"The poor person is a unique person of God's fashioning with an inalienable right to respect. You must not be content with tiding the poor over the poverty crisis. You must study their condition and the injustices which brought about such poverty, with the aim of long term improvement", so said Frederic Ozanam, the founder of the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul in 1833.

Fredric Ozanam was a 20 year old French university student who was appalled by the poverty and hardship he saw all around him in early nineteenth century France. Unjust employment practices were widespread as the Industrial Revolution was causing turbulent social upheaval. Fredric gathered a group of colleagues and together they began visiting poor people in their homes offering practical support and friendship, establishing the St Vincent de Paul Society.

Today, the St Vincent de Paul Society has 40,000 members and volunteers working to assist people in need and combat social injustice across Australia. Internationally, the Society operates in 130 countries and has over 950,000 members.

St Vincent de Paul Society Victoria consists of over 7,000 members and volunteers assisting more than 540,000 people in need each year within their local communities. Assistance is provided to people in the areas of aged care, homelessness, outreach services, family violence support, drug and alcohol rehabilitation, supported employment options and health services.

For more information visit: http://www.vinnies.org.au/