I spend my writing time today on a response letter to the CEO of the USA office of St. Vincent de Paul Society (SVDP). He asked me to cease and desist from my criticism of the Milwaukee office of SVDP to spend 3–5 million dollars to purchase and operate a SVDP thrift store in the suburbs rather than create one at little or no cost in low income neighborhoods in Milwaukee. Since he, like many others, ignored by arguments from reason, common sense, research and the mission of SVDP I decided to answer him back first with two stories from the heart of recent experiences. If you check below the stories you will find a more conventional response, the kind he ignored.

Dear Mr……

This email is to acknowledge I received you cease and “desist” email of June 20, 2014. Since it was clear to us that you are not reading the emails and seeing the information Jim, Marvin and I are sending you let me first try another tact, storytelling, in communicating the message.

The other day Jim, Marvin and I met with the two Catholic Church pastors of the two Catholic parishes left in North Central Milwaukee. Not too many years ago there were 17 Catholic parishes in this area. As the whites move out when blacks move in, so did the Catholic Churches. These two SVDP conferences of these two parishes are source of the largest number of home visits each month in the poorest neighborhoods in Milwaukee, the fourth poorest city in the USA. According to the last two censuses this area is the most racially segregated area in the most racially segregated city in the USA. This area is the most criminalized, with 50% of adult males, having been in prison in Milwaukee which is in Wisconsin, the number one state in USA in imprisoning African American males. This area has the highest unemployment rate of people, over 50% and the environment is conductive to crime and violence. You can see more about this information at M.A.P.S.. These two Catholic priest, one a diocesan and one a Capuchin both believe that what a few SVDP staff and leaders are doing behind close doors with 4–5 million dollar investment in suburbs is immoral. Marvin is the African American president of SVDP conferences for both Churches and is on the Executive Board until his term is up in November. The majority of board and Presidents of conferences, even ones in city are suburbanites and follow blindly whatever staff and consultants, highly paid, tell them to do.

One of the priest said at our meeting that even if we could call another Presidents meeting where more of the Presidents showed up the vote would probably go in favor of staff and consultants proposal. I tell you this to let you know that I may be a loud voice but am not alone in urban residents in Milwaukee who see this investment to suburbs as shameful and unjust. One of the priest also said that the reasons SVDP is losing funding by people and the reason, ministries like the large meal program in his parish is gaining funding, is twofold. People know that donations to meal program is going to feed the hungry while people donating to SVDP central office sense that the money and donations are not going to needy but to administration cost and soon the suburbs. The nearly 2 million dollar five budgets of the central office, according to their own numbers goes, 99%.4 to administration and only .6% to direct services. (I probably have sent the “approved 2013–2014 project budget” given to me by the highly paid bookkeeper of SVDP central office. If not or you deleting it, I can send another) The second reason is that people working in the meal program have person to person contact with people in need where less and less Vicentians and supporters do.

We have developed a trickle up plan for a thrift store in North Central Milwaukee with little or no new investment of money. We can give it to President of Board and Executive staff but conference presidents will not be allowed to see it or discuss it. We can send you a copy to you if you want. This message or Cry for the Poor has little to do with Bob Graf.

The other story I would lie to tell you, if you have ears to hear and eyes to see, is about a home visit my wife and I made Friday to young single mother. She lived in an apartment in 53206 Zip code, the most criminalized neighborhood in USA. She needed a table and chairs and bed, two of the items we provide vouchers for at the present South side SVDP store which is 7 miles away from her. She also needed a couch and living room chair but with the high demand we have our conference cannot afford to pay the SVDP central office store 50–100% of retail price of donated items.

When she got the voucher she realizes that is the store she ‘volunteers’ at to receive her W-2 (Welfare) small payments. She works mostly in the basement of the store, with no pay from SVP, sorting clothes. The collection and sorting operation is planned by staff to move to new suburbs. She could get a ‘volunteer’ or low paying job there but the new store in suburbs where all donations will go, is twice as far, 14 miles, away from her home. This is true if she has car. Most people in North Central area do not and the proposed multimillion store is 1 1/2 hours or more by bus, service of which is poor in Milwaukee.

