Within the United States, the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, a Catholic lay organization offering person-to-person service to those in need, comprises 5,000 conferences and councils. The Diocese of Birmingham has two district councils: one in Huntsville and one in Birmingham. The Huntsville council consists of nine conferences, which are supported by individual parishes.

In 2024, those nine conferences were able to conduct 2,232 home visits, donate 12,628 hours assisting those in need, drive 97,563 miles, and provide a staggering $1,094,000 of support in the form of rent and utility assistance, food, furniture, car repair, medical and dental care, a low-interest loan program, and a homeless ministry. In all the efforts put forth by the conferences, the main objective is to seek “longer-term pathways out of poverty and towards the full flourishing of every person” by championing the words of the society’s founder, Frédéric Ozanam: “embrace the world in a network of charity.”

It is through embracing the world in such a way that leaves an indelible mark on members of the society. The Huntsville District Council President Mick McGuire notes, “What an awesome God we have Who allows us to see Him in the face of the poor in what we humbly provide.”

The poor, however, are not just numbers on a spreadsheet. The Vincentians, as they are known, make it a point to refer to those they help as “friends.” “We are more relational than transactional,” explains McGuire. “A lot of times people just want to be listened to, to be heard, to be seen, to be understood. Of course, the transaction gives them hope that they can survive the next week or month, but the relationship helps them know that somebody cares about them, giving them spiritual hope that good really does exist in this world.”