St. Vincent De Paul of Tacoma, Pierce County

Small Agency, Big Results – Walking with Our Neighbors All the Way from Homelessness to Stability

Celebrating 100 years of service, St. Vincent de Paul of Tacoma, Pierce County has been the place neighbors turn when there's nowhere else to go. More than just a Thrift Store — we have quietly been helping our neighbors in need move from crisis to stability since 1926. Last year, we helped more than 40,000 people in Pierce County. 

**This year's GiveBIG contributions directly support our vehicle program — the fuel, maintenance, and delivery capacity that make our outreach possible!** 

More about our programs:

Our two walk-in Community Resource Centers located in South Tacoma provide safety, compassion, and practical help every single day: case management, showers, food, laundry, clothing, emergency financial assistance, and emergency shelter assistance that lead to stability. Our Street Outreach Team goes to the homeless encampments to provide supplies and care to reach those who can't make it to us.

Our results speak for themselves

💛 85–95% of people who come to us ready for housing find a place to stay - we provided rental deposits and permanently housed over 500 people last year! 

💛 $1.2 million in direct assistance prevented utility shutoffs, eviction, and family displacement last year

💛 We just opened a day shelter that's just for families and young people

We're small, but our impact ripples across Pierce County. Every dollar stays here, helping local individuals find safety, dignity, and hope.

Our Work in Action

"David" is a single father who moved to Washington with the promise of steady work. Shortly after arriving, the job fell through. He was in a new city where he didn't know anyone, with two little kids, sleeping in a car in winter. He couldn't enroll his older child in school without an address. He felt lost and alone.

Our case managers helped him find the one shelter with open beds and made sure he got there. When he called back the next day, he sounded lighter — with support and a good night's rest, he felt able to tackle next steps. He was soon back to work. His daughter Saren was excited to go to school each day, and that relaxed energy passed on to her younger brother Maurice.

David said that caring support, at the exact moment he almost lost hope, was his turning point.

"Jamie" came to us with her family, on the verge of eviction. Our staff contacted her landlord, negotiated a plan, and kept Jamie and her kids housed. She calls it a "miracle" — we call it Tuesday.

We see stories like this every day. Everyone who comes to us is at a vulnerable moment. We want to be the ones who look them in the eye and say: We care about you. What do you need.

Demand Has Surged 50%

Last year, we served 40,000 neighbors. This year, we expect 60,000. 

Your GiveBIG gift is critical and helps provide:

Why your dollar goes further with us:

-$25 provides one day's worth of food for a family of 5 in our motel shelter program, helping with sustenance and the ability to concentrate

-$50 provides transportation to work or school for 1 week, allowing a family to maintain jobs and school while we help with housing

-$100 provides 1 night of shelter for a family when local family shelters are full - so they are safe, instead of sleeping in cars or outside

-$250 provides furniture for a family leaving our shelter and entering moving into their own home

-$550 provides a week of shelter - that's less time in the cold, and helps families them maintain a safe base to continue supportive services

It's critical to us that more of your dollar goes to people in need. We reached over 43,000 people last year with a lean team. By stretching your dollar, we are grateful to say "yes" to more people.

Our solutions are far more effective — and far cheaper — than the hidden costs of homelessness: eviction, chronic illness, kids missing school, and families torn apart.

Your support helps change lives!

Who We Are

St. Vincent de Paul of Tacoma, Pierce County is a century-old nonprofit helping neighbors in crisis with housing, food, and essential support. Our mission: accompany every person from hardship to stability and hope.

We provide:

• Walk-in case management
• The only drop-in family-friendly place to shower, do laundry, and cook while unhoused
• Culturally diverse staff including Spanish-speaking and Native American navigators
• Staff with lived experience who know which resources work — and who will go above and beyond to find that one overnight bed or safe apartment

Here, our clients are neighbors.

Help Us Reach $50,000

GiveBIG is our biggest community fundraiser of the year. Your gift fills the gap between rising need and limited public funding — keeping households in need safe, warm, and together. We housed 500 people last year - please help us house even more this year.

100% of your money stays in Pierce County. 

Make sure no one walks the journey alone. Give now. Walk with us.

Help us walk people all the way home.