Now for a little reason. In your statement you keep referring to the decision of “Council and Conference Presidents and Board of Directors.” The only meeting help by Council and Conference Presidents was attended by 33 of 55 presidents and selected SVDP members. All information, like our letter, warning of pitfalls and presenting alternative plan were censored, questions about the 3.2 million dollars, like the interest rate of the loan were not answered and the New Store manager and real estate consultant presenting the plan were not Vicentians. There was and still is no business plan presented to council or conference presidents that shows any return on investment that could trickle down to persons in need. Most of 29 presidents attending and voting yes lived in suburbs. There has been only one Board meeting since that time that a few of us showed up at to listen. The agenda was quickly changed and there was no formal discussion of the store. In light of all information that has been released since the president’s meeting Marvin made a motion to have another one. No one would second his motion. In discussion after the brief meeting it was revealed that the “trust fund” of SVDP may be put up for collateral of loan, SVDP would be paying money to City of Greenfield in lieu of taxes (at Public hearing the alderman had turned down the request for permit for building. Two weeks later they returned and without discussion or any input voted yes for permit.) It was also revealed that no conference President or any Board member, except the treasurer, has seen a business plan for the new thrift store. It also was clear that SVDP had agreed to pay part of the cost to build a trail to the Little League field and would be paying condo fees for the upkeep of major size building and parking lot.

In our SVDP bylaws and according to Wisconsin law major decisions that were revealed after President’s meeting can only be made by Presidents of Conferences and or/by Council. Yet when we asked the V.P of Board if a new meeting was necessary because of these revelations he had a one word answer “No.”

I was most shocked by your understanding of the Mission of Thrift Stores in St. Vincent de Paul. I suggest you read The Mission of Thrift stores in our manual. I can understand a St. Vincent de Paul Thrift in the suburban counties running a store for profit as they do in areas around us. Hopefully they share some of the profits with poor conference like the two in North Central Milwaukee. However, in Milwaukee we live in another reality. There are large areas on North and South side of racially segregated people in need. Our present central office used outdated geographic boundaries put in a computer in the 90′s by a former director to assign home visits. I offered to purchase an GPS computer system that would assign home visits to nearest SVDP conference. The Central Office said no and as a result we have diminishing number of conferences and Vicentiens and people in need hearing the message “we do not sere your area.” A thrift store in the suburbs that will cost 4- 5 million dollars, with 3.2 million loan, will probably never make enough profit for much, if any, to trickle down to the poor. The 2 million dollars central office budget will double or triple and still less than 1% will go to the poor. Our SVDP flyer for donations says: “We use your donations to provide gift certificates to needy families for free merchandise or sell at a reasonable price to low income and value oriented customers.” “Donations going to new suburban thrift store will Not provide gift certificates to needy families for free merchandise or sell at a reasonable price to low income” customers.”

We were not created to serve the rich and ignore the poor to “make money for the poor.” There has been a proposal around for years for SVDP to build a store in North Central Milwaukee that would cost a very little or nothing (by selling unused or underused properties owned by SVDP) To this store as well as the one on the south side we can say donations will be used as vouchers or to sell to low income customers for a reasonable price.

As one of our pastors told me this morning after Mass: “We might not win this battle to stop this store in suburbs but we can move forward to win the war, by restructuring SVDP, to serve people in need.”

There are other thrift stores for profit or to make money for a mission, like Goodwill and its mission for job training. The proposed SVDP thrift store in the suburbs is surrounded by thrift stores like these as well as next to a super Wal-Mart store replacing the condo building they seek to purchase. SVDP thrift stores have “serving Christ’s poor as their primary purpose.”

Hopefully the banks will have more common sense and more of a conscience than you and central staff in Milwaukee. If you would like to see the full unedited article in National Catholic Reporter check the online version at Proposed St Vincent de Paul thrift store causes contention in Milwaukee. I asked the pastor whose remarks were edited out of the print version if he had done that. He said no. His creditability might have helped with our message but was censored. The effort to attack the messenger and ignore the message will not work. Insults or compliments have little affect on my “speaking truth to Power” and acting on my conscience, which was formed by many years of Catholic education, social teaching and training.

We are now planning a major offensive where we, in solidarity with the poor, will present a positive alternative to this mission to the rich.

The Cry of the Poor will be heard,

Bob Graf

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