Red Truck Stonecatcher

Where Are They Now?

2020-04-22T09:54:00.000-04:00

Shelter Beds at Immanuel Congregational Church, Hartford CT

This photo haunts me. How are the Hartford area homeless families that once slept in these beds coping today? Where are they? Where is home?

On a freezing February 11, 2020, one of the fifteen Tuesday nights from this past December through March that Hartford's Immanuel Congregational Church volunteered as an overflow shelter during the coldest months of the year, I paused to take this photo of the shelter's "bedroom." The photo's image has stuck in my mind ever since. An Immanuel teammate and I had just set up Hartford Fire Department supplied cots in the church chapel, covering them neatly with fresh, clean sheets and pillows, and warm blankets. The converted chapel would sleep twelve members of homeless families that night. Where are they now? How are they? Where is home?

In November 2019, with Hartford's citywide shelter system rightly anticipating being pushed beyond capacity, Immanuel Congregational Church leadership answered the city's call for help. It rallied eighty church members and friends to volunteer hosting an ad hoc shelter with the express purpose of serving overflow homeless families: parents, teenagers, and toddlers unable to secure shelter anywhere else in the Hartford.

Championed by church members Nancy Rion and Barbara Shaw (no relation), the Immanuel team was one of several Hartford faith communities committing one night a week during the winter to host homeless families. Its mission was to welcome, feed, and house stressed and confused families desperately seeking warmth, comfort, and nourishment. Homeless families swallow their pride moving from one place to another night after night, eating dinner with strangers, sleeping in crowded lodgings, accepting their surroundings silently, all the while tearfully hoping for a miracle. Their stories are complex, heartbreaking, and compelling.

With the current COVID-19 crisis mandates to stay home and maintain social (physical) distancing, the participating faith communities closed their volunteer shelters mid-March. Wreaking countrywide havoc, the pandemic is affecting our lives in ways never imagined. Thousands of individuals and families heretofore living within relatively stable and secure comfort now face the daunting, if not overwhelming, challenges of finding food, employment, childcare, housing, and healthcare. The homeless are even more vulnerable. So, what do we do?

We need to learn from this critical moment engulfing our world. We need to learn what's truly important in life. We need to learn the importance of dignity, equality, and respect. We need to learn to share our world's abundance. We need to learn the importance of healing healthcare for everyone. We need to learn how to help others help themselves. We need to recognize that everyone has a personal story of a real life filled with the hopes and dreams most of us share, and most of all to be accepted and pursue a purposeful life.

While I may be haunted by the photo of the empty beds, and thoughts of the safety and well being of the homeless we served, I believe we all need to step up and learn how to build a better world. How do we begin? Consider the words of my friend Rev. Dennis P. (Denny) Moon, Senior Minister, South Congregational Church of Granby CT; "Living in our society isn't just about individual rights, but also the common good. In order to understand the common good, you must enter into the suffering of others."

Don Shaw, Jr.
Director Emeritus, Hartford Area Habitat for Humanity

RedTruckStonecatcher.com

Indifference Helps the Oppressor, Never the Oppressed

2019-08-08T16:05:00.000-04:00

A sign at a march on the Connecticut state capitol, March 24, 2018.

Indifference manifests itself in ignorance, silence and blind acceptance. Turning our backs to the injustices suffered by the marginalized, vulnerable, and victimized in our local communities and around the world is a weak and heartless admission that the status quo is just fine with us when it doesn't affect our lives directly -- at least not yet. And that's a very big "yet" because unchecked turmoil can arrive anytime at our doorsteps regardless of who we think we are.

"It is not enough to limit your love to your own nation, to your own group. You must respond with love even to those outside of it. ...This concept enables people to live together not as nations, but as the human race." These words of Clarence Jordan, scholar, author, activist, and founder of Koinonia Farm, are his charge to all of us to follow a path of love, acceptance, and respect.

Let's face reality. The other, the stranger, the not-of-my-kind are real people, not abstractions. Each has a story -- a personal story of a real life, filled the with the kinds of hopes and dreams most of us share in wanting to be accepted, and allowed to live in peace and pursue a purposeful life.

A wall plaque at Habitat for Humanity's Atlanta, GA headquarters quoting Clarence Jordan

The challenge is to move us from uncaring indifference, or gratuitous caring with no commitment, to making a genuinely positive difference, large or small, however we are able. We must move from ignoring today's reality to facing it head-on. We must take a stand, and turn ignorance into awareness and action.

Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel fought relentlessly against the force of indifference. It's dangerous. It's deadly. In his December 10, 1986, Nobel Prize acceptance speech Wiesel said,

"We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented. Sometimes we must interfere. When human lives are endangered, when human dignity is in jeopardy, national borders and sensitivities become irrelevant. Wherever men or women are persecuted because of their race, religion, or political views, that place must - at that moment - become the center of the universe."

Let's face reality. Let's take a stand. Let's make a difference. Today and always.

Don Shaw, Jr.

* This post is adapted from one of my previous posts.

The Farmington Canal Heritage Trail, An Accessible Path to Nature

2019-04-01T08:18:00.000-04:00

Clockwise L-R: A Palm Warbler seemingly jumping for joy, an Eastern Towhee,
and a Red-winged Blackbird photographed along the Farmington Canal Heritage Trail

Celebrating the Trail's Accessibility to Nature

April is here. The weather warms, days lengthen, plants sprout, and birds arrive. Earth Day, April 22nd, is a day to celebrate one of my favorite stretches of the Farmington Canal Heritage Trail, the roughly three and one quarter miles running through wetlands and farmland from Copper Hill Road in East Granby CT to Congamond Road in Southwick MA. Like most of the trail's entire route from New Haven to Northampton, it's accessible to almost anyone who wants to be outdoors enjoying nature without having to hike through fields, forests, and marshes. In step with the countless walkers, joggers, cyclists, and dogs pulling their masters, you can find folks using walkers, pushing baby strollers, and motoring in wheel chairs along this comfortable, level pathway. The trail's accessibility to people from all walks of life is a celebration itself. So for anyone who wants to be outdoors enjoying nature, especially birding like I do, the trail has much to offer. While its path is different from the terrain of nearby hills, woods, and swamps I often hike, the trail provides excellent opportunities to exercise, socialize, and bird watch all at once.

Cyclists and walkers enjoying the Farmington Canal Heritage Trail
between Copper Hill Rd, East Granby and Phelps Rd, Suffield

For the better part of the past two decades I've walked, run, and cycled along many miles of the treasured Farmington Canal Heritage Trail, however it's only the past few that I've spent countless hours on it observing and photographing birds, especially on the East Granby to Southwick section. I owe much of my new found hobby to my friend Chris Fisher, an expert nature photographer of distinction from East Granby who travels the trail, too. He's coached me on camera selection, and more importantly on techniques to improve my photography skills. Check out Chris's website at Natural Expressions Photography to learn more about him and his nature photography exhibitions.

