Conversations with Elizabeth Curtis

Today we’d like to introduce you to Elizabeth Curtis.

Hi Elizabeth, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
Men from St. John Neumann Catholic Church in Sunbury Ohio, as a part of their jail ministry, hold navigation meetings with inmates at the Delaware County Jail. These meetings are a part of the jail’s reentry program. During these meetings, the jail ministry learned that most of the men who came to their meetings had no place safe to go when released from jail.
Representatives of the jail ministry came to the St. Vincent dePaul (SVDP) group at St. Mary Church in Delaware Ohio and asked us if we could establish an emergency shelter for these men.
The Society of St. Vincent dePaul is a network of friends, inspired by Gospel values, growing in holiness and building a more just world through personal relationships with and service to people in need. We are a Catholic lay organization whose members join together to grow spiritually by offering person-to-person service to neighbors in need, in the tradition of our founder, Blessed Frédéric Ozanam, and patron, St. Vincent de Paul.
At St. Mary Church, our primary work is responding to neighbors who contact our needs line and request financial assistance to meet a short-term need. For example, if someone becomes ill and is unable to work for several weeks and now cannot make this month’s rent payment, we will consider meeting that need. We are funded by donations from parishioners of St. Mary Church. The Society is also working to help our neighbors in need achieve long term change to escape poverty. We have expanded our work to help individuals get out of the cycle of poverty so they are not continually finding themselves asking for financial help. This long term or systemic change may include helping someone finish their education so they can get a better paying job, financial literacy training, helping a family with small children find quality day care, working with them on job applications and interviewing, and providing information on where they can find low cost groceries and where there are food pantries in the area.
Our Systemic Change committee started investigating how to run an emergency shelter in response to the jail ministry’s request. In 2020, we established the St. Vincent DePaul Men’s Shelter of Delaware County, formed a board and started fundraising. We researched best practices, visited many shelters, spoke to leaders in this field of work, and began looking for a place to rent or buy. We learned that without stable housing, most of the men leaving jail or prison would end up back in jail. We wanted to change this outcome by providing the support and resources the men desperately needed. Our primary focus was on collaborating with area agencies and working on the services and resources we would offer the men we served. In addition, our team developed a plan for staffing, for furnishing the house, and the policies and procedures we would follow.
Our goal changed in a few ways as we moved forward. We were working with a developer who offered to let us buy a parcel of land so we could build a shelter. We worked with an architect, and attempted to raise $2.0 million to build and start operating a facility for up to 20 men, but we were unsuccessful. We originally focused on establishing an emergency shelter for the men to stay with us for a few days or a few weeks. Our group then realized we wanted to accompany them on their journey to becoming restored citizens, and that we wanted to provide a transitional housing program and not an emergency shelter for them – a program where they could stay with us and work to achieve goals in an individual plan to become self-sufficient over a period of many months.
Our Board of Directors agreed we needed to start as soon as we could to meet the urgent need in the community. We were able to raise sufficient funds to support our program. We were introduced to a church in Columbus and members of the church bought a house in the city of Delaware and rented it to us. We finalized our programming plan, hired and trained staff and opened in April, 2026. We can accommodate up to 4 men in the house. Each man has a caseworker and a plan to become self-sufficient and move into permanent housing. Our goal is to provide hope and support to them. We mentor them as they move forward in their recovery. We work with them to find jobs, save their money, address legal issues, get healthcare and counseling, develop life skills and repair damaged relationships. We help them to overcome the barriers they confront when leaving jail or prison, and work with them to realize their value, achieve personal growth and positive change and build a bright future filled with possibilities.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
We as a group had no experience setting up or running a transitional housing program. And we had no money, no house, no office, and no staff.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I am the Chair of the Board of Directors of St. Vincent New Beginnings. We have achieved something special. Our group is deeply committed to helping our neighbors who are struggling. We want to help them become self sufficient and realize their potential. We want to mentor them as they work to address issues such as damaged relationships, substance abuse and unemployment. We want to support them as they work to grow and develop and face their demons. I am most proud of the men who have benefitted from our friendship, guidance and support in the few months we have been opened. They are making positive changes in their lives. Our mission is to give them hope and raise their self esteem. We want them to know that they are important to us and we want them to succeed as they reenter our community.
This project has been a labor of love. We had no principal benefactor, no large grant award, and no assets when we started. We began with the simple idea that we want these men, who had the misfortune of having nowhere safe to go when released from jail or prison, to have an opportunity to participate in a program supported by a community that believes in them: a program rich with resources and friendship to help them as they battle to overcome the odds. We want them to see themselves succeeding in building a new life, and not going back to jail.

In terms of your work and the industry, what are some of the changes you are expecting to see over the next five to ten years?
In the last year, we have seen many public funding sources for transitional housing programs and for programs that help the homeless disappear. And remaining funds are being requested by more non profits. We believe our major sources of funding for the next few years will be individual donors, foundations and faith-based groups. We are focused on sharing our work and results with those who may not know about this opportunity to help their neighbors. This is a fulfilling opportunity to improve the lives of men in need. When we help these men, we help build a stronger community that benefits all of us. St. Vincent New Beginnings’ mission to improve lives. We believe the work we do enhances the lives of those we serve and our lives, too. Our donors and supporters have the opportunity to volunteer, hear the stories of the men we serve, and see the life changing results of the time, talent and treasure they share.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.StVincentNewBeginnings.org