The St. Vincent de Paul Society was founded in Paris in 1833, by a young French nobleman named Frederic Ozanam who sought to confront the City's devastating poverty. Inspired by his love of St. Vincent de Paul, a seventeenth century French priest who had an untiring commitment to serving the poor, Ozanam's mission was to help the needy on a one-to-one basis and "accomplish through charity what justice alone cannot do." The St. Vincent de Paul Society then came to San Francisco in 1860, just after the Gold Rush brough thousands to Northern California.

Founded in 1860, the St. Vincent de Paul Society of San Francisco (SVDP-SF) is a nonprofit organization that enriches our community by providing an essential safety net for those working to overcome poverty, homelessness, addiction and domestic violence. Through individual assistance, community engagement and volunteerism, we help those in need become self-sufficient and active members of our society, while treating all our clients with dignity and respect.The Society feeds, clothes, shelters and provides services to more than 1,000 men, women and children in San Francisco every day.

Riley Center for Battered Women and their Children
The Riley Center The Riley Center is home to more than half of the domestic violence shelter beds in the city. Services include: a Community Office located within the Women's Building, offering drop-in services, education and follow-up assistance to former clients; a 24-hour crisis hotline; an emergency shelter (Rosalie House); and a transitional housing program (Brennan House). more

Multi-Service Center - Homeless Shelter
The largest homeless shelter in Northern California, the MSC-South shelters more than 400 homeless men and women every night, providing two meals a day, drop-in medical care, mental health and substance abuse case management, and support groups for those recovering from trauma. Emergency clothing, shower and laundry facilities, and a library and computer lab help shelter residents take steps toward changing their circumstances. more

Vincentian Help Desk
The Help Desk is a lifeline for those who are low-income or homeless, helping people meet their most basic needs for clean clothes, shoes without holes, a warm coat and a bag of groceries – with dignity and respect. It is staffed almost entirely by volunteers and stocked with donations from local parishes, community groups and local businesses. more

Ozanam Center: Lucille Withe Center and the Wellness Center
A social model drug and alcohol detoxification and recovery center offering care and hope to homeless and low-income men and women each year, the Ozanam Center comprises two distinct elements.

The Lucille Withe Center provides the first step to sobriety, offering up to seven days of safe shelter, a clean bed, hot meals and individualized care. more

The Wellness Center works in tandem to emphasize an integrative mind-body-spirit approach to supporting clients in maintaining their recovery through meditation, exercise, spirituality, support groups and good nutrition. more

Conferences
Our work has always relied upon the faithful, modest work of dedicated individuals helping those in need, one-on-one. While our programs make us one of the largest social service providers in San Francisco, the backbone of the St. Vincent de Paul Society of San Francisco is our parish-based Conferences - groups of men and women with a common concern for and a desire to help the less fortunate. Today, the St. Vincent de Paul Society of San Francisco has Conferences based in Catholic parishes throughout San Francisco. Conference members make home visits to the elderly, homebound and otherwise in-need, deliver boxes of food during the holidays, make sandwiches for the homeless, collect and distribute food and blankets, pick up groceries and medicine and provide transportation for the infirm, provide furniture for the newly housed, help with utility bills, serve meals and volunteer throughout the Society's programs. Each Conference determines who it will help and how. more