Birding Along the Trail
In March bird activity along the trail picks up and lasts through most of the fall. Some birds are year-rounders, some are flying in during the spring to nest and raise their next generation, while others are passing through en route to breeding grounds farther north, and then passing through again in early fall southbound for their winter home.

To capture the essence of what the trail's accessibility can yield for birders, I've created several collages of bird photos I've taken without having stepped off the path, not even an inch. Certainly, there were many days (the majority, in fact), when I saw nothing of note and left without any pictures. Often it's when the trail is busy with foot and cycle traffic that birds keep their distance, but when I have successfully photographed a particular bird, I've reaped the rewards of persistence, patience, and calculated timing that are the keys to what it takes to be in the right spot at the right time to photograph nature in the wild.

Clockwise from top left are a Palm Warbler, Yellow-rumped Warbler, and a Common Yellowthroat Warbler photographed soon after arriving in April and May along the wetlands nearing the CT-MA border between mileposts 21.6 and 22.0.

In this collage Eastern Bluebirds are making sure their chicks are well fed in the Bluebird house near milepost 21.0 in Suffield CT. I first photographed this couple as they were building their nest, and then later as they were feeding their brood. Unfortunately, I was not present when their young fledged, though I visited nearly every day. It happens quickly, and timing and chance are everything.

Clockwise from top left are a Cedar Waxwing, Gray Catbird, Red-winged Blackbird, and Eastern Towhee. The Cedar Waxwing was photographed along farmland near milepost 21.0 in Suffield; the Gray Catbird was photographed in the trees along wetlands between mileposts 21.6 and 22.0; the Red-winged Blackbird in the marsh just north of milepost 20.0; and the Eastern Towhee near milepost 22.5 in Southwick.

These Eastern Phoebes arrived in mid-March in Suffield near the bridge at milepost 22.0 at the CT-MA border. They are among the earliest spring arrivals as they migrate to breed in this area.

Late last summer for two days in a row I was fortunate to observe this Great Blue Heron fishing in the swamp between mileposts 21.6 and 22.0 in Suffield. On the day I captured these photos, I patiently leaned against a trail fence for almost an hour with my camera focused and ready for the heron to strike. When it did, I clicked away in rapid fire bursts capturing the action of a successful catch.

Spring is mating season. These three couples were sharing the same stream one morning north of milepost 21.6 and just past Mountain Brook bridge. Clockwise from the upper left are Canada Geese, Mallards, and Common Mergansers.

In this final collage are, clockwise from the top left, a male Wood Duck, A male Mallard, and a Mallard couple with their ducklings. The Wood Duck and Mallard were in the stream near milepost 22.0 at the CT-MA border; and the Mallard couple were in a vernal pool just north of the trail's entrance at Copper Hill Road in East Granby.

Final Thoughts on Celebrating the Trail

I've seen many other birds along the trail during the years I've been walking it. They include birds that typically gather around my home feeders, or nest in the trees in my yard such as Eastern Cardinals, Eastern Mockingbirds, Black-capped Chickadees, Tufted Titmice, Carolina Wrens, House Finches, and Blue Jays, among many others. Also, I've seen Red-tailed Hawks, Cooper's Hawks, Northern Flickers, and Downy, Red-bellied, and Pileated woodpeckers. Clearly, many species of birds may be seen simply by venturing up and down the highly accessible stretch of the Farmington Canal Heritage Trail from East Granby to Southwick. Beyond being able to walk among the birds that thrive in this habitat, what makes this section of the trail priceless is that's it's made for anyone and everyone to enjoy, and that's cause for an Earth Day celebration!

Don Shaw, Jr.
RedTruckStonecatcher.com

Photos by Don Shaw, Jr.

Celebrating Fifty Years of Hands On Hartford

2019-03-20T10:50:00.000-04:00

It's Time to Celebrate Fifty Years of Hands On Hartford!
That's right, fifty years! Fifty years of Hands On Hartford helping Hartford. Since its founding as Center City Churches in 1969, Hands On Hartford has been committed to feeding, clothing, housing, and caring for Hartford's most vulnerable residents, all with the helping hands of countless generous donors, volunteers and collaborative community partnerships. Mark your calendars for Thursday, October 24, 2019, from 5:30 pm to 9:00 pm at the Hartford Marriott Downtown to celebrate Hands On Hartford's 50th anniversary. Details about sponsorships are posted at the following links: Sponsorship Package and Sponsorship Form. Tickets for the celebration will be available soon - contact kshafer@handsonhartford.org for more information.

To learn more about Hands On Hartford's fifty year impact, I recently met with Hands On Hartford Board Chair Rev. Donna Manocchio and Executive Director Barbara Shaw for lunch at The Café at Fifty-Five. It's a café with a cause in its third year of operation serving up many new HOH opportunities for community engagement.

The Café at Fifty-Five
55 Bartholomew Avenue, Hartford CT

The Café at Fifty-Five
Located at 55 Bartholomew Avenue in Hartford's Parkville neighborhood, the Café is HOH's mission-driven restaurant offering healthy, everything-tastes-good selections for breakfast, snacks, and lunch, including specialty crepes and a full coffee-tea-smoothie menu. And what makes frequenting this bright, welcoming eatery even more nourishing is that the Café's proceeds feed directly into HOH's revenue stream supporting its many services to people in need throughout Hartford. To make this happen the Café employs people committed to overcoming employment barriers, engages volunteers as kitchen team members, and offers a pay-for-a-neighbor program to help bring together people from all backgrounds and means to enjoy food and camaraderie together. Additionally, the Café's licensed commercial kitchen is in high demand for shared use membership. Currently, thirty-two qualified entrepreneurs and organizations schedule time 24/7 for their food preparation operations. And topping it all off in the spirit of good neighborship, its convenient and comfortable community spaces are available to the public for meetings, conferences, or social events.

Crepes are a Café specialty.

During lunch, where my Sweet Chili Asian Slaw Wrap with grilled chicken proved a delicious introduction to the Café's offerings, Rev. Donna and Barbara recounted one success story after another explaining how each program helps realize HOH's "commitment to increasing food security and nutrition, improving health, and providing housing" by engaging volunteers and connecting communities. Barbara summarized HOH's mission in just six words, "serving neighbors, engaging volunteers, and connecting communities. "

The Next Success: Affordable Apartments Planned for Bartholomew Avenue
Following in the path of the Café's success a new initiative to provide much-needed affordable housing is on the table for 2019, the construction of thirty affordable rental apartments.

