A kind of Catholic Goodwill store

Cudahy — The three women sit like old friends in the sparsely furnished living room, catching up on the latest ups and downs of Tammy Prasnik's hard life. On her part-time jobs and schoolwork, her latest layoff, and the academic successes and trials of her five children.

Prasnik has cobbled together enough money to move her family into this rented townhouse. But it is virtually empty. And she's not sure how she'll afford to keep the lights on, let alone put food on the table.

Before they leave, Beverly Tryba and Christe Banach hand Prasnik vouchers for food, mattresses and sheets for her children who've been sleeping on the floor, and summer clothes for her kids.

This is more than social work, more than charity. It is a spiritual calling for Tryba and Banach, volunteers with the St. Vincent de Paul Society group at Nativity of the Lord Catholic Church in Cudahy.

"Jesus told us, 'Whatever you do for the least of my brothers, you do for me,' " said Tryba, a retired widow who's partnered with Banach on home visits since 2002. "God has been very good to me. Now, how can I do less?"

For much of its history, the St. Vincent de Paul Society, at least in the United States, has been known primarily for its thrift shops, a kind of Catholic Goodwill store.

But, like Goodwill, the real mission has never been about retail. And its most important work is done often in obscurity, in parenting and meal programs, in its stores, and in ministering to the needy - who may or may not be Catholic - in their homes, nursing homes, hospitals and prisons.

The home visits "have always been a sort of behind-the-scenes, grass-roots, neighbor-to-neighbor kind of helping," said Gerry Felsecker, who is retiring as executive director after 40 years with the St. Vincent de Paul Society of Milwaukee.

"It's all very confidential, so it's never really had a public presence," he said.

 The rest from JSOnline

Society of St. Vincent de Paul