Depaul Ireland is a subsidiary of Depaul International and part of the Depaul group, a group of charities that works across the world with a mission to end homelessness and change the lives of those affected by it.
23500
Individuals supported each year
760000
Meals provided
630000
Beds available to children and adults
636
Volunteers
We provide a platform for group members to share and develop new approaches to ending homelessness – informed by best practice and stemming from their own experience. We also establish new subsidiaries in countries where we can improve what is on offer, or, where there is an identified lack of services for people experiencing homelessness.
Three of these organisations came together to establish the Depaul Group in 1989 – the Daughters of Charity, the Passage Day Centre and the Society of St Vincent de Paul. Depaul began its work in the UK in 1989 as a direct response to the growth of youth homelessness on the streets of London.
It quickly grew into a national charity in the UK and, in 2002, began expanding internationally, starting in Ireland where it introduced a new approach – low threshold – which had a significant impact on the issue of rough sleeping . Building out of the experience in Ireland the group then expanded to other European countries and the USA.
Sr Sarah King-Turner, Sr Barbara Smith and Mark McGreevy
St Vincent de Paul
We owe our inspiration to St Vincent de Paul, a major Catholic social reformer in 17th Century France. St Vincent devoted his life to helping vast numbers of poor, sick and homeless people across Europe during his lifetime. He is often referred to as the “Patron Saint of Charity” and today over 150 charitable organisations, comprising a membership of two million people, claim him as their founder.
Celebrating 30 years of Depaul
All Depaul Group members are independent entities in their own right and focus on the specific needs of people experiencing homelessness in their country. From its very beginnings Depaul has been inclusive of all faiths or none. What holds us together as a Group are our Vincentian values which come directly from the teachings of St Vincent de Paul himself. These values include a commitment to helping the poorest of the poor and to placing actions ahead of words.
The Famvin Homeless Alliance is a Vincentian Family global initiative supporting established and emerging homelessness initiatives across the globe. We understand homelessness as those living on the street, refugees and those displaced from their home, and slum dwellers in inadequate housing.
Our vision is a world where everyone has a place to call home and a stake in their community.
The FHA was set up in 2017 to mark the 400th anniversary of the Vincentian Charism. The Vincentian Family is a global Catholic movement rooted in the spirituality and example of St Vincent de Paul. With a membership of over two million people.
Read more about the Famvin Alliance here.
