Dear Brother and Sisters,

Conference Presidents, please share this monthly news with your members to keep everyone connected with what is happening at all levels of the Society. Particular and Central Council Presidents, please share this monthly news with your Vincentian members who may not belong to a Conference, and feel free to email questions or comments to linda@ssvp.on.ca.

SPIRITUAL MATTERS
The August spiritual reflection recommends gospel reflections that can be shared at Conference and Council meetings. Contact denise@ssvp.on.ca should you have questions on spiritual resources.

ONRC FALL MEETING
We look forward to seeing you in Brantford for the September 20/21 meeting. These meetings are open to all members and store managers.

Refer to our Upcoming Events for agenda, workshop and hotel information. Be sure to book your room accommodation before August 20 and complete your registration for the meeting by September 6. It is important that you pre-register selecting your workshops on Saturday and activities you plan to attend on Friday to assist with logistical planning.

Please note the Social Justice meeting on Friday afternoon will be from 2:45 – 4:45 pm (not 2:00 to 4:00 pm as noted in an earlier communication).

WORLD DAY OF THE POOR
Pope Francis has declared the Third World Day of the Poor to be November 17, 2019. His message shares that the hope of the poor shall not perish forever.

Promotional materials will be created by National Council of Canada for the World Day of the Poor Campaign to be used by Conferences, Councils and SSVP Stores to help raise awareness. These materials will be available on the National website mid-August.

NATIONAL COUNCIL
Workshop and guest presentations from the National AGA held in June are now available on the National website.

YOUTH
Be sure to check out the wonderful work being done by our young people across the province.
http://ssvp.on.ca/youth/articles.php?event=brant1
http://ssvp.on.ca/youth/conference.php?site=KitchenerWaterloo

And read about the wonderful experience shared when our young people visited the Ten Friends Café in Windsor when at the National AGA.

Students from Hamilton-Wentworth Catholic District School Board collect school supplies for the pencil case project. The school supplies are being shipped to Trinidad/Tobago this year.

Should you have questions about engaging and recruiting youth, reach out to one of our ONRC youth representatives, sophia@on.ca or lillian@ssvp.on.ca.

SOCIAL JUSTICE & ADVOCACY
National Council has approved the development of a National Housing Campaign focusing on the theme of "safe, secure and affordable housing is a human right".

A National Housing Campaign Committee has been created. They have developed a letter and short survey in an effort to gather relevant information and comments as they develop an action campaign this fall, which will be done in such a way that any region or council can customize it to their own region or community. I ask that anyone who can provide valuable input on this topic, please complete the survey by September 30, 2019. Once these surveys are reviewed, you will hear more information in the fall on what can be done by Councils on this very important issue. Please contact jim@ssvp.on.ca should you have any questions.

The spring Ontario budget has cut major funding to legal aid clinics. These clinics help those at risk gain access to critical legal services to help them address housing, income support, refugee status and other life-affecting problems. Please consider contacting your local MPPs and Ontario Premier as indicated in the link Legal Aid Clinics asking them to reverse the recent cuts and stop future cuts.

OZANAM EDUCATION FUND
The Ozanam Education Team is being expanded and reorganized in order to spread the work load amongst all members and to improve the effectiveness of the program. If you are interested in being part of the Ozanam Education Team to provide assistance for people receiving post secondary education, contact jhartnett2@cogeco.ca.

NORTH OF 60
Check out a brief summer update on the North of 60 project helping our Inuit sisters and brothers. Should you have questions or wish to become involved with North of 60, reach out to pegg@ssvp.on.ca

PASS UPS
Thank you to the Conferences and Councils who have already sent your pass up dues for this year. For those who still need to send pass up dues, please reference the January letter and send your contribution to Ontario Regional Council, 38-1502 Warbler Woods Walk, London, ON N6K 0A7.

FLOODING AND ASSISTANCE
Should your Conference be struggling financially as a result of a natural disaster such as flooding resulting in receiving a number of requests for assistance from families, please reach out to linda@ssvp.on.ca and we will contact National Council for assistance from the National Emergency Fund set up at the National level.

GREEN ONRC SHIRTS
Some people who attended the National AGA questioned the green SSVP shirts being worn by the ONRC Executive team. Should you be interested in ordering a green SSVP shirt, contact linda@ssvp.on.ca and I will share information with you on the type of clothing available and cost.

Feel free to contact linda@ssvp.on.ca or sarah@ssvp.on.ca at any time should you have questions.

Thank you to our 5,000 members across Ontario for all your amazing work reaching out and helping persons in need.

Linda Dollard
President