A rendition of the planned apartments after renovating the adjacent coal power plant,
which is shown in the background advertising the old Spaghetti Warehouse

In a 2015 initiative to consolidate its scattered site operation under one roof, HOH purchased a vacant building (formerly home to the Spaghetti Warehouse, and then Trout Brook Brewery & Pub), and an adjacent abandoned circa 1912 coal powered energy plant. With Fifty-Five Bartholomew Avenue now housing its community center and café, HOH has turned its attention to renovating the power plant into affordable housing. Twenty-three one-bedroom units and seven efficiencies are planned. Four units will be designated for disabled homeless people, with the remaining available as affordable rentals for people with incomes between 30 - 80% of local average median income (AMI). With a groundbreaking expected later this year, apartment occupancy is planned for mid to late 2021. The new units are certain to give a quality of life boost to this corner of Hartford's historic Parkville neighborhood.

And There's So Much More to Celebrate
Throughout its fifty year history of fostering collaborative community engagement, Hands On Hartford has provided hope for the homeless, nourishment for the hungry, and aid for the ailing. To fully appreciate the scope of HOH's services, all one needs to do is checkout its website, which is replete with information about its programs, services, and opportunities to put your helping hands to work. HOH's seven broad-based programs, as noted below with direct website links (red text), encompass all of HOH's essential community services.

MANNA Food and Neighborhood Services

MANNA food programs provide basic needs to thousands of individuals in Hartford each year. Through Community Meals, Community Pantry & Neighborhood Services, and its Backpack Nutrition Program, HOH provides food and other supportive services to those in need.

HOH's halal friendly Community Pantry, which offers a wide selection of food,
always has been at the core of HOH's mission.

The MANNA program also provides supportive health screenings and a

Backpack Nutrition Program serving more than 250 students every Friday

to ensure they have food each weekend.

HOH Housing

In addition to its planned new thirty unit apartment building, HOH Housing provides safe and affordable supportive housing and related support services for individuals and families with serious health issues (including those living with HIV/AIDS), both on site and throughout the Hartford area.

Community Engagement

Through its Community Engagement program HOH involves the public by engaging volunteers in the following ways: serving lunch at its soup kitchen, helping in its food pantry, organizing customized day-of-service projects, and hosting team building service immersion programs, including HOH's unique Dash for a Difference events.

Faces of the Homeless

The Faces of Homelessness Speakers’ Bureau travels throughout Connecticut (and beyond) to share personal experiences of homelessness, dispel myths, educate audiences on the causes of homelessness, and encourage others to get involved in making positive changes in the community. Groups or organizations are encouraged to host a speaking event or get their feet-on-the-street by engaging with Faces of Homelessness speakers in a walking tour on the streets of Hartford, which includes a visit to a local shelter, to learn about the challenges people face when experiencing homelessness.

The Café at Fifty-Five

As previously highlighted, the Café is a mission-based restaurant at HOH's Center for Community offering an excellent menu with low prices, and a pay-it-forward option so that all who enter may enjoy the Café.

Caterers Who Care

You can support Hands On Hartford by having Caterers Who Care, HOH's mission-based catering service, custom prepare and deliver breakfast, lunch or dinner for your next meeting or event at your offices or off-site location, including one of the beautifully restored meeting rooms in HOH's community center.

The Shared Use Kitchen is an invaluable asset to the community. Currently, thirty-two
qualified entrepreneurs and organizations schedule time for their food preparation operations.

Shared Use Kitchen and Meeting Space

Through annual memberships, HOH offers 24/7 scheduled use of its well equipped, licensed commercial kitchen to qualified food operators, such as food truck vendors, specialty catering services, and small bakeries supplying local markets.

Time to Celebrate!

Hands On Hartford's fifty year history of turning caring into action has affected thousands of lives by creating paths to better futures for people in need. As helping hands and advocates gather to celebrate HOH's fiftieth year in October, may they join their hands in thanks and shout a cheer for the next fifty!

Don Shaw, Jr.

RedTruckStonecatcher.com

Photos and images courtesy of Hands On Hartford, and by Don Shaw, Jr.
Program and mission description texts courtesy of Hands On Hartford.

Navigating a Segregated Nation with the Green Book

2019-01-29T19:27:00.001-05:00

The Green Book

"For African-American travelers in the Jim Crow-era South—often journeying from the north to visit relatives who had not joined the Great Migration—an unprepossessing paper-bound travel guide often amounted to a survival kit. The Green Book often functioned as a lifesaver," writes Kathleen Burke of the Smithsonian.

The recently released movie Green Book, which opened to much acclaim, depicts a historically relevant tale based on one family's recounting of a story that reconciles the racial divide between two very different people, people who ultimately recognize the common, race transcending humanity that ties them together. While the movie is worthy of its accolades, and offers an important view into America's history of racism, its references to the real Green Book provide scant insight into the book's importance as a once vital African-American travel guide for navigating the country safely. Even traveling with his white bodyguard, Don Shirley, the world renown classical and jazz pianist depicted in the movie, couldn't be guaranteed protection from the violent racist reality of the time. Deeper digging is required to discover the Green Book's true historical significance, and how it links to today's reality.

In early 2016, especially in February during Black History Month, I prefaced a few of my posts with the words "Essential American History." One of them was about the Green Book. Learning about the Green Book is to begin to understand how heartbreakingly difficult it was for many Americans to navigate a segregated nation. It is one more story in the countless many about racism that are critical to our understanding why it is no simple task to bring people together in trust and harmony given what we've done to each other.

To fully understand history details, context, and personal stories matter. They are essential. Not enough detail, context and personal stories find their way into our typical high school American history curricula and textbooks.

Arguably, there is only so much history that can be presented in a school year leaving students (and most of us throughout our lives) with only basic themes and highlights, omitting essential points that I believe affect how we look at one another in the United States, how we look at the rest of the world, and how the world looks back at us. A rudimentary history of the United States, let alone the world, is not sufficient to fully appreciate and celebrate the richness of our diversity, and what it means to the future of our country.

Without awareness of history's details and context we miss points that may make a significant difference in how we relate to each other; how we welcome or exclude each other; and how we enact laws and promote behaviors that either treat everyone fairly, with dignity and justice, or discriminate against certain people leading to unfair treatment, degrading and devoid of the justice our country promises to all Americans.

The Green Book's Black History, Brent Staples' opinion piece that recounts "lessons from the Jim Crow-era travel guide for African American elites," along with The Smithsonian and PBS stories listed below, documents the Green Book's importance and relevance in American history. They are well worth reading to gain another much needed view into the cruel and demeaning realities created and sustained by white America.

How the Green Book Helped African-American Tourists Navigate a Segregated Nation in the April 2016 Smithsonian Magazine is a story about The Negro Motorist Green-Book. It is accompanied by a Smithsonian online story, “Driving While Black” Has Been Around As Long As Cars Have Existed. Included with the online story is a link to a powerful and telling video clip from Green Book, a Ric Burns documentary scheduled for release in 2019. If anything, view the clip!

