In 1899, there was an acute shortage of housing for the city poor who could not afford to pay rent. In order to ease this problem, the Society of St. Vincent de Paul in that same year rented a building which it called "Nazareth House".

At the inception of the House, room was provided for seventy women. In a short period of time however, the programme became so much sought after that another smaller building on the compound on George Street was rented.

Ten years later in 1909, the Society built its own home at the cost of $17,000 which was derived from the generosity of the entire community. This building was NAZARETH House, which still stands at 20 Duncan Street, Port of Spain, and affectionately called "The Grand Old Lady of Duncan Street ".

The front ground floor of the building houses the Secretariat of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul . There is a large kitchen on the compound that from 1937 to in the late 1970's served hundreds of school meals daily to children of ten primary schools in Port of Spain, and which today provides meals to the two hundred residents of the nearby Centre for Socially Displaced Persons.

Over the century, Nazareth House has given shelter to hundreds of ladies who would otherwise be lonely, afraid and destitute. Many of them sought the protection of Nazareth House on becoming widows, or having retired from low paying an non-pensionable jobs. They found the companionship of their age group very comforting.

In 1999, the International Year for the Elderly, a major refurbishing of the building was undertaken at a cost of about one million dollars, where the roof and flooring were replaced, beams and columns were changed from wood to reinforced concrete among other works.

At present, there are about twelve residents living in single rooms. There is a common T.V. room and an open-air roof top area where they can sit and enjoy chit-chat. Three daily meals are prepared for them at the Nazareth kitchen.