With a little help
from his friends

By Lauren Fritsky
Times Staff Writer

Joe Bradley used to spend most of his time outside.
As a self-employed paint contractor, he went to work each day with the sun on his face and the breeze in his hair.
"Imagine this: It’s a beautiful day. The Cubs and the Phillies are on the radio. And I’m working outside listening to it," Joe recalls.
Now, the 42-year-old widower lives like a prisoner inside his third-floor apartment in Millbrook. Unable to walk well and reliant on an oxygen machine, it’s a physical struggle for Joe to get out of the house or to get back in once he’s out.
Add on the task of raising his teenage son, with whom he shares a bunk bed, and daughter on his own, and enduring hard times seems like a way of life for Joe.
"Talk about some bad luck," Joe said.
But if fortune fled long ago, at least friendliness remains. Members of the St. Vincent de Paul Society, a Catholic lay organization that helps the needy, make regular visits to Joe’s home, lending him financial help, giving him clothes and furniture, or just chatting with him about the Philadelphia sports teams he and his children love.
"They’re very nice," Joe said of the society.
Since he used to live in Parkwood, Joe gets aid from the conference, or group, based at St. Anselm Church on Dunks Ferry Road. Dominick Bucciarelli heads the 25-year-old conference, which numbers 24 full-time and associate members and serves about 30 families a year.
"We’re supposed to be a friend, a neighbor, a help to those people," said Bucciarelli, a retired computer system architect and married father of seven grown children.
A NEED TO REACH OUT
Nine other Northeast parishes run conferences, but Bucciarelli, who also helps head the city’s St. Vincent de Paul district council, wants to double the number.
He understands that many churches continue to struggle financially just to remain open and that outside funding would be needed to grow the society at those cash-strapped locations. Conferences typically operate on annual budgets of between $10,000 and $15,000 that come from private donations or money collected from the parish poor box.
The St. Vincent de Paul Society began in France in 1833. It spread to St. Louis, Mo., in 1845 and established its first Philadelphia conference in 1851. More than 47,000 conferences now operate in 135 countries worldwide.
The society offers a variety of programs, including emergency financial assistance, disaster relief, housing, employment services and referrals. It runs thrift stores, food pantries and warehouses, and gives presents to needy families during the holidays.
The organization finds clients via phone calls to the parish center, correspondence with the city’s district council, headquartered in Juniata Park, and contacts from relatives, friends or teachers. All information is kept confidential.
Society members, known as Vincentians, arrange a visit with clients to assess their needs and then make recommendations to the society president regarding further action. During visits, Vincentians often pray with clients, but the society remains respectful of all religious beliefs and helps anyone, not just Catholics.
If needed, the society pays a past-due utility bill or a month’s rent. It never gives money directly to a client. It sends the funds to the appropriate creditor.
NO NEED TO FEEL SHAME
Vincentian John Fritz said that it’s sometimes hard to find clients because many people in need are ashamed to ask for help.
"Many of them are in hiding, for lack of a better word," he said.
Some people, like Joe, become long-term clients. And others just fall on hard times, like a job loss or a divorce. Those clients often eventually pay back whatever money or goods the society gave them.
"It is really good to see successes," Bucciarelli said.
Bucciarelli knows that other conferences are needed. He’s acquainted with an elderly woman in another parish who is currently taking care of 11 disabled children in her own home. He also sees the residents affected by poverty and sickness through the society’s relationship with other local assistance agencies, such as Aid for Friends.
In addition to setting up conferences at other parishes, Bucciarelli wants to bring more youth into the St. Anselm’s group and develop relationships with St. Vincent de Paul conferences in other countries, which is known as twining.
As for Joe, the disabled single father, he’s hoping to move to a home that allows for modifications like lifts and railings so that he can get up and go out. Until then, he’ll continue to appreciate the kindness of people like Bucciarelli and Fritz.
"I’d give anything to be out working again," Joe said. ••
For more information on St. Vincent de Paul Society, contact the district council at 215-288-9540.
Reporter Lauren Fritsky can be reached at 215-354-3038 or lfritsky@phillynews.com