Further details, as well as links to Green Book copies, can be found in a 2013 PBS story "Green Book" Helped Keep African Americans Safe on the Road.

Understanding history matters. It is essential.

This blogpost was published in The Connecticut Mirror's CT Viewpoints on February 13, 2019.

Don Shaw, Jr.

RedTruckStonecatcher.com

In Honor of a Doughboy's Service

2018-11-06T13:14:00.001-05:00

PVT Howard Emanuel Stickles,
Simsbury, CT native and WWI Veteran

A few years before he died in 1988 at age 98, my grandfather shared some his World War I memories with his nursing home friends. While scarce on details, what he did share remained strong in his mind. Howard Emanuel Stickles, a Simsbury, Connecticut native, served in France with the U.S. Army's 76th Infantry Division 303rd Machine Gun Battalion. Because he shared the reluctance most veterans have of telling stories of their war service, it remains unclear to most of my family what our beloved "Grandpa" actually experienced, but it is eminently clear that he served his country faithfully with honor and pride, and that is what truly matters.

In the Service of the Nation

Grandpa's recounting of his service with the 76th Division began after completion of his basic training at Camp Devens, Massachusetts in 1917 when he and his fellow doughboys boarded a train in Thompsonville, CT destined for Montreal. From there, he recalled, they climbed aboard an English transport bound for Cardiff, Wales, before steaming on to South Hampton. While briefly in Cardiff he wrote his first letter home telling his parents "It makes your heart ache to see how the people over here are suffering in this war." And that's just what he witnessed in Great Britain before he entered the war in France (The war's impact on Great Britain alone left nearly one million soldiers dead with over two million more wounded, many crippled for life, and created an economic panic that easily could have pushed the country into bankruptcy).

Soon after arriving in South Hampton Grandpa said his division embarked for France, "crossing the the English Channel at night, arriving in LeHarve." From there "we were transported by train, 40 in each boxcar" first to "Langres and then to St. Montigny and onto Metz ... While there, some of my company were in a very large battle outside of Metz," he recalled, not revealing the many more memories that I'm sure remained unspoken.

With a towel over his left shoulder, Grandpa posed with his unit in France
as they looked forward to returning to the USA in 1918

Grandpa's Dog Tags and Medals

Yet what I do know is that Grandpa returned from France with the deep pride of a veteran who served his country well fighting for liberty and justice. His commitment and pride grew even stronger when his son Jim, a highly decorated Army combat medic and first wave Omaha beach survivor, returned home from World War II. As for me personally, I remember with much fondness the luncheon he treated me to in Hartford at the elegant but long gone Hotel Sonesta Rib Room a few days before I departed for Navy basic training, and I'll never forget his welcome home handshake and hug when I returned home from my Vietnam service. As a faithful member of Simsbury's American Legion Post 84 Grandpa participated in every Memorial Day parade he was able, whether marching in stride with fellow veterans, riding with old timers in a fancy convertible, or simply watching from a lawn chair as the parade marched along Simsbury's Hopmeadow Street.

Howard Stickles with cane in hand and hand over heart
honoring his country and veterans circa 1980s

Howard Emanuel "Grandpa" Stickles was a kind and gentle man, always understanding and unpretentious. He was a dear and generous friend to all who knew him. Grandpa went to war as a young man, and returned living to be an old timer who never forgot the commitment, service and sacrifice he, his comrades in arms, and following generations of veterans gave to make the world a safer place. On this Veterans Day, November 11, 2018, the 100th anniversary of the end of World War I, I honor his service, and treasure my memories of him and the love he gave to all.

Howard Stickles front and center on point at the
Get Together Dinner of the 303rd Machine Gun Battalion
at the Hotel Bond in Hartford, CT on October 28, 1950

Old friends Howard Stickles, Florence Laughlin and George Kennedy
outside Simsbury's Eno Memorial Hall on Memorial Day circa 1980s

Don Shaw, Jr.
Writer and Editor
RedTruckStonecatcher.com

Photos are from my family's collection

A Perfect Match

2018-10-29T08:36:00.002-04:00

Georges Annan Kingsley with one of his art works displayed at an Asylum Hill art show.

On Saturday, October 20, 2018, Georges Annan Kingsley awoke to a new life. Georges received his long awaited kidney transplant the night before. A perfect match, his new kidney worked immediately. This perfect match was on top of another successful transplant just twenty-three days earlier. On September 27, 2018, the United States welcomed Georges as a new citizen. It's a blessing for Georges and his family. It's a blessing for the greater Hartford community. It's a perfect match.

Georges at his citizenship ceremony on September 27, 2018 in New Haven

Georges' citizen celebration party hosted by the Asylum Hill Welcoming Committee

All who know Georges love him, his wife Asse Marthe Ntchohou, and his son, Joe-William. A well respected resident of Hartford's Asylum Hill Neighborhood, Georges is a community leader. He's an accomplished artist (he has a painting on display in the White House), a teacher, and a radio host, as well as an Asylum Hill community organizer championing the acceptance and well being of refugees and immigrants. Despite being tethered to exhausting dialysis sessions three times a week prior to his transplant, Georges' prolific production of paintings and sculptures ensured his works were always on display at local art shows. Most recently he had a two-week exhibition at Connecticut's Legislative Office Building. Incredibly he found even more strength to organize cultural celebrations, sponsor clothing drives, teach art classes, and promote job skills training for new arrivals in his welcoming Hartford neighborhood.

Georges hosting this Good Times show which airs
Saturdays on Ghana Beats Radio from 12:00-2:00 p.m.

George is a transplant who has taken root in Hartford successfully. His compelling stories about escaping from political persecution in Côte d'Ivoire and his quest for a kidney transplant are well documented. I've covered a bit of them in my blog posts: My Friend Needs a Kidney Transplant, and Listen to the Heartbeat of Africa in Hartford about Ghana Beats Radio, the on-line radio station he and his business partner, John Ackeifi, launched to serve the sub-Sahara African diaspora living in greater Hartford. But those posts only tell a small bit of his story.

To learn more about Georges I've compiled a series of links to stories that present a more complete appreciation of this talented and compassionate man who was a model citizen long before he actually became one. His perseverance and optimism embody Connecticut's motto Qui transtulit sustinet: "He who transplanted sustains."

Links to articles, videos, and a podcast about Georges Annan Kingsley:

Political Refugee Showing Art Work at Passages Gallery

New Voices of Asylum Hill

New England Public Radio Words in Transit (podcast)

My Friend Needs a Kidney Transplant

Listen to the Heartbeat of Africa in Hartford

The National Arts Program

Nine Neighborhood Murals Chosen for Hartford Paint the City

Ivory Coast Artist at Hartford Public Library

Voices of Wisdom: Newcomer Stories

Don Shaw, Jr.

