St. Vincent de Paul Village

Serving over 3,000 neighbors daily.  Empowers people to regain self sufficiency through residential, education, healthcare, life-skills and employment programs designed to rebuild their lives -- with dignity.  A member of Father Joe's Villages.

Why do we exist?

In 1982 San Diego Bishop Leo T. Maher jumpstarted the growth of the Village when he named Father Joe Carroll as president of St. Vincent de Paul and asked him to make a preferential option for the poor.  Father Joe decided something more was needed than the “band-aid” of serving sandwiches for lunch.

After crossing the nation to study programs helping the homeless, Father Joe envisioned a “one-stop shopping” approach with comprehensive, essential care all under one roof.  This pioneering model set a new standard for rehabilitation and has been nationally recognized and replicated because of its effectiveness.

St. Vincent de Paul Village is a 900-bed homeless rehabilitation facility in San Diego, CA. The past decade has seen the original Spanish Mission-style structure grow into a true "Village" - Eight facilities, each targeting a specific homeless population.

Conceived as a "one-stop" rehabilitation facility, the Village’s continuum of care offers the widest array of services available. On-site programs include housing, case management, counseling, life skills, psychiatric assessment, medical/dental, adult education, job training, employment assistance, and children's services. These services support over 3,000 neighbors in need every day.

What have you accomplished?

The efforts of St. Vincent de Paul Village have expanded programs enabling us to better serve the homeless population.   The Village provides a wide array of services for single men, women and families.  We pride ourselves on the successes of our clients, so what better way to speak of our accomplishments than to share a story of client success --

Upon entering the Paul Mirabile Center (one of our short-term housing facilities), Frank* was morbidly obese.  He had no employment skills or community support. He suffered from clinical depression and was abusing alcohol and drugs. 

While living at the Village, Frank participated in the Eating Disorders group, as well as a Codependency group.  He also received assistance from our Recovery Services and psychiatric care.

Frank graduated from our Culinary Arts Program, obtained a job in the Culinary field with medical benefits and saved enough money to start his new life. He re-connected with his family, found an apartment for $525 per month and left our program successfully employed.

After leaving, Frank maintained contact with his case manager and the Case Management Program Manager.  At last contact, Frank was expecting to receive gastric bypass surgery.  He had continued attending Overeaters Anonymous after leaving the Village and was experiencing no symptoms of depression. Accomplishments such as this occur everyday at the Village.

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