Conference News and Notes

for Wednesday, January 18, 2023

Sent to all Vincentians & Staff

Vincentian Reflection for the Third Sunday in Ordinary Time

January 22, 2023

Gospel: (Matthew 4:12-23) When Jesus heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew to Galilee. …From that time on, Jesus began to preach and say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” As he was walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon who is called Peter, and his brother Andrew, casting a net into the sea; they were fishermen. He said to them, “Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men.” At once they left their nets and followed him. He walked along from there and saw two other brothers, James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John. They were in a boat, with their father mending nets. He called them, and immediately they left their boat and their father and followed him. He went around all of Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and curing every disease and illness among the people.

Reflection: Every encounter with Jesus provokes a response; this gospel shows a response of discipleship that is quick and decisive. Our own call to discipleship comes at our baptism, but unlike the disciples in the gospel our response isn’t usually so quick and decisive. We spend our whole life trying to see the great Light that is the Savior of the world. But we practice the following of Jesus in the simple, everyday things that come our way: the friend who needs a listening ear, the elderly parent who needs a comforting phone call, the sick child who interrupts our sleep. In all of these instances do we hear Jesus’ refrain: repent? Turn from ourselves toward those in need. Turn from darkness to light. (Living Liturgy, p.50)

Vincentian Meditation: “Lord Jesus, teach me by your example. Make me, through the vigor of my efforts, set the world on fire. I want to give myself to you, body and soul, heart and mind and spirit so that I may always do what gladdens you. In your mercy, grant me the grace to have you continue in me and through me your saving work.” St. Vincent de Paul (McKenna, Praying with Vincent, p.67)

In what simple, every day experiences have you heard Jesus’ refrain: repent, turn from yourself and toward those in need?

Your Formation and Training Opportunities & Tips

Feast Day Mass at our NOC on Tuesday, 2/7: As the new year unfolds, we will rapidly come upon the feast day of one of our great Patronesses in The Society – Bl. Rosalie Rendu – who helped guide Bl. Frederic Ozanam in meeting the needs of many in their community, starting with the home visit and branching out into nearly every area of need that became known as they accompanied neighbors. We invite you to join us for a special Mass at the Neyer Outreach Center (NOC) Chapel at noon on Tuesday, 2/7, to commemorate her feast. Space is limited in the chapel so advanced registration is required, please sign up on our Signup Genius or contact Chris Kelley to register.

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Accompany with Love – New Prayer Partners: Join with fellow Vincentians, staff, and volunteers over the coming months as we embark upon our next round of “Prayer Partners”. The next quarter will go from the week of 1/23 until Easter Sunday on 4/9/2023. Please accept this invitation to invest some time to get to know a fellow Vincentian, volunteer, or council staff member and accompany one another throughout these coming weeks of the new year and through Lent, leaning on one another as we grow closer in service. If you are looking to join this accompanying ministry, which only takes a few minutes per week, please signup using this link or contact Chris Kelley before Monday, 1/23.

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Our Next Ozanam Orientation: The next Ozanam Orientation for new Vincentians, as well as those seeking to reflect more on their Vincentian identity, will be at Good Shepherd (Montgomery/Symmes Township) on Saturday, 2/18, 9:00am-3:00pm.To sign-up, please follow this link here , or reach out directly to Chris Kelley to register. The Ozanam Orientation is a great way to gain a deeper insight into who we are, how we strive to live out our call to serve Christ in our neighbor, and meet Vincentians from across our area. We look forward to seeing you!

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Chris Kelley, our Formation and Service Learning Director, can be reached at 513.345.1767 or ckelley@svdpcincinnati.org . 

Sharing the Impact of Your/Our Good Works

Can You Offer a Story?

Efforts are now underway on our District Council’s Annual Report for our 2022 fiscal year which concluded September 30, 2022. Each year, this report highlights our organization’s community contributions & accomplishments, thanks donors for their support, builds trust with our partners, and inspires readers through the mission of our Society...and the zeal with which our Vincentians & staff advance this mission.

