantry continues its mission to serve the local community thanks to the help and generosity of community sponsors and supports. Recent efforts by Rosendin Electric on behalf of SVdPCC will provide local families in need with emergency food during vulnerable times.

pallets of donated food

The employees of Rosendin Electric collected and donated an impressive 5.5 tons of food, filling 12 large, heavy pallets for transport to the food pantry. Ten Rosendin Electric employees, all dressed in pink (below), sorted shrink-wrapped cans onto nine very large pallets. Seven pallets of nonperishable food were then loaded into SVdP’s truck.  Rosendin Electric then brought the remaining two pallets and loaded a forklift onto a trailer for offloading the pallets at SvdP.

The employees of Rosendin Electric collected and donated over 11,000 pounds of food filling 12 pallets last week to our Food Pantry.

The plan was to unload the pallets and place them inside the building ready for SVdP volunteers to unpack and put the food away the following day. However, volunteers discovered that the pallets were too large to fit through the door and they were also too heavy for the floor. Rosendin Electric volunteers wasted no time calling for backup and a Fortis Construction crew of 30 people quickly responded.  Together the group then unpacked the pallets and placed the food inside on shelves under the direction of the SVdPCC's Pantry manager.

Many thanks to Rosendin Electric for donating and sorting the food, and to Fortis Construction for volunteering to move the food into the building.

About Rosendin Electric & Fortis Construction

Rosendin Electric is the largest electrical subcontractor working on the Facebook site in Prineville.  At peak, they employed 450 electricians on the job.  Rosendin Electric works for Fortis Construction, the prime contractor on the Facebook site.