Trickle Down Theory of
new SVDP store

When I published the pictures and facts of Tale of Two Cities they were ignored by staff and leaders of St. Vincent de Paul. However, a few friends responded said that these pictures I took of the two stores and the facts I published using official material, manuals, Rules and records of Society of St. Vincent de Paul were “my opinion”. Actually they were not. So if pictures and facts are my opinion I might as well give my opinions.

Many of these opinions could be fact, true or false, if the Milwaukee St. Vincent de Paul central office staff and key leaders were not so secretive and non-transparent.

Opinions

From observation of records the Milwaukee St. Vincent De Paul has not had a truly independent audit of financial records in years. It seems like the same company does audit year after year.

From reliable sources the new St. Vincent de Paul Store in the suburb of Greenfield is not only not serving the poor with financial resources but the revenue from store is unable to keep up with compensation for store staff, around 40 persons, and the operating cost of the store, including paying suburb of Greenfield payments in lieu of taxes. The store does not seem to be sustainable yet alone pay back the 3.2 million dollars loaned to purchase and renovate the building. So new Greenfield store is not only not serving persons in need but is draining donations of items and monies directed to poor, persons in need.

The policy, of last fall, of making conferences pay full retail price of vouchers for clothing, bedding and household items is continuing. For example, a conference writing a $50 voucher for a family in need for clothing and household items must pay the Milwaukee Central Office store $50 for items that were donated free to St. Vincent de Paul. As the ‘facts’ above point out only a little over 4% of Milwaukee Council approved and projected budget is for direct services to people in need.

The statement to donors by SVDP that they can be “ensured that 91.5% of every dollar raised went directly to support people in need” is based in no reality and cannot be backed up with reliable numbers. Even if compensation to employees of the Milwaukee store and two meal programs are counted in this statement there is no way this statement is remotely true. As for serving the main mission of the Society, members making persons to persons home visits to persons in need, a few, if any, of the 75 or employees of Central office participate in this mission.

The finances and 3.5 budget of St. Vincent de Paul are tightly controlled by one staff member, financial executive. Executive director, Council President and select members get financial information from this one person. The financial records are kept secretive.

Most persons in need when they call St. Vincent de Paul office receive the message “we do not serve your area”. Many of these persons are from the North Central and South Central areas of Milwaukee, the two most racially segregated and poorest areas of the city, where Catholic Churches have been closed or do no longer work with St. Vincent de Paul Society. Thus most members of St. Vincent de Paul Society, due to this outdated system of assigning home visits, in a year make few, if any home visits, the main mission of Society. Record of people in need rejected may be kept at Central Office but are not made know to members or public.

With more and more money going to subsidize a St. Vincent de Paul Thrift store serving the middle class suburbanites, fewer and fewer people in need in the 2nd poorest city in the USA are being served.

These opinions are mine but since the staff and key leaders of Milwaukee Society
will not give a contradicting opinion I tend to believe they are true.

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