Writer and Editor

RedTruckStonecatcher.com

Photos by Don Shaw, Jr.; the photo of Georges with the judge was submitted by the Georges Annan Kingsley family.

Habitat Homeowners Help Others Help Themselves

2018-10-24T09:04:00.000-04:00

Janice and Kerry Foster with a KJ Foster Scholarship Fund recipient

Raised in Hartford’s Stowe Village housing project, Janice and Kerry Foster lived first-hand the challenges facing their families, friends, and neighbors striving for better lives and looking for a way out of poverty housing. Throughout their school years they were close friends, eventually marrying and raising a wonderfully close-knit family. Though they lived through some tough times and a searing family tragedy, they became pillars of their Hartford neighborhood, always championing better lives for anyone in need.

As a nineteen-year old seeking his path in life, Kerry seized the opportunity to join the Hartford Fire Department (HFD), and a rewarding, three-decade public service career ensued. Racing to the rescue became a way of life for Kerry. As a member of HFD's Tactical Unit 1 (Tac-1) Heavy Rescue, Kerry fully embraced his career of running toward emergencies. He proudly boasts that TAC-1 is “one of the busiest emergency rescue units in the country.”

While Kerry was pursuing his HFD career, Janice was employed as a medical office assistant and living in substandard Northeast Neighborhood apartments, the only housing her limited income could afford. When she gave birth to her first child, her building’s infestation of mice and roaches became too much to bear. As a caring single mother struggling to make ends meet, it was a call to action. While searching for better housing, Janice heard about Hartford Habitat for Humanity. With a quick inquiry about the process to become a homeowner, Janice thought that Habitat could be the answer to her prayers. It was.

When her application was accepted, Janice began her sweat equity as soon as she could under the firm but gentle guidance of former Habitat Family Services Director Steve Zwerling, and the one-on-one coaching of Ruth Puff, her Family Services partner, both of whom the Fosters regard as family. It’s been more than twenty years since Janice moved into her Habitat home. A couple of years after settling in, she and Kerry married, dedicating their lives to each other and their family. Though his successful firefighting career enabled them to live almost anywhere, Kerry emphasized that he and Janice are “anchored to the Northeast Neighborhood forever. We will never leave our 52 Clark Street home,” a home where they raised four children, and welcome visits from their four grandchildren.

Janice and Kerry Foster's Habitat Home

It was a neighborhood they loved - a neighborhood where they could channel their love of Hartford by extending their generous helping hands to ensure their neighbors in need are sheltered, clothed, educated, and fed; they are always cooking for families and big community functions often using the two barbecue smokers in their backyard. Habitat’s mission played a large part in “opening our eyes even wider to the needs of others,” said Kerry. Yet it all could have ended when they lost their son Kerry Jr., known as KJ, to a senseless random drive-by shooting on Memorial Day in 2006.

KJ was a bright, popular eighth grader simply playing in his yard when he tragically died. A visiting friend was wounded and survived. Through the strength of their faith, and to honor of the memory of their beloved son, KJ’s passing became another call to action for Janice and Kerry to give even more of their time and treasure to the community. In memory of KJ they established the KJ Foster Scholarship Fund, and then they poured even more of their personal savings into setting up another scholarship, the Janice and Kerry Foster, Sr. Scholarship Fund, both of which are managed by the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving. Also in memory of KJ, the Fosters sponsor a Waverly Park Little League team, and during Hartford's annual Safe Night Out event a 3-on-3 basketball tournament at the Boys and Girls Club.

“Losing our son made us stronger. We’re proud to be role models and help make things happen. People need to take charge of their lives, and we’re glad to help them. You don’t always need money to do good, most of the time you just need to dedicate the time,” said Kerry.

As Janice so wonderfully believes, "If you give, give from the heart -- and it's the little things that count. You have to start somewhere. It's a wonderful thing to give back. I wouldn't live my life any other way."

Kerry B. Foster Jr. 3 on 3 Basketball Tournament Shirt

By running to the rescue of others and giving back to the community, Janice and Kerry paved the way for neighbors to follow their lead and work together to make their community safer, quieter and a healthier place to call home. Kerry believes in Habitat for Humanity. “It’s a great place. It offers a lot, but you have to go get it. Take the initiative. They’ll help you help yourself.”

Don Shaw, Jr.
Writer and Editor
RedTruckStonecatcher.com

Photos courtesy of Janice and Kerry Foster, Rich Wright Productions, and the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving.
Highlighted Links are to videos and Janice Foster's quotation on the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving website.

For Robin Roy Life is All About Helping Out.

2018-10-20T17:30:00.000-04:00

Hartford Area Habitat for Humanity is celebrating the start of its 30th year anniversary. It began with a kickoff party on October 19, 2018 at the Hartford Marriott Downtown. I interviewed Habitat homeowner Robin Roy for the celebration. Here is her story.

The first night in my new home was surreal,” Robin Roy remembered vividly. It was July 1, 2000. Her two boys were in their rooms, and Robin had a moment to collect her wits and reflect. With the whirlwind of her house dedication and house warming parties over, it was a quiet moment sitting in her living room when she finally realized, “This house is my house. It’s really mine. I thought I’d never own a home, never.”

In 1999, Robin was raising her two sons on her own in a small two-bedroom apartment on Manchester’s Birch Street. Her daughter was a young adult already out on her own. That’s when Robin’s rent notice arrived. Her landlord was raising her rent, which would stress her slim budget even further. But she had hope. She recently received her income tax refund. She thought that perhaps the refund coupled with some other grant could finally open the door to homeownership. She called the Connecticut 2-1-1 Help Line for guidance on possible opportunities to pursue, but after following up she found every door locked shut despite a “pretty good credit rating,” and a regular income working in the Alstom Power company cafeteria. It simply wasn’t enough to obtain a mortgage. Then a chance comment by the 2-1-1 counselor led to another way – perhaps she should try Hartford Habitat for Humanity.

“What’s Habitat for Humanity?” she thought. When she first heard about Habitat, Robin was a skeptic. Her initial reaction was, “Is this organization for real?” But she committed to checking it out at an Applicant Information Meeting, and it was there she listened to former Family Services Director Steve Zwerling explain Habitat’s homeownership program. She learned that Habitat was planning to build three houses in Manchester, including one already under construction on Wells Street.

Habitat Homeowner Robin Roy

Though she took an application, Robin wasn’t fully convinced that Habitat was “for real;” that is until she visited the Wells Street site and saw first-hand “all these guys building away as a team.” She was so inspired that she wanted to “pick up a hammer right then an there” just like she was taught growing up helping out in her father’s auto repair garage.

