What are some of your recent outcomes? Our Winning Outcomes presentation highlights many of the great things happing at the Village. You can download the most recent presentation here. [PDF file, 3.9 MB]

Can anyone see your IRS form 990? Absolutely. You can download our 990 here. [PDF file, 4.8 MB]

How many homeless people reside at St. Vincent de Paul Village? The Village provides 887 transitional housing beds nightly for homeless families, women, men, teens and veterans at St. Vincent de Paul Village, Josue Homes and Toussaint Academy San Diego.

What services are offered to those you house? The Village is designed as a one-stop center intended to address all the rehabilitative needs of the homeless on one campus. Child care, family literacy, and parenting classes are available while parents work off site or meet program requirements on campus. A range of clinical services are offered, including assessments, addiction treatment, and mental health services such as individual, group and children’s therapy. Our Career & Education Center teaches participants job skills and computer literacy, and partners on site with the community college to provide adult education and GED prep. In addition, all residents have access to case management services, our medical clinic that offers medical, dental and psychiatric care, and our chaplaincy program. Learn More.

How does someone get into the services at the Village? For meals or healthcare services, our neighbors in need are welcome to start at the Front Desk in the Joan Kroc Center (1501 Imperial Avenue, San Diego). There individuals and families are provided with a Fast Pass card that gives them access to all non-residential services that are open to the public including our community lunch.

For residential services, homeless neighbors in need can sign up in person at the Front Desk in the Joan Kroc Center between 8:00am to 4:30pm Monday through Friday (some holidays excluded).  The first scheduled appointment following the in-person visit to the Front Desk will be a housing assessment. This brief assessment ensures that St. Vincent de Paul Village provides the most appropriate level of services to meet the individual or family needs.  The housing placement wait list time varies dramatically depending on demand.  It has been as short as two weeks, but often is more than four.

What is the typical resident of the Village like? There really isn’t a “typical” Village resident.  Our residents are as diverse as you can imagine.  The Village houses single adult men, single adult women and families with children.  The families are two-parent families, single mom families and single dad families.  Family sizes range from 2 members to 10 or more family members. People who come to the Village have a wide range of strengths and needs. 
Some examples from 2010 are: 

• 25% of those entering were veterans
• 20% were chronically homeless
• 35% reported a physical disability
• 50% reported a mental health issue
• 58% reported a substance abuse issue
• 33% reported co-occurring disorders (both substance abuse and mental health)
• 21% reported a history of domestic violence
• 5% were age 62 or older
• 13% were age 5 or under
• 80% had no income at the time of program entry

Does the Village offer medical care? The Village has a Federally Qualified Health Center and licensed community medical clinic where residents of the Village and other homeless neighbors in need may seek medical, dental and psychiatric care. Called the Village Family Health Center, it conserves emergency room resources in San Diego hospitals by treating patient illnesses and injuries before they become more severe. In 2010, 3,600 emergency room visits were prevented which saved tax payers over $7,000,000.

Can military veterans get help at St. Vincent de Paul Village? Yes. In fact, more than 25 percent of those served at the Village each day are military veterans that receive services onsite in partnership with Veterans Village of San Diego and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

Do residents have to work for the services they receive? All residents are required to participate in share living responsibilities (SLR) throughout the Village.  These responsibilities vary anywhere from prepping food in the kitchen to contributing to the maintenance of the facilities.  Residents with disabilities participate in the program as well while performing tasks that are matched to their abilities. On average, a resident completes 8 hours of SLR weekly. Not only does participating in SLR help the residents establish daily routines, but it also gives them a sense pride and ownership of the Village.