Sharing personal stories is a crucial aspect of our annual report. We strive to do so in a spirit of love and in a manner that is respectful of the dignity we all share as children of God. Your help in this effort is deeply appreciated.

We’d like to hear from you - our Vincentians and staff - in one of the following ways: 

1. “No work of charity is foreign to the Society.” We know there are many forms of support offered to our neighbors that can’t necessarily be captured in a number, chart or graph. Additionally, we know our Vincentians are infinitely inventive in the ways they find to help. We ask you to consider this – “In the past year, how did I find myself providing support in an unexpected way? In what way(s) was I inventive?”
2. Rising to the challenge. What unexpected challenge did you face last year, and how did you overcome that challenge? This does not necessarily need to be in relation to providing service to a neighbor. In what ways did your Conference grow?

For those who are interested in providing this vital feedback, please reach out to Kristen Gallagher, Marketing & Communications Manager, by email at kgallagher@SVDPcincinnati.org , or through a phone call at 513.562.8853. Kristen is eager to connect with you. Thanks in advance for helping make this Annual Report a more engaging testimonial to our impact and a more compelling call to action for all who value our Vincentian way.

Great News of Progress as We Walk With Our Neighbors

Our Becky Catino Women’s Stability, Employment, and Empowerment Program has experienced it’s first round of training graduations in December. Four women are now well on their way to self-sufficiency graduating with the following credentials: Bachelor of Psychology, Certified Phlebotomy, Certified Clinical Medical Assistant, and State Tested Nursing Aid. Check out this photo of participant, Erin, and her instructor from Great Oaks on graduation day. Erin is now a certified phlebotomist!

Have Beacons of Light Progress to Share from

Your Conference & Family of Parishes?

We'd love to hear and share in this Conference News and Notes each week. You might just inspire others as we seize this opportunity to advance how we live our Vincentian vocation, engage our neighbors, transform our community, and evolve our Archdiocese. Please contact Tom Roberts at troberts@svdpcincinnati.org or 513.345.4910.

What is "Medicaid Unwinding" and How Will it Affect

Our Neighbors & SVDP?

Perspective from our Charitable Pharmacy

Since the COVID-19 pandemic began in March 2020, Ohio Medicaid beneficiaries have not been required to prove eligibility to retain Medicaid benefits. However, on 4/1/23, the requirement for annual Medicaid re-enrollment returns, which is estimated to result in the cancellation of Medicaid benefits for up to 14 million Americans. Many of our neighbors are at risk of losing Medicaid benefits which could result in much higher need for our services, specifically impacting your Conference, our Council, our Charitable Pharmacy, and our food pantries network. This is advance notice. To prevent gaps in coverage, encourage all neighbors to gain online access to their Medicaid benefits at benefits.Ohio.gov and ensure their address and phone numbers are up-to-date.

Want more info about Medicaid Unwinding? Please use this link:

https://www.kff.org/medicaid/issue-brief/10-things-to-know-about-the-unwinding-of-the-medicaid-continuous-enrollment-provision/

Voice of the Poor Nugget

Our Council's Voice of the Poor Committee will offer a Resource Spotlight in February on the topic of landlord and tenant rights and responsibilities. Do you have questions about landlord and tenant responsibilities that you would like to have answered?  For example:

• How much can the landlord charge in late fees when rent is not paid on time?
• Why did the landlord not return my security deposit? Is this money just gone?
• Is a lease automatically renewed after one year?
• May an apartment complex charge a significant amount for a handicap parking space near the front door?
• Who is responsible for an infestation of roaches - tenants or landlords? And what about bed bugs?
• Why can my neighbor have a “pet” when the lease states “No pets allowed”?
• What’s the #1 cause for discrimination in housing?

More information will follow, including the details of how to participate in this Resource Spotlight next month. Please send your questions to JanePhelan02@gmail.com , and your Voice of the Poor Committee will work to get you answers.

