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Volunteers serve up lunch while St. Vincent remains closed
By Kalea Hall
YOUNGSTOWN
Today, lunches once again will be served to the needy on Front Street.
Former volunteers and the former dining hall manager at St. Vincent de Paul Society once again will serve them – but not from the confines of the society’s hall.
The hall, located at 208 E. Front St. downtown, will be closed for the third consecutive day.
“We are still working through the process,” said Brian Antal, St. Vincent de Paul Society Mahoning District president.
Instead, volunteers and Ralph “Skip” Barone, former dining hall manager, will distribute the bag lunches in a parking lot across the street from the society hall at 11 a.m. today.
An anonymous donor read Tuesday’s Vindicator and became upset about the situation. The donor wanted to do something to make sure those in need have a lunch, Barone said.
“I was very excited,” Barone said when he found out about the donation.
Barone said he has enough funding to hand out lunches for the rest of the week. He plans to have about 150 bags ready to hand out today.
The donor “said come to him again if we run out of money,” Barone said while shopping for lunch supplies. “It’s very, very good.”
Barone, who has been hailed as a saint by the volunteers at the dining hall and by clients, worked 15 years at the hall and managed it for 13 years. He resigned Friday, but he will not discuss the reason for his resignation.
Volunteers at the dining hall followed suit by walking off the job in a show of support for Barone.
As a result, the hall was shuttered.
Antal did not say when he expects the facility to reopen. He has said the closure surrounds personnel issues.
When asked by a Vindicator reporter to sit down and discuss dining hall operations, Antal said that could not be his focus at this time.
“The No. 1 focus right now is to going to be getting the dining hall back open, not to sit down with the media,” he said.
Yet, in an email late Tuesday, Antal said a dining hall manager, whom he did not name, has agreed to an employment contract with the society. He offered no additional details.
On Monday, a letter from Antal was posted on the door to the society’s dining hall stating it had to close because of “unforeseen circumstances.”
Many among the 25 volunteers who walked out said they will not come back unless there’s a new president and Barone returns as manager.
Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Youngstown, which has no authority over the society, announced it would meet with the leadership within the society.
The Rev. David J. Bergner, diocesan vicar for social concerns, and the area St. Vincent de Paul Society conference presidents met Tuesday evening to discuss “the strategic direction for the dining hall with the goal of opening it as soon as humanly possible.”
The presidents represent several area parishes. In Mahoning County alone there are 18 parishes with a Society of St. Vincent de Paul conference. Not every parish has a conference, however.
“Hopefully, we will come to some consensus as to getting things going again,” Father Bergner said, adding it was his hope that the hall will reopen by the end of the week.
“We are working on this full time,” he added.
Though the diocese does not oversee operations at the society, the diocese and the society both have a shared mission.
“That shared mission is caring for the vulnerable and welcoming the stranger,” Father Bergner said. “It’s an important part of who are as a church.”