Johnson-Lain Working to Expand Outreach of St. Vincent de Paul Society

Sunnie Johnson-Lain “fell in love from day one” with the Society of St. Vincent de Paul (SVdP) when she volunteered to answer phones for her parish conference in Dayton, Ohio.

SVdP quickly recognized her organizational skills and love for helping the poor and marginalized, and she assumed leadership positions within the society. The SVdP Society in Baton Rouge now benefits from her skills and vision for its future as its CEO.

Johnson-Lain began her position in June.

She started volunteering at SVdP when her daughter, Faye, now 21, started preschool.

“I had a few extra hours every week, and I thought I would like to do something to help my neighbors,” Johnson-Lain said.

She was drawn to the mission of SVdP.

“I thought it was the most beautiful combination of faith and service,” Johnson-Lain said.

She became a conference president and joined the SVdP board. She was then asked to join the staff at the St. Vincent de Paul Conference at Dayton, Ohio.

“I was their first director of conferences,” said Johnson-Lain. “My role was helping conferences to serve their neighbors in their own communities.”

She led 800 volunteers in 38 conferences and implemented a comprehensive training and faith formation program. Johnson-Lain oversaw development, financial management, and recruiting, and created SVdP-Dayton’s first outreach center.

Johnson-Lain was then asked to join the SVdP in Cincinnati, Ohio, where she served as chief services and strategy officer.

“The reason I was willing to move to Cincinnati was they had conceived this relatively novel idea at the time of having a centralized hub for services. It was a place where anybody could come and receive help with pharmacy, and food pantry and social services and rental and utility assistance, vision. It was just an array of services under one roof. I was the person who helped to develop it. We did a capital campaign, we built it, and then we developed all services that happened in it. It was probably one of the most meaningful experiences of my life to be able to take something from just an idea to a reality and then watch it unfold.”

From there, Johnson-Lain served as president and CEO of Catholic Charities in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

There she oversaw a team offering 18 programs, including behavioral health, re-entry services, senior services, and pastoral care.

In her first year of leadership, Johnson-Lain rebranded the organization and significantly increased fundraising over the previous year.

Feeling drawn back to her Vincentian roots, Johnson-Lain applied for the position of CEO of SVdP in Baton Rouge.

The new CEO has found Baton Rouge to be a vibrant, beautiful community with much need. Since her arrival she has found everyone to be friendly.

One of the things Johnson-Lain would like to do at SVdP is raise more community awareness about the thrift stores and the importance of supporting them.

“They are like a hidden gem in the community,” said Johnson-Lain. “Every dollar that they raise in our thrift stores goes back into the programs."

She added, “I would love to see every parish host a ‘fill the truck’ event (as one parish in the diocese already does).” I would love community members to know that when they shop at our stores, they’re keeping people housed, fed,. and clothed.”

The new CEO would also like to see greater awareness of the community-based SVdP conferences.

“Our conferences extended over $1 million in assistance last year. They are helping people from having to come to our (main) campus. They are helping people avoid homelessness, avoid disconnections, all those things. I feel like they are a safety net.

“That’s one of the amazing things about St. Vincent de Paul. We can meet people wherever they are on their journey, whether it’s prevention of homelessness or unfortunately, when they have become homeless.”

Just as important to SVdP as providing material assistance to those in need is helping people grow in hope and faith, according to Johnson-Lain. She referred to the St. Louise de Marillac Chapel at the main SVdP campus in Baton Rouge, which is near completion.

“I think to be able to offer our volunteers, our staff, and our constituents a place where they can come to pray is a powerful thing.  I think it's part of our ministry for a person who's being cared for in our shelter to be able to have a space where they can sit quietly and pray and to remember that God loves them.”

Johnson-Lain looks forward to connecting with more people and furthering the mission of SVdP.

“I want to meet with anyone who wants to learn more about St. Vincent de Paul, who wants to partner with us, to support us. That's my goal. The community has been so welcoming. So many people have reached out to me. I'm very open and excited to meet anyone who wants to talk,” she said.