SVDP is Taking New Steps to Protect Vulnerable People Through Safeguarding

In an effort to ensure the safety and care of children and vulnerable adults, beginning on October 1, 2022, all St. Vincent de Paul Councils in the US were required to create and follow Safeguarding Policies that are in compliance with the Diocese in which they serve. 

Safeguarding is the act of protecting people who are vulnerable from harm. It involves reducing and preventing risks of harm and working to ensure that vulnerable individuals and communities are safe and empowered. This work recognizes the human rights of all persons and makes efforts to ensure that those rights are not violated. In the context of the St Vincent de Paul Society, safeguarding involves working to ensure that in seeking to assist people in need, we are committed to do no harm to their health and wellbeing or put them at risk of abuse or neglect. Safeguarding applies to children and young people. It also applies to other vulnerable people, acknowledging that people could be vulnerable to abuse or neglect by reason of their age, physical or mental disability, or poverty and reliance on support services. In committing to safeguarding, we are not just seeking to ensure that abuse is prevented, reported, and acted upon; we are also seeking to create safe and respectful environments.

In the coming months, you will be hearing more about new efforts to ensure that Vincentians, staff, and volunteers of SVDP-Cincinnati follow this policy. We hope that all will see this as another step in our ongoing efforts to better serve our neighbors as we grow together in holiness. If you have any questions about Safeguarding at SVDP, please feel free to contact Sunnie Johnson-Lain at slain@svdpcincinnati.org or 513.345.4966.

Winter Coat Vouchers

Any Hamilton County resident who has not yet received a coat from St. Vincent de Paul is welcome to come to our Neyer Outreach Center (NOC, 1146 Bank St) to request a coat voucher. These vouchers can be redeemed at our Clothing and Home Resource Center (in our Liz Carter Center, across the street, 1125 Bank St) or any of our 7 SVDP-Cincinnati thrift stores (our Outlet Store on Chickering Avenue excluded). Neighbors must have a photo ID for themselves and any other member of their household for whom they request a coat. Vouchers are good for thirty days after the day they’re written. The last day to redeem coat vouchers will be Tuesday, February 28. We will continue to write vouchers during February, but all February vouchers will have a 2/28/2023 expiration date.

Vincentians may request a coat on behalf of their neighbor using the following process:

•  Check for eligibility in CMS. Neighbors are eligible to receive one coat per household member per winter (from either a voucher or a distribution event). Previous coat assistance is listed in CMS under Programs – Coats through Liz Carter.
• Email Erin at enowak@svdpcincinnati.org to request a voucher. Please include:

1. The name and date of birth of each household member who will be receiving a coat (including the head of household)
2. Where the voucher should be sent (the address of either the neighbor or the Conference member who will be delivering the voucher)

• Please ensure that the neighbor is aware they will need some form of ID for each person listed on their voucher. Acceptable forms of ID are listed below, as well as on the voucher itself:

1. Driver’s license or other photo ID (including VESTA card, MARC ID, or work photo ID); or
2. Social Security card; or
3. Birth certificate; or
4. Medical/Insurance card; or
5. Lease agreement with household members listed

• Our Outreach Center Programs team at the NOC will take care of writing and mailing out the voucher, as well as entering the assistance in CMS.

We are still eagerly and thankfully accepting donations of winter coats which will supply these voucher redemptions and provide a start for our winter coats assistance next fall. Huge thanks to all who have donated, have hosted drives, and continue to attract coats.

CMS Tips, Tricks, & Transformations

Release 4.1 of CMS was implemented for our Cincinnati District Council on 1/4/2023. There are 4.1 training videos on our CMS Support Resources page. This release allows for a bit of streamlining during case entry which should help ease the data entry part as well as provide for more consistent closure of cases.

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We have a new CMS Statistics report coming soon to the Member Support and Forms page of our SVDP website. This new report is oriented to your Family of Parishes whereas the other CMS Stats report is specific to individual Conferences. Please keep an eye out for this new report, entitled “CMS Statistics – Parish Families”.

