Being attentive to God`s call and according to the reality they live in, the Daughters of Charity of Saint Vincent de Paul are dedicated to promote dignity, serving children and adolescents, the elderly, homeless population, and the disabled with love and respect.
The company promotes and develops projects and social assistance actions that make it possible to improve the quality of life of the population in situations of vulnerability and personal and social risk.
The Social Assistance Association includes long-stay institutions for the elderly and socio-educational projects of basic care and protection for children and adolescents. The institutions are present in municipalities of Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo states.
Home of the Elder Saint Louise de Marillac, Taubaté (SP)
The Saint Louise de Marillac Home of the Elder is a long-stay institution that give shelter to elderly women over 60 years old, who have been abandoned by their families and have no income of their own for their subsistence. The institution meets basic needs such as housing, food, hygiene, protection, and guarantees their rights.
Medical and ambulatory care, 24-hour nursing, and physical therapy are some of the services offered. Daily activities include leisure moments, such as dancing, physical exercises, open air walks and get-together celebrations in addition to painting and handicrafts activities in order to encourage the development of their natural skills. The institution also encourages the elderly to develop healthy habits and personal hygiene.
The infrastructure of the buildings includes bedrooms, bathrooms, changing rooms, porch, lobby, TV room, social service room, recreation room, visiting room, secretary, admission room, chapel, pantry, laundry room, storage room, maintenance workshop, garage, service area, nursing area, doctor’s office, infirmary, linen room, sterilization room, and nursing material room.
The Home of the Elder holds activities and events keeping the family and the inmates closer, and promotes lectures aimed at the adaptation of the elderly to the institution’s routine.
The Home of the Elder Saint Louise de Marillac
Address: Rua Prof. Bernardino Querido, 853, Vila São José, Zipcode 12070-400, Taubaté – SP
Phone: +55 (12) 3633-2847
Home of the Poor St Vincent de Paul, Nova Friburgo (RJ)
The Home of the Poor St Vincent de Paul welcomes the elderly, who are interested in living in a long-term home care. It has dormitories with bathrooms, physiotherapy room, a social room, an aquatic physiotherapy space, an indoor court, a chapel, an educational space, and a soccer field.
The institution was founded in 1933, in Nova Friburgo, located up to the mountains, next to Rio de Janeiro city.
It has the purpose of serving elderly people of both sexes and disabled adults. Later, in 1943, due to the side effects of the Thalidomide medication, which caused the birth of children with severe physical disabilities, the institution opened its doors to welcome them. Some of these kids have become adults and remain in the institution to this day.
Care under the Vincentian Charisma
Besides offering shelter and facilities according to the norms of the Brazilian Health Surveillance, the institution guarantees a balanced diet with a nutritionist orientation, and also provides, when necessary, medical care in a hospital unit. It promotes educational, cultural, recreational, and religious activities and offers permanent care by social service staff, moreover it develops activities that encourage autonomy and work on self-esteem.
The St Vincent de Paul Home of the Poor) also works towards to prevent any kind of violence and discrimination against the elderly, involving family members and/or third parties, who have a bond with the elderly, facilitating their visits, as well as providing understanding of the aging process. Finally, the institution reports to the Brazilian Public Ministry any abuse or case of moral or material abandonment by family members or third parties involved.
Among the activities there offered:
Memory Workshops – works on the social memory of the elderly, through tales and daily life stories, enabling the development of exchanges among different generations;
Hydrotherapy – seeks to fully develop the psychophysical potential of the disabled and elderly;
Sweet Solidarity Workshops – stimulates the social interaction of the elderly, through the weekly production of sweets, establishing an affective bond among the participants.
Diaper Workshops – It has the participation of volunteers and enables the institutional self-sufficiency through the manufacturing production of diapers for the users of the The Home of the Poor.
Beauty Workshop – works with the help of volunteers to do haircuts and manicuring and also develops activities that stimulate personal hygiene.
Events Workshop – Plans and develops commemorative activities, tours, other general events, and exhibitions.
Home of the Poor St Vincent de Paul
Address: Rua General Osório, 377, Zipcode 28625-630, Nova Friburgo – RJ
Phone: +55 (22) 2522-4646
The City of Old Fellows St. Louise de Marillac, Itaquera (SP)
The City of Old Fellows is a long-term stay institution that assists the elderly over 65 years of age, of both sexes, and in situation of vulnerability and risk. It has eight pavilions and structure to give shelter to 88 elderly people. Here they enjoy a healthy and decent life, in a good atmosphere and nice environmental conditions that provide the development of their personal potentials and the maintenance of their individual values and gifts.
At the City of Old Fellows, the elderly participate of activities that raise their self-esteem and help them value life itself, such as museum visits, craft classes, dance classes, and therapeutic and preventive gymnastics, among others.
The institution has nursing staff, responsible for giving medication, bathing, and do dressing changes for inmates, as well as physiotherapists and nutritionists. Following the Charisma of Saint Vincent de Paul, the person in charge of the HR department holds a monthly meeting with the employees for human, Christian, and technical formation.
Throughout the year, the House has volunteer groups of manicures and hairdressers that promote The Beauty Day, together with other several volunteers that help with Charity games “Bingos” and commemorative snacks.
History and curiosities
History and curiosities – The project for The City of Old Fellows was elaborated in 1960 to celebrate the tricentennial of Saint Vincent de Paul’s death. The entity was founded in 1961 and the land for the construction was donated by Refinaria Paulista, in an area of 6,796.33 m², located in the Horto Florestal, called Jardim Tamoio.
A little-known chapter in the history of the institution was the presence of Russian refugees brought in by by the High Commission of the United Nations – UN.
The responsibility for the transfer of the refugees to Brazil was the Tolstoy Foundation of São Paulo, which offered to The Saint Louise de Marillac City of Old Fellows an amount of US$ 48.000, paid in three instalments in exchange for building a specific shelter for the Russians. At that time, it was required that refugees had to be over 65 years old and have 70% of their disability capacity certified by a doctor. Around 600 elderly people passed through City of Old Fellows, most of them from Siberia, the main route of exile.
The City of Old Fellows St. Louise de Marillac
Address: Avenida Jardim Tamoio, 537, Itaquera, Zipcode 08255-010, São Paulo, SP
Phone: +55 (11) 2521 6227