By Ruth Ann Ruiz
The Post Newspaper Features Editor
Hungry people who need food are given a sack lunch. There is no need to prove income status— just showing up and asking gets you a sack lunch with your choice of a can of mini sausages or a packet of tuna, a bottle of water, and donuts.
It’s one gesture of kindness that provides people in need some hope along with some nourishment.
Paula Tobon has been serving as the executive director of St. Vincent’s House in Galveston since early 2020, which means she led the non-profit through the perilous time of the COVID-19 pandemic. But she doesn’t reflect on that period; rather, she chats about the hope that people seek and find when they come to St. Vincent’s House.
Hope is not just a feeling for her; it is about action.
“Here we make hope into a verb versus a noun,” said Tobon.
Tobon herself remembers a time in her life when hope for a better future was what kept her own family going. She hails from Colombia and explained that during the guerrilla wars of the past several decades, her parents chose to leave everything behind so that their daughters could have a future in the United States.
“My dad was a successful doctor; we were living a good life in Colombia when we left it all and came to the US,” said Tobon.
While her father worked to gain his American medical license, the family lived in government subsidized housing in the Baltimore area she shared.
Her own history combined with her passion for managing service centers creates in her a drive to give people a dignified experience as they seek assistance, and she ensures the actions needed to give people hope are carried out. One such action is the daily lunch giveaway. It’s a simple lunch, given to people who are willing to stand in line in the alley and wait at the back door.
Tobon noticed the word “hope” painted on the back of the building when she first became director of St. Vincent’s House, and she pursued that message through other name branding for St. Vincent’s House. For example, the Hope insignia appears on staff wardrobe and in other places throughout the facility.
Beyond hope and beyond a free sack lunch, the center provides individuals with a wide range of services, including 28 multi-specialty medical clinics. For patients who need physical therapy after an accident or surgery and cannot access it due to lack of funds, the center provides physical therapy.
One such person, who stopped to say hello to Tobon, was very pleased to be able to walk unencumbered due to the physical therapy he received at St Vincent’s House.
Patients can also receive numerous other medical services at St Vincent’s House including vision screenings and glasses, dental clinic, and mental health care.
Paula knows the clients and staff by name and greets them with a smile and a warmth that conveys her sense of commitment to their well-being. People come to St. Vincent’s looking for many forms of assistance, and to the extent they can, the team — which includes trained case managers — provides the services. If they cannot meet the individual’s needs, they work to connect them with support from other agencies in the area.
“We deal with anything that is a barrier to a person’s well-being such as a mom who needs childcare,” said Tobon. “We work with many partners in the community to help people overcome those barriers.”
The services provided at St Vincent’s House include: a food and hygiene pantry, Galveston County Diaper Bank, Narcan dispensary, homelessness prevention, emergency assistance, immigration legal services, a chapel, transportation, financial literacy classes and a notary.
Paula’s vision of hope in the work she does and the services provided at St. Vincent’s House is echoed by the Bishop Assistant of the Episcopal Diocese of Texas.
“At St. Vincent’s House, we witness the Gospel lived out in everyday ways. Through Paula Tobon’s leadership, this ministry continues to be a place of welcome, where dignity is restored, hope is renewed, and the well-being of the Galveston community is strengthened,” said The Rt. Rev. Héctor Monterroso.
St. Vincent’s House is an outreach of the Episcopal Church. Paula herself is a religious woman with a deep faith in God and his goodness.
Paula speaks at different churches in Galveston County on Sundays to educate others on the services at St Vincent’s house and to dispel myths they might have about people who are in need.
In the most recent fiscal year, St Vincent’s House served 12,000 individuals and within those individuals there were 100,000 service encounters. Paula read those numbers for me at the end of our chat.
“Life is just so expensive now. So many people are in crisis situations,” said Tobon.
St Vincents house is located at 2817 Post Office Street in Galveston. For more information you can find them at: https://www.stvhope.org
