SVdP-VOP North Central Region
Together, speaking for those we serve....

 What ever you do to the least of my bothers, that you do unto me. Jesus calls us. How fortunate and privileged we are to share the love of Christ and help our brothers and sisters in need. As unemployment continues to grow, more Friends in Need are calling. We fully appreciate the humility it takes to ask for help and we are grateful for their calls. As Jesus washed the feet of the disciples, we are to serve the needs of the families in our community. Our Conference includes families in six zip codes within Peoria, Chilicothe, and Dunlap: from the second poorest zip code in Illinois 61605, to 61603, 61602, 61606, 61523, and 61525. Many of our families’ income has been reduced or eliminated due to COVID. They don’t have saved income to weather this pandemic. They are reliant on family, friends, and community support to get them through this time. Our parishes St. Jude and St. Vincent de Paul generously provide monetary and pantry support for our Friends in Need. In 2019 and 2020 from March to October, we paid Ameren bills for 193 families with bills totaling $47,706. This is not the whole story. There were many requests that were too great for us meet and there were more families who called for help with rent and put off Ameren and other bills for another day. One woman who I spoke with recently called because she had her hours cut at the nursing home after she returned to work from having a baby. She had worked through her pregnancy full-time. Now when she needs the extra income to help pay for the new mouth to feed they cut her hours. She is scheduled to begin school in January at ICC to further her education. Everyone has a story. We are fortunate to be witnesses to their lives and to share the love of Christ with them. Nothing is more powerful than praying with our Friends in Need and knowing Christ is with us today and always. Eileen Steed President St. Jude / St. Vincent de Paul Conference Peoria, Illinois 

Eileen Steed, President: St Jude/St. Vincent DePaul Combined Conference, Peoria Illinois

 We get up in the morning to a hot shower. This is something most of us take for granted. A recent call from Essie made me reflect on not having that hot shower. Essie is on disability and a $600 a month fixed income. She suffers from chronic pain and had a mild stroke in July 2020. Her son, another source of income, was working a part time job while attending school until he lost his job due to a COVID case at his workplace. As a result lost that income to help his mom. Essie is facing a past due water bill of $282 and not sure when it will be shut off. Her story does not stop there. On my initial call, I caught her in the grocery store, scraping up change to pay for a loaf of bread. Yes, she frequents the food pantries, but they do not have bread on their shelves. How blessed St. Vincent de Paul is to have received her call for assistance. Essie is just 1 of 70 calls that we received in the month of November for St. Mary DeKalb. We have completed 34 cases and have a so far assisted 8 of the 34 with $2,566 with utility assistance, including electric, gas, and water. 

Susan Wiland President Society of St. Vincent de Paul, Rockford Council: President Society of St. Vincent de Paul, Rockford Council

 In my role as president of a northside Chicago conference of the St Vincent de Paul Society, I have spent years working with fellow parishioners doing home visits and helping our neighbors with overdue rent and utility bills. In this COVID year, we are facing unprecedented challenges. Due to job loss, school closures and rent and utility moratoriums, our neighbors have ended up with bills so large that they are beyond the means of our conference. Without government relief, the end of moratoriums will lead to wide spread suffering in midst of a pandemic. There is special need among certain subgroups: refugees who no longer have federal government support (it usually runs out before they are on their feet), and undocumented workers who do a lot of the work that citizens don’t want to do. People are in great need of the kind of large scale relief that can only be supplied by government entities. We are counting on you! 

Ann McCormick: President, St Vincent de Paul Society, Queen of Angels/St Matthias parish Chicago