Close to 1,000 conference members — including dozens from the Archdiocese of Louisville — gathered for the Society of St. Vincent de Paul National Assembly at the Galt House Aug. 27-30.
The event included prayer, Mass, a spiritual retreat, various keynote addresses and dozens of workshop sessions on topics such as preventing homelessness, living Catholic social teaching, fundraising and finance for conferences.
Dr. Gregg Colburn, associate professor of real estate at the University of Washington’s College of Built Environments, gave a presentation on Aug. 28, discussing his book, “Homelessness is a Housing Problem: How Structural Factors Explain U.S. Patterns.” The book was written in collaboration with journalist and data scientist Clayton Page Aldern.
In the book, Colburn and Aldern test conventional beliefs about why individuals experience homelessness across the nation — including mental illness, drug use, poverty, weather, generosity of public assistance and low-income mobility.
“Homelessness is a housing problem. We created conditions for homelessness to thrive. That’s a fundamental truth.”
— Gregg Colburn
Colburn told his listeners that none of these factors explains why individuals become homeless and why the rate of homelessness varies so widely throughout the U.S.
“Homelessness is a housing problem. We created conditions for homelessness to thrive. That’s a fundamental truth,” said Colburn. “ … We need to create more access to housing if we want to address homelessness.”
Jennifer Clark, CEO of St. Vincent de Paul Louisville, attended the gathering and heard Colburn’s presentation.
“It reflects what we’re seeing,” locally, she said. Because of a lack of housing, “Even when we have the funds, it takes a long time because there are no units to put them (clients) in.”
St. Vincent de Paul serves the homeless with the goal of helping them find permanent housing.
The agency serves:
- Men in the Ozanam Inn, a 24/7 emergency shelter that houses about 40 men each night.
- Its veteran housing offers 24 single rooms to female and male veterans.
- A family housing program offers 32 apartments to homeless families. The program also offers case management and mental health counseling services.
- Through a Section 8 housing assistance program, there are 12 efficiency apartments.
- The domestic violence transitional housing and rapid rehousing program serves individuals fleeing domestic and sexual violence or other situations such as human trafficking.
- The agency also offers off-campus housing for families.
John Raque, president of St. Raphael Church’s St. Vincent de Paul conference, was among 63 conference members from the archdiocese who attended the assembly.
Raque said Colburn’s presentation on the situation with homelessness was “spot on.”
“The majority of the calls we take weekly are for help with rent and utilities. We help about 40-50 individuals a month and the majority is for rent,” said Raque. “That’s the biggest need.”
Affordable housing is a problem, Raque noted. He recently assisted a man who’d fallen behind on his rent payments. The man told him he was employed and making $950 monthly and paying $700 monthly in rent. “The math is tough. That’s the challenge, affordable housing,” he said. “It doesn’t take much to put somebody behind.”
St. Raphael assists about 50 individuals per month, Raque noted. They also collaborate with other conferences to pool their resources to help struggling families, he said.
Twenty-seven parish conferences help St. Vincent de Paul carry out its mission in the archdiocese, according to the non-profit.To learn more, visit https://homelessnesshousingproblem.com/.