Robin quickly completed the Habitat application and letter of interest. Where the application asked which of three towns Habitat currently would be building did she prefer, she listed “Manchester, Manchester, Manchester” to emphasize that Manchester was definitely where she wanted to stay. While she knew that if accepted Habitat made no promises as to where she might be offered an opportunity to buy a house, Robin committed to proving she was serious. She volunteered immediately to help build the next Habitat home already under construction on Bissell Street. It was winter, snowy and cold. It paid off.

Robin was working in the cafeteria when she got “the call.” Habitat had accepted her application. Her new home would be built on Manchester’s Foster Street. Taken completely by surprise, Robin, with her eyes welling up in tears, joyfully shouted out the good news right in front of her customers, who then followed up with cheers all around. Many cards and best wishes soon followed propelling her forward.

Robin had never done carpentry, but, undeterred, she pitched in every weekend she could to help build her new home. “I cut the rails on my porch”, she said proudly as she showed off her still sturdy handiwork. “I wouldn’t have gotten a home without Habitat,” she added with the satisfaction of knowing her sweat equity helped build it. She tells everyone Habitat has always been there for her. One winter, a few years after moving in, she discovered icicles were forming in her attic. She asked Bud Moyer, a long time and beloved Habitat Saint who had worked on her house, to take a look. He determined it was because moisture wasn’t venting properly. Without a second thought, Bud voluntarily fixed the problem by installing additional soffit vents.

Robin Roy's Habitat House

Robin is a big believer in Habitat, and she’ll try to help anyway she can. For Robin, “Life is all about helping out.” Having a safe, affordable home stabilized her family life. It gave her time focus on raising her family, as well as herself. She eventually earned her GED, and now works for Companions & Homemakers serving people in need. It’s a natural fit and a job she loves. In two years her mortgage will be paid off, and then she can truly say, “This house is my house. It’s really mine."

Don Shaw, Jr.
Writer and Editor
RedTruckStonecatcher.com

Photos by Don Shaw, Jr.

A Blossoming Partnership Grows Beautifully

2018-07-10T12:59:00.001-04:00

Monrovia team ready to plant at the West Granby Habitat for Humanity house.

On a cool November 3, 2016 morning, a tractor trailer, emblazoned with the Monrovia logo, arrived promptly at 9:00 a.m. It was loaded with fresh, locally grown stock from its Granby, CT nursery ready for planting at the new Hartford Area Habitat for Humanity home in West Granby, CT. With tools in hand, a skilled Monrovia team led by Mark Hixson and Jess McCue descended on the site to dig, plant, mulch and water an expertly selected variety of plants, shrubberies, and trees in an artfully designed plan; the perfect finishing touch to the home being readied for its new owners. With the plantings completed by noon, the seeds for a perennial partnership had been sown.

The Habitat-Monrovia partnership germinated when Mark, Monrovia's East Coast Inside Sales Coach, contacted me after reading about our Granby build on a flyer that I posted widely throughout town. Mark said Monrovia would be keen on donating plants to the local endeavor. It would even include Monrovia's design team's expertise led by Jess. The results speak for themselves. Since the Granby home, Monrovia has helped beautify twelve more Hartford Habitat homes, the latest being in 2018 on East Hartford's Bliss Street and Moore Avenue this past June.

Headquartered in Azusa, California, Monrovia Plant Company is a national nursery whose trademark is Grow Beautifully®. "Since 1926, Monrovia has been the nation’s leading premium consumer plant brand, led by a passion for growing the healthiest plants to enhance the beauty of American landscapes." Monrovia has four growing operations: California, Georgia, Oregon and Connecticut covering the four corners of the United States.

Habitat for Humanity has always emphasized the need for its homes to compliment the architectural styles and needs of the neighborhoods and communities in which it builds. House designs are adapted to ensure they support a city's long-term vision and plan of development. One aspect of that design is best described as "curb appeal," which not only considers what the house looks like, but also how it sits on its property and the landscape around it. For Hartford Habitat, Monrovia's willingness to partner is proving strategic. It's an essential element for elevating the profile of what affordable housing really is, and what it can do for a community. Not only does Hartford Habitat build new homes to create home ownership opportunities, it also rehabilitates homes in disrepair. This is especially critical as Habitat looks to work with the City of Hartford's Blight Remediation Team to eliminate blight and return properties to productive use. It's all part of Hartford Habitat's commitment to Habitat for Humanity International's Neighborhood Revitalization Initiative.

The following series of photographs and captions are representative of Monrovia's commitment to Habitat and the greater Hartford community. As Habitat Executive Director Karraine Moody explains, "It's a blessing to have Monrovia on board as a generous partner dedicated to improving the lives of others by sharing the natural beauty of the world that grows around us."

Monrovia's first endeavor in West Granby village was also Hartford Habitat's first rural build; a build much welcomed by Granby townspeople.

Team Monrovia busy planting a pine barrier along West Granby Road,
along with a Birch tree and Lilacs bordering the driveway entrance.

Planting Hydrangeas, Hostas, Day Lilies, and
Carex along the foundation and front walk.

Mark Hixson explains to homeowners Jaime and Ralph Wyman the plant varieties
Monrovia provided, as well as instructions on how best to care for them.

Next it was on to Main Street in Hartford on June 14, 2017, site of three single family Habitat homes nearing completion, where Monrovia teamed up with Hartford's Capital City YouthBuild to plant shrubberies, perennials, and ornamental trees around each home.

Monrovia's tractor trailer arriving with plants for
three Habitat homes at 2636, 2644, and 2650 Main Street in Hartford

Moving plants into place takes some muscle.

Karraine Moody (left), Habitat Executive Director, and
Tracy Thomas, Habitat Family Services Director, set
plants in place along the front porch.

Jess McCue and Hartford YouthBuild leader Frank Mangiagli
were thrilled with the results of the collaboration.

Two YouthBuild team members were still
all smiles after a hot day's work.

On October 19 2017, Monrovia arrived on Hartford's South Marshall Street to landscape the three soon to be completed duplexes.

Monrovia, with the assistance of Eversource volunteers, landscaped the
South Marshall Street duplexes in half a day!

The results are spectacular!

The curb appeal of Habitat's three new duplexes at
161/163, 171/173 and 181/183 South Marshall Street was
greatly enhanced by Monrovia's landscaping

Most recently, Monrovia landscaped new homes at 66 Bliss Street and 9 Moore Avenue in East Hartford. Again, the results are excellent! As Construction Director Kris McKelvie noted, "People have been slowing down as they drive by to compliment the gorgeous gardens." And later this summer, Monrovia plans to plant similar gardens at the new Habitat homes under construction at 35 and 37 Armistice Street in New Britain.

66 Bliss Street, East Hartford.
The garden is thriving as the lawn begins to sprout.

As of the end of 2018, Monrovia's team will have assisted on fifteen Habitat homes since November 2016, which includes the specialty walkway entrance plantings at a rehabilitated home on Hartford's Roosevelt Street. Monrovia's generosity is making a visible difference in the lives of Habitat families, and the neighborhoods where they live. By working together Habitat and Monrovia have grown a blossoming partnership. Long may it bloom!