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Does your Conference need any CMS follow-up training? Want to refine your CMS skills & learn tips to utilize CMS more efficiently and effectively? Ready to embrace & implement CMS if you are a member of the final 6 of our Conferences who are yet to deploy this powerful tool? If so, arrangements can be made by contacting John Wessel @ 513.562.1823 or via email, jwessel@svdpcincinnati.org .

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Sharing a few lessons learned as we assembled and consolidated our Conferences' reports for FY2022 ended 9/30/2022:

• In the transitional year your Conference implements CMS, please be sure that you properly sum your pre-CMS activity with the activity you record in CMS from implementation date forward.
• Please do not record adjustments from the ending balance of a period just completed to the beginning balance of the new period. If you become aware of an adjustment needed (examples: to correct an error or to write off an outstanding check that has never been and will never be presented for payment), the entry needs to be netted in the activity of the current period. Please ask John Wessel or Alec Jewell if you have questions.
• If your Conference has more than 1 bank account, you need to sum the activity and the balances in your Conference's CMS record. Otherwise, you/we are under-reporting your Conference's (and our Council's) activity and assets. There are very, very few good reasons for your Conference to have more than 1 bank account. This all falls under the guidance of Keep It Simple whenever possible. Questions? Please ask Tom Roberts, Alec Jewell, or John Wessel.

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Our 1st quarter of our 2023 fiscal year concluded on December 31, 2022. Please be sure you have completed your CMS entries for all your good works - including the time & mileage you invested in your Vincentian vocation - so your Conference Treasurer can generate quarter-end reports. Treasurers: Please see the CMS training videos (Treasurer section) if you want a refresher on how to close out your check register and generate your quarterly reports. CMS makes these month- & quarterly-end closes so much easier. Please join many of your fellow Conferences who have already submitted their reports for the quarter ended 12/31/2022 - the sooner we can assemble and absorb this data, the sooner it can inform and empower our good works!

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Finally, 2 friendly, helpful reminders:

1. We have been on a new, browser-based, version of CMS for well over a year. Some folks appear to be using the old, installed version of CMS. That old version should have been removed from your programs list and you should only be using the new version via your web browser. Please uninstall your old version and any associated icons on your desktop which activate the old version.
2. Training Videos – Please be sure to have all of your members view the CMS training videos before using CMS. If your role is the administrator or treasurer in CMS, it is always a good idea to review the videos specific to those roles.

Free Income Tax Preparation Services Available

Free Tax Prep, an initiative of United Way of Greater Cincinnati funded by the IRS, provides free (federal & state) income tax preparation and filing services for low to moderate income neighbors residing in our Greater Cincinnati area. These same services are available to neighbors on fixed incomes, neighbors with disabilities, and those with limited English language abilities. To learn more, explore United Way's webpage by clicking here , or calling United Way of Greater Cincinnati's 211 helpline or 513.762.7900. Please also note that United Way is seeking volunteers to help provide this service. More information about volunteering is available at this link to their website page. 

More Resources for our Conferences and Neighbors

Conference Assistance Fund (CAF)  

Our final December activity totals:

• You submitted 176 fresh applications
• We approved 166 applications; 3 were declined and 2 withdrawn
• These approvals totaled $71,777 in assistance extended to these 166 neighbor families/households

This means we extended $219,186 in CAF to 501 neighbor families/households in our quarter ended 12/31/2022.

Our January activity to-date:

• You've submitted 86 fresh applications
• We've approved 94 applications; 3 have been declined and 3 withdrawn
• We have 9 applications currently in process

You can check on the status of CAF applications you have submitted by going to the Member Support and Forms page of our SVDP-Cincinnati website and clicking on CAF Application Status, or use this link:

https://app.powerbi.com/view?r=eyJrIjoiNjQyZDg5NmMtNWQ1ZC00OTAyLWIwYmUtZTA2NGMwZmZmNmZiIiwidCI6ImY2NWUwODUxLTYxM2QtNDEzNS05ZTE2LTUwOWFkYThjMDY2YiJ9 .

This resource is reserved for Vincentian members only; access to this resource can not be shared with neighbors, landlords, etc, under any circumstances.

