Meet Darren, a Beneficiary

“I was at my wits’ end. I never thought I would be in this situation. St Vincent’s has really helped my family through this.”

Darren has always worked, but when the lockdown started, he lost his job. Unable to feed his family, he turned to St Vincent’s Leeds for help.  
 
He knew about St Vincent’s as his two daughters, aged 6 and 8, used to go there after school to buy books. Initially Darren was embarrassed, standing in the queue for takeaway meals with his hood up and not making eye contact. Over time, he realised that there was no judgement and relaxed. As well as receiving hot meals, he got new books for his daughters and chocolate eggs for them at Easter.  
 
With employment advice from St Vincent’s, he was able to access Universal Credit, and in June he found a new job.

St Vincent’s Leeds, a vibrant community hub based in East Leeds, is dedicated to supporting the local community with a wide range of free services, expert debt advice and counselling and emergency food support. During lockdown, St Vincent’s Leeds provided more than 14,000 free meals and kept its counselling and debt advice phone line open to clients.

Learn more about our St Vincent’s Centres and how they have supported people like Darren and their families through the Covid-19 crisis.