The St Vincent de Paul Society, the Catholic charity I work for, has a simple task: to help the poor. But poverty itself is not a simple matter. For instance, many people today are isolated and hidden behind locked doors. An illness or a disability can severely limit someone’s capacity to carry out everyday tasks most of us take for granted. Grocery shopping, arranging a household repair, meeting a friend for tea or even simply attending Mass can be beyond anybody who is sick, housebound or in hospital.