Don Shaw, Jr.

Writer and Editor

RedTruckStonecatcher.com

Photos by Don Shaw, Jr.

"For the beauty of the earth, For the beauty of the skies"

2018-04-15T11:57:00.001-04:00

Mountain Brook as it passes through Wilhelm Farm.
Photo: Peter Dinella

"For the beauty of the earth, For the beauty of the skies"

by Ann Wilhelm

Wilhelm Farm is typical of many small hill farms throughout New England. The 46 acre parcel of land encompasses a variety of landscapes, including open fields, forest, a woodland stream, and other wetland areas. Little of the land is level, and much of it is unsuitable for cultivating crops. Mountain Brook is a woodland stream that bisects the property.

Wilhelm Farm barns and pasture in early fall.
Photo: Peter Dinella

My husband and I bought the North Granby, Connecticut farm from my parents in 2003. I spent many happy hours as a child playing in the woods and splashing in Mountain Brook, with siblings, cousins, or friends. The brook actually flows from south to north, running into the East Branch of Salmon Brook near the North Granby Post Office. The land rises steeply on the west side of the brook, marking the first uplift of the Berkshire Mountains. The brook is fed by many intermittent streams that run down the mountainside in wet seasons and heavy rain events. In the spring, one can find Skunk Cabbage, Trillium, Trout Lily, Wood Anemones, and many other woodland flowers along its banks. Songbirds, woodpeckers, brook trout, frogs, turtles, salamanders, and even an occasional otter have been seen in the brook or the wetlands that surround it. The banks and sandbars are pocked with the tracks of woodland creatures who come there to drink. I frequently hike to the brook at dusk. The tranquility of this spot restores in me a sense of calm and peace after a day spent behind a desk and then a long commute home.

Mountain Brook with its vivid mossy green banks and sparkling clear water.
Photo: Peter Dinella

A beautiful fall triptych of colorful trees on Wilhelm Farm.
Photo: Michael Bentley

On such a walk on an evening last summer, I found the stream running with cloudy, discolored water. There had been several powerful thunderstorms in recent days, so the brook was full, but the water was so turbid that the stream bed was not even visible. The mossy banks which are normally a vivid green, were coated in a layer of reddish-brown silt. This place that always sparkled and vibrated with life looked frightfully dull and dead.

Mountain Brook in distress dulled by silt and sediment.
Photo: Ann Wilhelm

Concerned that the brook was in distress, I immediately called the local Inland Wetlands and Watercourses Commission. Already alerted by someone far downstream from our farm who also had noticed the alarming discoloration of normally pristine Salmon Brook, the commission had traced the silt to its upstream source -- a recently cleared wooded slope with inadequately built sedimentation ponds. The offending landowner promptly engaged remediation experts to stabilize the slope and to shore-up the sedimentation ponds. Additionally, significant deposits of sediment in the affected wetlands were carefully removed to mitigate damage to this sensitive habitat using special equipment and manual labor.

Though relieved that corrective actions were underway, I worried that the damage had been done and I would never again see the brook as it had been. A consulting hydrologist and soil scientist retained by the upstream property owner came to our farm to evaluate the impact on downstream neighbors. Though the water was running clearer than it had several weeks earlier, the stream bed and banks still were coated by a layer of fine, red silt. The slightest disturbance of the stream bed caused the water to cloud. Deeper pools of water remained opaque, with the fine silt particles held in suspension. The expert explained that unlike the situation at the source, these downstream deposits of silt were not enough to warrant human intervention. Attempts to remove the sediment would likely cause more harm than benefit. He said heavy rains and the high waters of spring would wash the silt out of Mountain Brook. These particles would travel through larger and larger waterways until they were eventually deposited as sediment in Long Island Sound. The best course of action was to do nothing; to give the situation time and let nature take its course. He was right! I watched the brook through the late fall and winter and have been delighted to see Mountain Brook returned to a pristine state.

Winter snow and spring rains returned Mountain Brook to it pristine state.
Photo: Ann Wilhelm

Nature’s ability to heal from trauma reminds me of how miraculous our natural world is. The restoration of this one, small jewel gives me hope for the future. Although our environment's natural resiliency struggles to survive in our human wake, it is not too late to reverse the harms we have inflicted on the planet. Spring is the season of rebirth, renewal, and new beginnings. Let's all do our part. We must commit to keeping our environment clean and livable. When added together even small, individual actions, such as buying local food, picking up litter, or planting a tree make a collective, positive impact. "For the beauty of the earth, For the beauty of the skies..." -- let's sing it; let's do it!

Happy Earth Day!

Ann Wilhelm is a Research Analyst in the University of Connecticut’s Office of Institutional Research and Effectiveness. As part-time farmers and advocates for small-scale agricultural systems, Ann and her husband, Bill Bentley, are implementing several agroforestry systems on their North Granby, CT farm.

Follow Ann on social media: www.wilhelmfarm.com; Instagram: wilhelm_farm; Facebook: Wilhelm Farm

Fresh Starts Begin with Grace

2018-03-22T14:24:00.000-04:00

One of Fresh Start's original furniture offerings, a hand painted garden bench.

As I walked in with Pastor Rick Kremer to tour Asylum Hill's unique non-profit furniture making business, Waseem was feeding a board into a planer, Ron was putting the finishing touches on a cabinet, and two volunteers were crafting tables and lamps. It's a typical busy morning scene on Fresh Start Pallet Products LLC's shop floor. Discarded pallets and distressed furniture are recycled into "attractive, sturdy, and affordable furnishings for home and garden." Fresh Start's mission is to offer meaningful jobs and job training, along with essential life skills to people -- typically unemployed, often homeless, sometimes with severe health or addiction issues -- seeking a way back to reclaim their dignity and self-esteem, all toward becoming productive members of society. Reclamation and renewal are what Fresh Start is all about.

Waseem working at the planer.

Ron putting the finishing touches on a cabinet.

In the Beginning ...

Launched three years ago as a mission-based enterprise, the idea for Fresh Start germinated when artist and community outreach organizer Louisa Barton-Duguay thought that the idle, but fertile, lawn of Hartford's Grace Lutheran Church would be a comforting place for people, especially the neighborhood's homeless seeking a respite from the street, to sit and chat, or simply relax in a moment of quiet solitude. Louisa, Grace's artist-in-residence, thought a garden with simple benches should be the first "seeds" planted. Her vision sparked a spiritual call to action. Lee Whittemore, a retired Hartford Master carpenter, heard it and took the next step with Louisa. At her request, Lee volunteered to build the benches.

