| Services
"The quality of life for many residents of West Oakland is improved because of the good work of those at Saint Vincent's Day Home!"
– Supervisor Keith Carson, Alameda County Board of Supervisors
Saint Vincent’s Day Home provides comprehensive programs for toddlers and preschoolers, a licensed full-day kindergarten, and before- and after-school programs for older children.
Our program consists of child care, education, nutrition, and health screening, as well as parent education and social services referrals for low-income multi-ethnic families struggling toward self-sufficiency. Saint Vincent's serves primarily single parent families who struggle at or below the poverty line.
Health Services
These services include regular vision, speech, hearing, and dental screenings. Collaboration is ongoing for expanded care with: Children's Hospital Oakland; West, East and North Oakland Health Centers; Child Health & Disability Program; Clinica de la Raza; Asian Health Services; Berkeley Center for Child Study; UCSF Dental School and Highland Hospital.
Nutrition
Children receive meals at breakfast, lunch and mid afternoon. These three meals provide the complete daily nutrition requirements for young children. This service is especially important for children who leave their homes in early morning and may return shortly before a child's bedtime.
Social Service Referrals
Families experiencing trouble or a crisis situation initially consult with our staff and are then referred to appropriate support services in the community such as the Department of Social Services (DSS), physical and mental health professionals, homeless shelters, or crisis centers. Our professional staff provides follow up, translation services and other assistance to ensure comprehensive cooperation and collaboration. Referrals come to Saint Vincent’s from Children's Hospital, Alameda County Department of Social Services, Court referrals and private agencies.
Our Families
We serve a very diverse population in terms of ethnicity, and also serve the homeless, battered women, children who were born drug-exposed and children who have special developmental, behavioral, or emotional needs. Fully 95% of our families and children live daily under the stress of poverty.
Our children and families speak: English, Spanish, French, Tagalog, Chinese (Cantonese and Mandarin), 3 East-Asian languages and 2 East-African languages. Care is taken to ensure that written material is presented in translation, or explained on an individual basis. Ten languages are spoken among our diverse staff, enabling learning to take place in a culturally diverse setting that emphasizes the art, literature, traditions, music and cuisine of a rich variety of societies from around the world. Saint Vincent's operates year-round, ensuring consistent and integrated services to those in need. We also serve families in crisis due to drug/alcohol problems, family illness, or other disruption.
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