The US Supreme Court is set to rule on a case with potentially widespread national implications for homelessness. The Society of Saint Vincent de Paul, which serves the poorest individuals, including those who are homeless or facing eviction, has expressed deep concern, with its US president, John Berry, sharing his thoughts on the matter.
One of those who shares these fears is John Berry, national president of the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul. Established in the U.S. since 1845, the organization now has around 90,000 members.
The Gospel is filled with expectations to care for the poor. Christ himself told us whatever you do for the least of these you do for me. So the Church, through organizations like the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul, must continue to do what it can across the United States and across the globe. It's going to cause organizations such as Saint Vincent de Paul, the Church, Catholic Charities, Catholic Relief Services, much more of a burden. Our model of service to encounter the poor through our one on one visits with the people that we serve, will be much more challenging.
It's a very tragic thing.There's a number of the population of the homeless that are facing mental health issues and need supportive services. There may be addiction issues that they're trying to overcome and they need to be able to access the kind of supportive services that we provide at St Vincent de Paul and other agencies provide.
Even if they're not homeless. We have a number of people that we are working with, single mothers especially, people who are living in what we call in the United States extended stay motels, where they're paying exorbitant rates to live one room – motel rooms, hotel rooms – with a number of children.
So yeah, it makes it even more challenging - it's another impediment that gets put in their way of of getting them stable and self sufficient. Is poverty, a topic or an issue that has been addressed by politics, especially before the presidential election in November? While, it depends: in order to vote in the United States, you have to have an established identity, so your identity cards, some form of identification, a driver's license, federal government identity card, a passport, something like that. In order to get one of those, you have to have a residence.