St. Vincent De Paul of Juneau lost its leader this summer, but the charitable organization continues to move forward in his absence and is looking to offer even more services.<\/p>\n
Dan Austin, who had been with the organization for more than 20 years, died in July<\/a>. The board picked up the slack for a while and then appointed Bradley Perkins as the interim manager. Maureen Hall, the president of the board, said the organization will eventually move on to hire a permanent replacement for Austin.<\/p>\n “We are definitely in the transition period,” Hall said, “but there’s a great staff in place at St. Vincent’s that Dan had a high degree of confidence in.”<\/p>\n St. Vincent is planning to honor Austin’s legacy by renovating its main facility and naming it the Dan Austin Transitional Support Services Center (TSSC). St. Vincent’s thrift shop moved<\/a> this summer, opening up room at the main facility.<\/p>\n According to a letter<\/a> from Perkins to the City and Borough of Juneau’s Community Development Department, the upgrades will provide office space for the Community Navigators program<\/a> — which works as a case management service to help homeless people find housing and employment.<\/p>\n The TSSC will also provide laundry, food service, showers, a consolidated food pantry and more options for those who benefit from St. Vincent’s services. As of mid-September, Hall said, 52 people were in St. Vincent housing. The organization has four permanent housing units, 21 transitional units (where people can stay for a maximum of two years) and one unit for staff. Hall said they also serve people who live off the premises too with their food pantry and various outreach programs.<\/p>\n To do all of this, St. Vincent is pursuing $850,000 worth of federal Community Development Block Grant funding. The grant application is due Dec. 7, according to CBJ Assembly meeting materials.<\/p>\n Numerous community organizations — The Glory Hall Homeless Shelter, Aiding Women in Abuse and Rape Emergencies (AWARE), the Juneau Reentry Coalition, Haven House and others — wrote letters to the CBJ in support of the TSSC. They all pledged to help the facility in some way, whether it’s supplying food or connecting people with the TSSC’s services.<\/p>\n