This is a letter I sent to friends, media and members of SVDP in effort to get good information out.
It is time to break the silence and hear the Cry of the Poor

Dear Donors, Media, Vicentians, Peace and Justice People,

Some of you may have received the essay Story of Struggle for Milwaukee SVDP or may have watched the interview on Ch. 58 with Pastor Shelia Williams and myself called Controversial Essay Questions Outreach to Milwaukee Poor and is Now Making the Rounds in Catholic Circles.

Finally at this interview the small group controlling the finances of the Milwaukee Society of St. Vincent de Paul (SVDP) Society responded to the people trying to revive the true mission of SVDP, to serve persons in need with personal home visits. The Executive Director gave Ch. 58 a statement that said in Main/StoryOfStruggleForMilwaukeeSVDPpart: “$1.8 million of goods and services (including new beds, food, clothing, appliances and furniture) to individuals and families in need in Milwaukee County through our network of over 800 volunteers”

The facts are that the Milwaukee SVDP Council, controlled by a small group, only allots about $100, 000, of the over three million dollars budget of the Milwaukee Council/Central Staff each year to the main mission of the Society, make home visits to people in need and helping them with essentials like beds, stoves or refrigerators. The rest of the 1.8 million goods and service mentioned comes directly from the individual budgets of the 55 SVDP conferences in Milwaukee County. Conferences independently raise money and have separate independent budgets. 99% of a conference budget may go to needs of poor while 99% of Council/Central Office budget goes for staff compensation, operating and occupancy cost of buildings. (These numbers come from very limited information provided to Conference Presidents on Council and to members of the Society. They do not include the over 950, 000 collected recently in a major fundraising campaign or the 3.2 million dollar debt and past year operating debt of nearly $500, 000 for the Greenfield store).

Also, due to geographic limits placed by Central Office only about 10–15conference make the overwhelming number of home visits. The vast number of urban poor are not served. Even at that, vouchers for clothing beds, household items provided by conferences members to people in need are redeemed at SVDP store and conferences are charged 100% of the retail value.

According to the Rule and Manuel of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul “all monies belong to the poor” and funds donated to the Society, must be used only for works that involve the personal service of Society members.” Until the small group controlling Milwaukee SVDP dialog with members, poor and others seeking to restore the true mission there will be needs for more pickets and nonviolent action by poor and voices for the poor.

To contact the small group trying to reform SVDP, called Power to the Poor, contract

Struggling for the Truth by Direct Nonviolent Action to set the people free,

Bob

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