In mid-October, our Council temporarily augmented our original FY2023 CAF budget provision of $60,000 per month. Our Council subsidized $80,000 per month for October, November, & December, 2022. Our Council has also augmented our January budget provision to $80,000. And we carried over under-extended December provisions of $20,814. Please note:

We can extend this Council subsidy plus any (welcomed and encouraged) twinning to CAF from fellow Conferences. If your Conference is currently blessed with funds exceeding 2-3 months of your normal operating outflow, please know that we have fellow Conferences in search of funds to invest in lifting neighbors right now. Please contact Tom Roberts, 513.345.4910 or troberts@svdpcincinnati.org , for more info or to twin.

We continue to encourage you to guide our neighbors to other publicly- & privately-funded resources available within our community...and to nurture relationships that extend well beyond immediate basic needs (material) assistance to provide lasting impact.

Publicly-Funded Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERA 2)

ERA 2, funded through the City of Cincinnati, was available for qualified/eligible tenant neighbors who reside within the City of Cincinnati. The City's funding was committed to us only through December, 2022. We (Conferences) processed and approved 132 ERA 2 applications (of 139 submitted) which resulted in $398,488 in assistance to our neighbors. (These totals have been revised since last week as we successfully got a last one in "at the buzzer".) Huge thanks to those Conferences and Vincentians who submitted ERA 2 applications...and to Olivia, Alec, Mary Reid, and our Finance team for turning these applications into assistance extended to our neighbors.

We will share any new developments as they present themselves.

Rahe Beds Fund & Program

We are happy to report that our frames shipment has arrived and we are once again able to redeem bed vouchers. Any voucher with a January 2023 expiration date will be honored through January 31, no rewrite needed. All January requests have been printed and mailed. Due to the number of beds requested this month, we will be unable to offer any additional vouchers. We will again accept six requests per Conference starting February 1. Our online request form can be found here .

Our new twin & full bed models should be considerably easier to pick-up and transport or deliver. We are optimistic that this will result in a higher redemption rate of the vouchers we issue, which means more of our neighbors having the beds we aspire to provide.

If your Conference is considering purchasing beds to extend as assistance, you can get info, including current pricing, or purchase by contacting Dave Chidlow, Stores Retail Resource Manager, at dchidlow@svdpcincinnati.org or 513.853.1002. Your purchased beds will be picked up at our CHRC within our Liz Carter Center. Please be aware that the bed pricing has changed with our new bed vendor.

A limited number of cribs are available for neighbors with children younger than two. They can be requested by emailing rahebedfund@svdpcincinnati.org with the neighbor’s name, date of birth, and address. 

Metro Bus Passes (Everybody Rides Metro)

Your Conference has access to Metro single-day bus passes to be extended to neighbors for use for any of 3 defined purposes:

1. Commute to/from new employment

2. Commute to/from our Bank St services hub or other community social services

3. Commute to/from medical appointments

Please understand that these passes are sourced through the Everybody Rides Metro program and our Council is required to comply with the above-referenced usages and submit reports of passes distributed. Please also understand that your Conference will need to record bus passes extended in CMS for the neighbors receiving this assistance. Our Bus Pass Guidelines sheet for Conferences is available to you on the Members Support page of our website https://www.svdpcincinnati.org/conferences-members/member-support/

or use this link to go directly to this document:

https://www.svdpcincinnati.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Bus-Tickets-Policy.pdf

If your Conference wants to learn more about this program or request passes, please contact Alec Jewell, Conferences Manager, at ajewell@svdpcincinnati.org or 513.345.4983.

Our Re-Entry Program

Our Re-Entry Program Manager, Dion Crockett, is eager to work with you to assist neighbors you are serving who have been affected by the criminal justice system. If you would like to host Dion at a Conference meeting, get together with him in another way, or discuss a particular situation, Dion can be reached at 513.562.8851 or dcrockett@svdpcincinnati.org . 

