ST. LOUIS, Nov. 4, 2011 — The Society of St. Vincent de Paul's District Council of Lane County, Ore., has signed an agreement with Edward Zivica, a veteran of the U.S. Navy, to allow him to display his U.S. flag outside his residence in an apartment complex in Springfield, Ore., which is managed by the District Council.
"Our tenant feels this issue is resolved, and we are pleased to have reached a resolution to this issue," said Terry McDonald, executive director of the District Council.
Roger Playwin, the national executive director for the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, said that the organization usually strives to resolve problems at the local level.
"We deeply regret the distress that this has caused Mr. Zivica and others, and we're pleased that our District Council was able to keep him as a tenant and to honor his service at the same time," said Playwin. "Our District Council of Lane County, like many of our other locations, has provided affordable housing and a wealth of other services for many people of all walks of life over the years, including veterans. Those services include transitional housing and help with food, medicine, rent, and job training opportunities, among others."
One of the oldest and most effective charitable organizations in the world, the Society of St. Vincent de Paul (http://www.svdpusa.org) is a Catholic lay organization of almost 700,000 men and women throughout the world who voluntarily join together to grow spiritually and offer person-to-person service to the needy and people living in poverty in 142 countries on five continents. With the U.S. headquarters in St. Louis, Mo., membership in the United States totals more than 172,000 in 4,600 communities. Programs include home visits, housing assistance, disaster relief, job training and placement, food pantries, dining halls, clothing, transportation and utility costs, care for the elderly and medicine. Providing more than $595 million in tangible and in-kind services, SVdP serves more than 14 million people in need each year, performs more than 648,000 visits to people in their homes, and delivers more than 7 million service hours to those in need, regardless of race, religion or national origin.
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