Can homeless people really change their lives and regain productive roles in society? Homelessness is rarely a simple problem. Usually it results from a combination of factors such as limited skills and education, job loss, family instability, abuse, physical or psychiatric disability, addiction and home foreclosure. Although the average person may be able to remain housed with one of these risk factors, by the time an individual has two or three it becomes easy for them to lose their support network and become homeless. As such, the solution to the problem is not simple, but it is also not insurmountable. By bringing together all of the services needed to counter each of these risk factors in a holistic and tightly coordinated way, we can bring about the lasting transformation that leads to a productive and satisfying life in the community for our neighbors in need.

Does the Catholic Church run St. Vincent de Paul Village? No. The Village is a 501(c) 3 non-profit corporation run by a board of directors with Sister Patricia Cruise serving as president. All contributions and assets belong to the Village alone and are subject to a yearly independent audit.

Are neighbors in need required to be Catholic or participate in religious activities to enter the Village? No, the Village is open to all. Programs for many denominations are offered to residents throughout the year by an active chaplaincy team
on site.

How are the spiritual needs of residents attended to? St. Vincent de Paul Village’s Chaplaincy program provides encouragement and support through listening, spiritual discussions, Bible study, and prayer.  A chapel located within the Joan Kroc Center provides space for quiet reflection and is also home to ecumenical services and celebrations. 

How do I donate my car, piano, living room set or extra clothes? Call 619.671.7900 or 1.888.FATHER.JOE (1.888.328.4375) All Donations May Be Brought To: Father Joe’s Home Office 3350 E Street San Diego, CA 92102-3332 Click on the links below to contribute: Vehicle Donation | Household Contributions

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I’d like to Volunteer. How do I sign up? St. Vincent de Paul Village relies on the excellent work and focused dedication of volunteers to operate its many programs. Volunteers make a difference by preparing and serving meals, teaching classes, tutoring kids and supporting Children’s Services, seeing patients in the Medical Clinic and in hundreds of other ways. All volunteers must be scheduled in advance click here to learn how to sign up.

Can school groups or other groups come and Volunteer?  Yes.  Volunteering at St. Vincent de Paul Village provides team-building opportunities.  We welcome schools, service organizations, alumni groups, families, fraternities and sororities, religious organizations, military and corporate teams.  Learn More.

Does Father Joe’s Villages operate permanent housing? Yes. Father Joe’s Villages is proud to own and operate the following affordable housing properties:

• Village Place Apartments at 32 17th Street, San Diego, CA 92101
• Villa Harvey Mandel at 72 17th Street, San Diego, CA 92101
• 16th & Market at 640 16th St., San Diego, CA 92101
• Boulevard Apartments at 3137 El Cajon Boulevard, San Diego, CA 92104
• 15th & Commercial at 1506 Commercial Street, San Diego, CA 92101

Learn more about each of these properties.

Who can rent an apartment from Father Joe’s Villages? Our apartments range in size from studios to 3-bedroom apartments, accommodating households ranging from individuals to large families.  All of our apartments are income restricted, meaning that it is reserved for households that do not exceed a certain percentage of the Area Median Income (AMI) for San Diego.  While the income restrictions vary from property to property, the highest AMI we serve is 60% AMI.  We encourage interested parties to contact us to learn the specific requirements for the property they are interested in.  Some of our apartments are reserved as permanent supportive housing.

How do I sign up for Father Joe’s Villages' Affordable Housing? Due to exceedingly high demand for affordable housing with Father Joe’s Villages, the waiting lists for each property may be closed.  To find out about affordability restrictions and if the waiting list is open for the property you are interested in, please contact Property Management at (619) 687-1074. 

Do you accept Section 8? Yes, all of our properties accept Section 8.

How many people are homeless in San Diego? The Regional Task Force on the Homeless released the following numbers based on the San Diego Point in Time Count (PITC). St. Vincent de Paul Village actively participates in the PITC as one of the downtown coordinators.

• 2008 – 7,582
• 2009 – 7,892 - up 4.1%
• 2010 – 8,574 – up 7.9%
• 2011 – 9,020 – up 5.9% - up 19% since 2008

What is your privacy policy? You can read our privacy policy here.