Cooking Improv with La Soupe

Our partner La Soupe teams with our Catino Choice Pantry to present monthly Cooking Improv demonstrations in the Teaching Kitchen at our NOC. Instructors from La Soupe and volunteers engage participants on basic cooking principles and how to use what you have to create delicious, nutritious meals. All recipes are based off ingredients found daily in our Catino Choice Pantry. Neighbors are encouraged to sample the delicious dishes and discuss preparation and ingredients with our staff, volunteers, and resident La Soupe instructor, Chef Mona! 

These sessions are held on the first Wednesday of each month - which means our next event is Wednesday, 2/1, 11am-1pm. No pre-registration is required.

Feel free to share this information with your neighbors, or if you’re interested in getting involved in our Teaching Kitchen programming, please reach out to Demi Schoenherr at dschoenherr@svdpcincinnati.org for more information. ​

Haircuts from the Heart in our NOC - Please note service frequency enhancement!

This is a free haircut program, courtesy of our partner Franciscan Ministries. Starting in February, stylist Margarita will be in our NOC every Monday, 9am-noon, cutting hair in a room on the 2nd floor. Our next haircut date is Monday, 2/6. Neighbors are accepted on a walk-in basis, and should sign in at our NOC reception desk upon arrival.

Education Center Within Our Neyer Outreach Center

Our NOC Education Center is available for our neighbors and Vincentians to use during our operating hours: Monday - Friday, 8am - 4pm, and Saturday, 8am - noon.

Language Service Available to our Conferences

A growing number of our Conferences are experiencing increased interactions with Latino members of our community…and are struggling to effectively communicate with neighbors who are most fluent or exclusively fluent in Spanish. We have contracted a dedicated language service to help you engage these neighbors in a welcoming, affirming manner. Any Conference member can download the “LanguageLine InSight” app on your smartphone, tablet, or computer at https://insight.languageline.com/ . You simply need to use the Authentication Code 6NN692GLS2 the first time you login. Through this app you will have access to over 40 different languages, including Spanish, via an interpreter. You will have the option of either audio or visual (for those needing sign language); we strongly encourage using visual only when you must. Please be efficient in your utilization as our Council pays by the minute for this service; visual is nearly twice as expensive as audio. When you access the service, you will be asked for your name and department, you simply need to state your name, then “St Vincent de Paul Cincinnati Conferences”, then your Conference name. Be sure to only call through the app; you cannot use this service through a regular phone call.

Our Charitable Pharmacy, Social Services, and some Conferences are already using this tool to better engage our Latino neighbors.

If you have any questions or are having trouble accessing the service, please reach out to Alec or Olivia of your Conferences Support Team.

A final seed to plant: If your Conference is among those engaging more neighbors preferring or needing to communicate in Spanish, please consider this an opportunity to seek the addition of Spanish-speaking members. This could enhance your responsive communication and expand your Conference’s perspective.

Christ Church Plumb Line

Christ Church Cathedral is once again accepting our referrals after their holidays break.

Olivia Scheper, Conferences Support Coordinator, is our central contact point-person. Plumb Line only accepts assistance referrals from this single SVDP point-person.

As a reminder, Plumb Line can assist with $400 of past due rent for neighbors who are currently working.

Please note: Your Conference does not need to enter your request for Plumb Line assistance into CMS when you submit it to Olivia. Olivia will add the referral into CMS once she submits it to Christ Church.  

All referrals to Plumb Line should be sent to:

Olivia Scheper

oscheper@svdpcincinnati.org

Phone: 513.345.4986, ext 239

Please understand and have faith: Plumb Line only communicates with the landlord and the neighbor after our referral is made. Therefore, once we have submitted your neighbor referral to Plumb Line, no news is good news. Christ Church will only communicate with us when they are unable to assist a neighbor or there are difficulties with a case. We should not contact Christ Church for status reports on a referral.

Greater Cincinnati Water Works (GCWW)

GCWW's Emergency Rental Assistance (ERA) Program provides funds for assistance for eligible tenants residing in the City of Cincinnati. There are eligibility stipulations. Tenants must qualify by completing an online application at assistance.mygcww.org .

