Society St Vincent De Paul

The Society of Saint Vincent de Paul was founded in Paris in 1833, by a young French student, Frédéric Ozanam, to confront his city’s devastating poverty. 

The Santa Clara County based St. Vincent de Paul Council was founded in 1946 and today has grown to 23 Conferences located throughout Santa Clara County with over 700 volunteers. We offer emergency aid to the needy in all areas of Santa Clara County regardless of age, gender, nationality, religion, or sexual orientation.

The Society of St. Vincent de Paul of Santa Clara County provides basic survival necessities, offers nourishment to the hungry and distributes critical financial support and resources. Homelessness prevention and keeping families intact is a primary focus in eliminating suffering. SVdP provides support for the marginalized, ministers to victims and the incarcerated, and helps to maintain a quality of life to the families of the impoverished. 

Our Primary program, The EMERGENCY ASSISTANCE PROGRAM, has the goal of improving the quality of life for those most risk of homelessness, hunger and poverty in our county.  It strives to meet both the immediate survival needs of vulnerable people as well as the long-term goal of social, economic and emotional self-sufficiency.  In 2016 more than 90,000 needy people in Santa Clara County turned to the St. Vincent de Paul Society for assistance with food, clothing, housing, and other basic needs.  In 2017 with increases in rent and cost of living this number is growing. Through the support and generosity of those in Santa Clara County we continue to provide aid to those in need and help them link with direct assistance and other resources in our community.