Geographically the West Region is one of the largest Saint Vincent de Paul Regions in Ireland covering a large part of Mayo, Galway and part of Roscommon. In numerical terms the region consists of five Area Councils:

• Ballyhaunis
• Castlebar
• Galway
• Tuam
• Westport

SVP Shops
The work of the Society is ongoing and innovative within the region. The Society operates three shops - in Castlebar, Tuam and Galway. In addition to this St. Damnait's Conference in Achill is operating a small fashion shop on an experimental basis for a trial period with members staffing the shop a number of days each week. So far the experiment has been successful and the public are responding well to their innovative enterprise. The Society operates two shops in Castlebar. Their fashion shop, which is located in the centre of the town, is managed by Joan Redmond and her staff while a furniture store is operated from the Society Offices on Pavilion Road just off The Mall in Castlebar. The Society shop in Tuam has been enlarged and expanded in recent years in response to the demand for the services provided. The Tuam shop is managed by Luke Tighe and Fergus Hogg, who supervises the local FAS scheme at the shop. The major shop in the region is the Galway "Curiosity Shop" which is situated on Merchants Road, in close proximity to the town centre. A feature of this extremely successful shop is the window display. These displays change regularly; they are both eye-catching and attractive and are always created by Colm Noonan the Galway Area Council Administrator.

St Catherine Laboure Holiday Home
The Society also operates a very successful Holiday Home in the shadow of our Lady's shrine in Knock. The home is one of the premier holiday homes in the SVP Network. The home is open each year from March to November inclusive. A special committee of the SVP manages the holiday home. The home works on a non-profit basis.

A Friendly Atmosphere
The intention is to enable guests to relax and enjoy themselves while also availing of the spiritual renewal activities associated with the National Shrine of Our Lady of Knock. The home can cater for 25 guests in single and twin-bedded rooms, all with hot and cold water. Only a limited number of single rooms are available, so guests must be prepared to share. The house itself is fully carpeted and centrally heated; a spacious conservatory is also provided. The grounds are neatly landscaped with pathways leading to Our Lady's Shrine. Souvenir shops and car parks are located nearby.

Weekly Programme
Day trips to scenic areas can be arranged at guests' expense. Full details of the services provide can be obtained from:

Social Housing
The Society in the West has a long tradition of Social Housing Projects and these can be found in many locations throughout the Regions. Ballinrobe, Castlebar, Galway, Tuam, and Westport all have their Social Housing Projects.

One of the great exponents of Social Housing Projects is Brendan Sweeney, President of St Mary's Conference in Ballinrobe. On a recent visit to the Housing projects in Ballinrobe, Regional President Michael McGing said he was impressed with the way in which Brendan and his Conference members managed their projects in Ballinrobe.

The houses are well maintained and cared for and Brendan is no stranger to the tenants and they eagerly look forward to his visits. Brendan is their friend and they appreciate the services he provides. The Ballinrobe Conference has plans to expand their housing scheme in the future. Their concern for the local needs and other disadvantaged sectors in the community is evidence of a Conference that is in touch with the community and is prepared to respond to those needs.

Mayo Women's Refuge
This is one of the many innovative projects that the Society has been involved in during recent times. The establishment of the Refuge, which is situated on the outskirts of Castlebar, is due to the hard work of Kay Veale, the current Area President in Castlebar and her predecessor, Martin Waters, who were very conscious that violence against women was a problem and needed to be addressed. The result of their hard work has been the establishing of a state-of-the-arts facility that is managed by Josephine McGourty and her staff of trained Social Workers. They provide counselling services to women and children through Outreach Centres throughout Mayo. The services are operated with the assistance of the Western Health Board with whom the Society has an excellent working relationship. There is little doubt that since the introduction of this service some years ago, it has provided help and assistance to many people who would otherwise be at risk from domestic violence.

Free Phone Service
The service was launched just over a year ago and was promoted more vigorously over the Christmas period through advertising on Midwest & Northwest Radio. This brought the services to the attention of listeners to the popular radio station, reaching people as far away as Donegal and Connemara. The response was excellent. One or two requests for assistance were received each day throughout the advertising period. Requests were then referred to the Regional Offices by fax and e-mails and from there were forwarded onto the local Conference for their attention and action. There is a need for this type of service and the Society in the region will respond as needed.

Family Visitation
Visiting families continues to be the core of the work of the Society in the region. One of the busiest Conferences in the region is the St Patrick's Conference in Westport. There were heavy demands on the Society over the Christmas period and the demand on the services was greater this year than in pervious years. The Society in the west region is awake and active and responding to the new challenges that present themselves on an ongoing basis.