Renters can also call 513.591.7700 to receive assistance from the call center to complete an application. There is also a flexible payment plan through the PromisePay Portal. GCWW customers can visit GCWW.promise-pay.com for details about the program and how to enroll. Renters not residing in Cincinnati city limits but living in Hamilton County can visit https://erap.hcjfs.org/ for utility assistance. If you need additional materials or information, please contact GCWW at GCWWCares@gcww.cincinnati-oh.gov .

Duke Energy

Duke Energy has released an updated summary of Financial Assistance Available for Ohio & Kentucky Natural Gas and Electric Customers. To learn more, go to the Duke Energy website, click on the Financial Help tab, and then click on Ohio.

Duke encourages us to follow our standard steps for processing pledges on customer accounts. For questions on accounts or pledges for neighbors requesting utility assistance, please contact Duke Energy's Centralized Agency Team at 800.241.3194. Advocates are available Monday through Friday, 7:30am - 5:30pm.

Should our neighbor / their customer not meet Duke's qualifications for assistance, please refer them to Duke's customer care organization at 800.544.6900 where they may find assistance through a flexible installment plan.

State of Ohio Program for Struggling Homeowners

Save the Dream Ohio helps eligible Ohio homeowners facing foreclosure and/or who cannot afford to pay their mortgage payments, utility payments or other related housing costs as a result of economic hardship caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The state of Ohio was awarded $280 million from the U.S. Department of Treasury through the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 for the program. Click here for more information:

Save the Dream Ohio - Managed by the Ohio Housing Finance Agency (ohiohome.org)

Hamilton County COVID Assistance

Our neighbors & you can still find info and resources at https://513relief.org . Hamilton County has recently refreshed funding at Hamilton County Job & Family Services (JFS). Neighbors can apply at 513Relief.org on their mobile device or desktop. The Hamilton County Rent and Utility Program’s application can be submitted on a smart phone. Please note: this funding comes from the same federal pool as ERA and other COVID relief programs, so a neighbor who has previously exhausted their access to this pool will be ineligible. Please refer Hamilton County neighbors who you believe to be eligible.

Cincinnati Eye Institute Foundation (CEIF) Vision Clinic in our Neyer Outreach Center

The Vision Clinic operates by appointment on certain Monday mornings & Thursdays as designated by CEIF. This Vision Clinic will be open on Thursdays only this month and in February, as follows: tomorrow morning (1/19); all day on 1/26; the morning of 2/2; all day on 2/9; the morning of 2/16; and all day on 2/23. A limited number of walk-in exams can also be accommodated. To schedule an appointment, or to inquire for additional info, please call 513.207.6140.

Closing Tidbits on Your Conference News and Notes

• We are averaging approx 930 successful deliveries of our weekly editions, mailing to Conference Members, Conference Presidents, and Bank St Staff via Constant Contact
• We get excited every time we add a new Conference or Team Member to our Vincentian family and our distribution list
• We are consistently achieving open rates of 50% or better of successful deliveries, with the vast majority being in the first 3 days of distribution
• Approx 95% of our “opens” are reported by Constant Contact as occurring on desktop devices vs 5% on mobile devices
• In November & December, we had 3 editions which were opened by > 500 recipients, a new threshold for us; last week's edition makes 4 with > 500 opens!

We thank you for your readership - we welcome your feedback to Tom Roberts at 513.345.4910 or troberts@svdpcincinnati.org - and we are eager for your content, including pictures, to make this weekly connection all the more relevant and empowering for you!

Our Mission

A network of neighbors, inspired by Gospel values, growing in holiness and building a more just world through personal relationships with and service to people in need.

Our Call to Prayer

For the grace to “repent,” turning from ourselves toward those in need,

Merciful God, hear us!

For the grace to respond to the call of discipleship, quickly and decisively,

Merciful God, hear us!

For the grace of healing to all who are ill and alone,

Merciful God, hear us!

Amen.