- Donor Stories
Open the Door to Hope: Society of St. Vincent de Paul Lincoln Council
When a family in Lincoln is behind on rent, facing a utility shutoff, or trying to stretch one grocery trip through the week, the crisis sometimes stays hidden behind the front door. The Society of St. Vincent de Paul Lincoln Council helps bring relief into that space with something deeply human: a personal visit, a listening ear, and help rooted in dignity.
Know the Need
The Society of St. Vincent de Paul was founded in 1833 to help impoverished people in Paris, and the first Lincoln Council was established in 1988. The heart of the Society’s work remains to offer material help and spiritual support. “Every interaction starts with a personal visit to the home of those who are requesting assistance,” says Larry Ellerbeck, President of Society of St. Vincent de Paul Lincoln Council. “Our volunteers take the time—often the same day as the request is made—to discover how we can best support those who call.”
The approach reflects the Society, which collaborates with other people of good will to relieve need and address its causes. The members, known as Vincentians, serve local residents through parish-based conferences, a helpline, and home visits.
Behind the Request
Phone calls received by the Council typically begin with one urgent need, and the visit reveals the full picture. “If they call in the morning, we’re often able to visit them in the afternoon,” says Ellerbeck. The speed of response matters, and so does presence. Sometimes what is seen inside the home changes everything. Ellerbeck shares one example from a recent visit. “A young mother of five needed her electricity turned back on, and once the Vincentians entered the home, they saw that the family also had no furniture and the children were sleeping on the floor.”
After discovering the need, the Council worked with LES that day to get the power back on and pay the bill. The family had furniture delivered just a few days later. “She received a kitchen table with chairs, beds for the family of five, a dresser, and a sofa,” explains Ellerbeck. “This is all possible thanks to collaboration with other nonprofit partners.”
Help With Dignity
In the past year, the Council has distributed $566,000 in financial assistance to 1,200 households. During the same time, the call center received about 4,000 calls. The need is immediate, the calls are constant.
The support goes beyond numbers, and the Council’s mission emphasizes helping people in a hard place. “A lot of times people just want to be heard,” says Joe Flattery, Treasurer. “The people we’re helping don’t get guests in their home very often, and it’s important to us that we treat them with dignity and respect.”
That dignity shapes every step of the encounter. The Council describes its volunteers as women and men drawn together by Gospel values, prayer, friendship, and person-to-person service. The goal is not only to relieve need, but to see Christ in the neighbor who is suffering.
Ongoing Support
Flattery says that the personal approach often means helping beyond the first request. “The visits are never typical, because people and their needs are always different,” he says. “Our job is to not only fulfill the need that they’ve asked us to meet, but to find out a little bit about what’s next.”
That may mean help with rent, utilities, food, prescriptions, transportation, or connections to other local resources. On some days, it can mean getting power turned back on within hours. On others, it means giving someone a grocery gift card with no strings attached.
“When we give them these gift cards, it’s just out of the blue for them, and they just start crying because it’s unattached,” Flattery says. “There’s no eligibility, no requirements, no attachments.”
Changed on Both Sides of the Door
The Society’s mission includes care for the volunteer as well as the neighbor. New Vincentians are trained, paired with experienced members, and formed through service. Flattery says that process changes people.
It creates a great amount of empathy. You put yourself into a situation that maybe you have not encountered before.
Ellerbeck sees the same kind of change. “The encounters are transformative on both sides, us and the people we visit.” That idea fits the Society’s public mission as well: a network of friends, inspired by Gospel values, growing in holiness through personal relationships with and service to people in need.
A Lasting Work of Mercy
The Society of St. Vincent de Paul in Lincoln relies on the generosity of donors to keep answering those calls, making those visits, and helping neighbors in crisis. Gifts support a mission that is deeply practical and deeply personal. A family keeps the lights on. A mother receives the furniture her children need. A person who feels alone is met with compassion.
“Our hope is that the society will continue for generations to come so that years from now we’ll have Vincentians who are concerned about the needs of God’s children,” Ellerbeck says. You can help by providing donations online and by mail to the St. Vincent de Paul Lincoln Council Fund. Your support remains local—helping people across the city through its parish conference network.
If you have any questions about how to support the Lincoln Council, please contact Melanie Kottwitz, our Director of Operations, at melanie@catholicgift.org.
