Citizens in need in the Sicklerville area will receive emergency assistance thanks to a grant from the National Council of the U.S. Society of Saint Vincent de Paul (SVdP). The money is part of SVdP’s Friends of the Poor Grant Program, and will be disbursed by the Society’s Saint Charles Borromeo (chapter).
“The Friends of the Poor grant will be primarily used to provide emergency assistance for rent, security deposits, and utility bills, but would be considered for other emergency needs, not including food” said Mary Ellen Mauro past-president of the Saint Charles Borromeo Conference and who submitted the grant application. “This assistance is crucial. It has prevented homelessness.”
The Society of Saint Vincent de Paul Saint Charles Borromeo Conference was established in 1986 and currently has 50 active members and serves between 100 and 130 families with emergency assistance, primarily through a food pantry. In 2015, the area’s poverty rate was reported to be between 11.8 percent and 12.3 percent.
By receiving the Friends of the Poor grant, Conference members anticipate helping 15 to 25 families depending upon the cost of their needs. They hope to match the impact of the grant and in turn, hope to aid 100-150 percent more families than in the past couple of years.
This grant was one of 12 distributed through the program around the country.