IN MIAMI: A CONFERENCE LIKE NO OTHER
It’s 3:00 o’clock Sunday afternoon in Miami and you’re tuned to Radio Peace Catholic
Radio Station: The Saint Vincent de Paul Program is about to start. For the next two
hours you’ll be surprised to hear the following words: “Hello. You’re on the air. How can
we help you?” Offering help is
something all Vincentians do.
But “on the air”? That is very
unusual. But that is the reality
in Miami, which has the only
Saint
Vincent
de
Paul
Conference in the U.S. with a
live radio broadcast featuring
call-in request lines for those
in need.
Every Sunday a team of
Vincentians meets, prays, and
offers a top-quality guidance
and service program, in
Spanish, that has attained
first- and second-place ratings continuously according to Arbitron polls for Spanishspeaking programs for the Miami-Dade and Broward Counties Area.
The program is broken into 15-minute segments. At 3:00, the Divine Mercy Chaplet; at
3:15, after program introduction and greetings, follows a prayer and reflection segment.
This segment, presented as a skit and acted out by the multi-talented Vincentians, is a
favorite of the radio audience. Another segment is dedicated to information/orientation,
with different guest speakers guiding the audience through pertinent topics such as
immigration, health, and community resources. There’s a special segment on employment
opportunities, too, with a job bank that broadcasts weekly fresh employment listings.
In addition, special events require special programs. Thanksgiving calls for a generous
food collection and distribution event. At Christmas time, a toy drive culminates with a
Christmas festivity at the Radio Peace location, where local children are visited by a jolly
Saint Nicholas. All present receive toys, and visits are made to those who are hospitalized
or otherwise unable to attend. During crises like the recent hurricane disasters, this
Conference is able to reach out to the community. With downed power lines, unpassable
roads, and interrupted communications, this radio Conference became the single point of
contact, in their native language, for many hurricane victims. Meals were prepared and
distributed, cooked meals and groceries were delivered to the aged and disabled, and
clothing and shelter were made available. Throughout the year, numerous home
visitations are made, case by case, as needed.
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The multi-tasking team of Vincentians serving Christ through the poor includes Victor
Evins, Haydee Mussiet, Maria Perez-Gonzalez, Carmen Ramirez, Rosa Eugenia
Martinez, and German Rodriguez, all under the guidance of Director Victor Martell.
But the heart of this program is the live phone line on which the public calls requesting
help for a variety of needs: everything from medical care to wheelchairs, clothing, food,
medications, furniture, apartment rentals, electrical appliances, and even used cars. One
after another, the needy call, make their request, and leave a phone number where they
can be reached. Within the program’s two-hour span, audience members call, either the
radio station or the individual cases, making available the necessary help. By the end of
the program, many people have received the help they need. Sometimes the help arrives
two or three programs later. For simple requests, only one helper is needed. For more
complex cases, several audience members may contribute. Home visitations are made as
needed. If an SVdP Conference is available at the person’s parish, a referral is made for
the visitation and needs assessment. In the event that there in no Conference available, the
SVdP radio Conference members make the visitation themselves. All efforts are made to
deliver the same quality of service every conference strives for.
That is what this program is all about, people in genuine need who take advantage of the
radio program to request some help. Many are disabled, aged, infirm, or terminally ill.
Many are single parents, prison inmates, illegal aliens, or undocumented workers. Many
are homeless or lonely. This program is theirs and they call it “home.” That is what this
program is all about: the incredible public generosity of those who allow the Spirit to
move within them, perfect strangers reaching out to others because they’ve heard the
voice of Christ calling, in this case, through the radio waves.
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