Outreach

We have three outreach programs: (1) Joseph House, providing food and clothing, (2) the St. Vincent DePaul organization, providing a ministry of direct outreach to those in need and (3) a prison outreach program

Joseph House

Mission Statement: “Grounded in our Catholic faith, with love and respect for those we serve, we assist refugees who come in need of shelter and a path to self-sufficiency, and help those in need in our neighborhood community.”

Joseph House is a ministry to all who come in need. Located three miles east of downtown Cleveland, we welcome refugees who resettle in Cleveland by providing them with affordable housing and clothing. We currently have four apartments where refugee individuals and families can live, and also run a clothing bank, where newly-arriving refugees and local neighbors can shop for clothing and shoes free of charge.

Joseph House is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization, a collaboration between Divine Word Church and three Cleveland city parishes: St. Vitus, Immaculate Conception, and St. Paul Croatian.

Volunteers are always welcome and needed on Wednesdays and Fridays to help assist refugees and local neighbors who come to shop at the Clothing Bank. Hours are 11:00 am-1:00 pm. Carpooling from Kirtland is available. Volunteers can assist once a week, once a month, or as their schedule allows. For more information, contact Joan Laux at 440-376-7800.

The Clothing Bank is currently full, thanks to the generosity of our parish.

For more information, we invite you to visit josephhouseofcleveland.org

The Society of St. Vincent de Paul

The Society of St. Vincent de Paul, a Catholic lay organization, leads women and men to join together to grow spiritually by offering person-to-person service to those who are needy and suffering in the tradition of its founder, Blessed Frédéric Ozanam, and patron, St. Vincent de Paul.

SVDP provides a ministry of direct outreach to the poor. We provide temporary assistance to parishioners and other individuals within the boundaries of Divine Word Parish who are in need of food or financial help for utilities, etc. The team is comprised of volunteers who meet the qualifications of the National Society of the SVDP.

If you or someone you know needs assistance, please call the Society of St. Vincent de Paul at (440) 547-6718.

MEETING TIMES & TIME COMMITMENT:

We meet the 4th Monday of every month at 7 pm in the Upper Room.

We discuss assistance calls and other community needs. We limit our help to Lake County and specifically to the Kirtland area.

We rotate assistance calls between eight members. Members are expected to field calls for one week at a time, Monday through Friday. We generally assist people with Food Bank contacts, fuel and / or food gift cards and utility assistance. We will, on occasion, help with housing rent, but this is on a case-by-case basis.

Link to SVDP Cleveland website: www.svdpcle.org

Link to National SVDP website: www.svdpusa.org

Prison Outreach

Divine Word is teaming with True Freedom Ministries to become active in their Pen-Pal Ministry. This recording is of the presentation and testimony provided by Mike Swiger, Executive Director of True Freedom Ministries presented to Divine Word in November. To become active as a pen-pal, please contact Debbie Lokar in the parish office.

Listen and watch the presentation here. (Note: most of the presentation is just audio, there is a presentation that is displayed, but most of the meeting is just the recorded audio).

Learn more about True Freedom Ministries here.

Outreach

Joseph House

The Society of St. Vincent de Paul

Prison Outreach

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