Mercer County NJ St. Vincent de Paul emergency assistance and basic needs.
When seeking any support from Society of Saint Vincent de Paul in Mercer County, several requirements must be met in order to get financial help for bills, food, or basic needs. As part of the application process, there is staff on hand at the Conferences that can help potential candidates navigate through the process of reviewing the benefits available. Based on that, the next step is to apply for assistance. However there is an intake process in both Spanish and English and the SVDP society in Trenton NJ.
In most cases any emergency financial aid provided is one time and short term only. As the key is to address the cause of the crisis. As just one example of a challenge in Mercer County is that too many young adults face at least one major educational barrier to finding long term employment. There is also the cost of housing and taxes in Mercer County. Others have a repeated cycle of poverty or homeless. So those will also be addressed by Society of St. Vincent de Paul.
Free food and holiday help from Society of Saint Vincent de Paul
The annual holiday programs is for low income community families, including immigrants. It was started in the winter season many years ago. As part of this program, many clients reside in a number of neighborhoods, low income communities, Section 8 housing complex as well as other low income apartments. Clients include the unemployed, single mothers, immigrants and others who need assistance. Or maybe some support in reconnecting with their children.
Each child receives Christmas gifts, ideally more than one. There may also be Thanksgiving turkey dinners or hot meals. Other donations to the entire family came from local businesses or churches in the area. SVDP in Trenton NJ may have items ranging from Safeway gift cards to clothing and more. Gift cards donated by the Target store were also given to needy families. The Christmas help is for unfortunate families living in the Mercer County area. Find a free Thanksgiving turkey giveaway near you.
For very low income families that are under 150% of poverty levels, Saint Vincent de Paul has a food pantry. They also run the Commodity Supplemental Food Program. This offers disadvantaged people access to nutritious food that is funded by the USDA Department of Health. The non-profit parishes distributes food (it may be a bag of groceries) on a monthly basis to any community member participating. Most of the food is for children up to six years of age, Senior citizens age 60 years and older, pregnant women, single moms or new mothers.
Emergency financial help from Society of Saint Vincent de Paul
Mercer County residents in a housing crisis may be able to access emergency funding and services such as mediation from the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul Homeless Prevention Program. There may also be a few dollars for back rent, deposits, or utility bills. This works with clients who are currently homeless or at a high risk for eviction or foreclosure.
No matter what the crisis was caused by, whether a court of Mercer County ordered eviction, fire victims, foreclosure, reduced income, medical emergencies, or others, support is arranged. For eligibility to this program, there are requirements that must be met and there is staff on hand to help potential candidates navigate through the application process for a grant or counseling.
The goal is to give residents of the Mercer County access to a safe and stable home-like environment. Other supportive services available for clients as part of the SVDP housing programs include the following. There maybe Transportation, Congregate Meals, Nutrition Education, Medical Seminars, and more.
There is additional housing support from the federal government funded Emergency Family Shelter program. This addresses both impending evictions and homelessness. Society of Saint Vincent de Paul works with local charities as well as churches to offer private and secure shelter to them along with basic, personal necessities. A typical stay for a struggling family is 60 to 90 days.
Applicants to this service will also participate in individualized case management to help them become stable and productive with their work, home and school lives in the future. The goal is to keep parents and their children together during a time of severe crisis. More on homeless prevention and rapid rehousing in New Jersey.
The Society of SVDP Mercer County New Jersey Volunteer Shelter Coordinator establishes a unique action plan for each struggling family which includes meeting short and long term goals. If they are met, this process will lead them back to self-sufficiency. Disadvantaged families have access to supportive services throughout the community which may include applications to state of New JErsey public assistance, free medical and dental care, mental health services, credit repair, parenting and other counseling services.
Participating families of the Saint Vincent de Paul Emergency Family Shelter with children under the age of five years are screened for developmental delays and referred to early intervention or preschool services as indicated. The focus of a family’s time in the shelter program is getting them out of those accommodations. This will involve finding safe, stable housing. Other needs addressed will be employment, attending job skills training, applying for various financial assistance and enrolling their children in day care, school, or summer camp.
Educational, language and stability services in Mercer County
Society of Saint Vincent de Paul provides Literacy Services for clients seeking skills to achieve personal and financial success in the future. This includes for Spanish speakers, immigrants, migrant workers and others. Currently, both in Mercer County and in the state, too many adults and too many children read at the lowest literacy level. This means they currently stand at about fourth grade or lower. This prevents them from obtaining a job with a livable wage. Individualized instruction is available for literacy, language, cultural and vocational development.
Some of the education barriers may include: lack of a high school diploma, technical skills or a college education. Too many people, including immigrants, have limited English language skills. Engaging in lifelong learning and achieving English literacy are critical to personal and economic success.
Many Society of Saint Vincent de Paul clients are illiterate in their native languages, however, others are highly educated. All participants are highly motivated to succeed in the United States. Here is what is offered through Literacy Services:
- SVDP Basic Literacy involves volunteer tutors from the parishes that work one-on-one with individuals to improve English reading and writing skills.
- ESOL - English for Speakers of Other Languages will involve adults and teachers working in small groups to improve their conversational English skills which in turn will help them reach their communication and life skills goals.
- Other government and charitable resources are available too. Find free job and educational training centers near you.
Applying for Society of St. Vincent de Paul programs in Mercer County
When applying for a resource, all participating members must be certified to be enrolled in the program in questions by visiting one of the certification sites. The following must be provided, including a photo ID, proof of birth date for senior citizens, birth certificates for each child under six years, and income. Potential clients to SVDP in Mercer County NJ must meet the predetermined income guidelines
Also, donations are always appreciated by Society of Saint Vincent and encouraged according to what a participating client can afford and what they are willing to give. However assistance is never denied to any community members if they are unable to donate at the time of the application. For more details, in Spanish or English call (609) 924-1743. The main conference is at 6 Nassau Street, Princeton, NJ 08542.
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