Together, as they surveyed the proposed garden location, Louisa and Lee spotted a pile of discarded pallets piled near a recently renovated apartment building across the street. Whittemore quickly rescued them from a fate destined for the the landfill. It was free lumber. As he began constructing basic benches and chairs with the salvaged pieces, more surprises were in the offing.

Whittemore's work attracted the attention of homeless men who had come to Grace for its weekly Friday Gatherings, a free dinner with all the trimmings. They asked if they could help. Instantly, Whittemore had eager assistants. As it came to life, Grace's new garden, with its colorful pallet furniture, drew broad community praise encouraging others to support the effort.

Recently called to Grace's ministry at that point, and moved by the neighborhood's "stories of hungry people with little hope, and many lost dreams," Pastor Rick often wondered about how it came to be that Louisa's wonderful idea, a pile of discarded pallets, and Lee's talents all converged at the right moment to initiate a program destined to become a new church mission. Divine inspiration? Pastor Rick believes so, which led him to ask Louisa and Lee a simple question, "Did you ever think about creating a business?" Without skipping a beat, conversations about starting a business began in earnest. That's when David Eberly, a pianist of note, unknowingly took the baton to orchestrate the next steps.

A Musician Plays the Next Verse

After overhearing conversations concerning the church's financial challenges, Eberly, blind from birth, called Pastor Rick suggesting they meet with Phil Rockwell and Pete Mobilia, two retirees formerly involved in development and public relations at Asylum Hill's St. Francis Hospital. He thought they might have ideas that could help get Grace on a more stable financial footing.

Eberly spoke with Rockwell and Mobilia, and they set a meeting at Hamilton Heights, the senior living facility Eberly and Mobilia call home. In the meeting Pastor Rick outlined several issues affecting church finances, which generated several comments, but nothing revelatory. However, as a last minute thought when wrapping up his talk, Pastor Rick mentioned the church's latest idea for a neighborhood mission: "building furniture out of used shipping pallets, and in that way inviting people to a new start, a second chance." Another moment of divine inspiration struck. The idea instantly captured the imagination of Rockwell and Mobilia. Taking root strong and deep, the idea ultimately blossomed into what it is today, Fresh Start Pallet Products LLC, a social enterprise with a mission to provide "employment and training opportunities for economically disadvantaged area residents."

Fully on board, Rockwell and Mobilia recommended marketing and public relations ideas to advance the cause. They also knew other people who would leap at the chance to help. The small group soon grew larger. Many volunteers stepped forward to lend a hand. From the very beginning they reached for help from other organizations serving the same population. Discussions with neighboring organizations such as St. Francis Hospital, Chrysalis Center, and Catholic Family Services were encouraging. With enthusiasm running high, a small working team quickly gelled. Its first order of business was funding -- securing enough money to launch the enterprise on a path to succeed. A fundraiser proved just the ticket.

In June 2015 the pallet project team sponsored a night of music hosted by Hamilton Heights. It featured The Great American Songbook with Eberly on the keyboard accompanied by the vocals of Bob Lally, a project advocate and partner at Federman, Lally & Remis LLC. Nearly 100 people attended the concert, which also exhibited recently completed pallet furniture products. Netting more than $23,000, it raised enough money to get the business underway in earnest, and it attracted more advocates from which a vital network of relationships grew. Helping hands quickly multiplied, and a diverse and talented team -- a working committee -- was built that could turn an idea into reality.

With the engine to drive the business firmly in gear, the team worked full speed ahead on the details. It took the necessary steps to establish Fresh Start Pallet Products as a recognized non-profit business with a formal business plan. With Fresh Start's official legal standing assured, the team proceeded to make sure that accounting, insurance, payroll and personnel processes were securely in place.

Fresh Start Opens for Business

Under tents in Grace's backyard, Fresh Start officially opened its "doors" for business in 2015, as a social justice mission focused on changing lives and providing second chances; befitting its motto, Building Furniture -- Rebuilding Lives. "For years, Grace Lutheran has sponsored missions of mercy through its year round Friday night public dinners, and its Janet's Closet clothing shop, both serving people in need," Pastor Rick told me. "Now we have a business focused on justice with a mission that helps people in need who want an opportunity to change their lives."

Soon the furniture offerings evolved from benches and chairs, to a variety of products including tables, planters, window boxes, shelves, and stools. As sales revenue and donations increased, and winter loomed, the need for more manufacturing space grew. Nearby Trinity Episcopal Church offered its basement where operations continued to grow. What was meant to last for a winter, carried on for two years as Fresh Start added equipment, and engaged in a comprehensive process learning about hiring, personnel selection, productivity, quality, and marketing. As the business continued to grow, it soon became evident a larger, more functional and permanent location would be needed.

Right on cue, committee volunteers found a solution in Asylum Hill with room to house more trainees, as well as its core of dedicated volunteers. Fresh Start had an ideal spot to change more lives. It could focus unrestrained on conducting additional technical training, manufacturing more efficiently, improving its quality, expanding its offerings, and, most important of all, hiring more people in need of a fresh start.

A custom bench ready for final finishing.

Fresh Start's fan-backed chair.

The quality of Fresh Start's furniture has improved significantly under the direction of operations manager Ron Bell (a former trainee and now full time employee) and his team of trainee-employees and volunteers. Its products are becoming hot commodities. Thanks to Mike McGarry's support, Fresh Start's full line of products was featured at February's Connecticut Flower and Garden Show at the Connecticut Convention Center. McGarry, an Asylum Hill Neighborhood advocate and head of Hartford Blooms, the city's annual flower garden tour, was enthusiastic to assist.

In its new location, Fresh Start continued to develop new and amazing products. Along with its benches and chairs, it has built in vogue "steampunk" lamps, display racks for two Salvation Army thrift stores, and creatively modified used furniture acquired from Hartford Habitat's ReStore -- all of these have contributed to building an inventory of unique and functional home furnishings. As Pastor Rick told me, "Our furniture design has advanced to skilled artisan quality. We call it 'Fresh Start Version 2.0.'" As a prime example, he had me sit in a wooden chair built with the seat contour of a Mercedes. It was so comfortable I felt like driving it home right from the showroom.

The "Mercedes" chair.

Table in Pastor Rick's study.

A handcrafted display table.

A custom "steampunk" lamp.

Awaiting front drawer facades, an old bureau has been transformed

into a fully functioning potting bench plumbed for water.

A small harvest table ready for delivery.

Progress to Date and Looking to the Future

During the past three years, Fresh Start has offered a second chance to fourteen people, three of whom were hired as full time employees, and has generated revenue approaching $100,000. However, much more is required to grow and sustain the real business -- the business of changing lives; of saving lives. Through improved public relations and marketing, Fresh Start is taking steps to strengthen its bottom line. It's in the final stages of becoming an independent non-profit. As a stand-alone 501(c)(3), Fresh Start's opportunities to raise much needed funding are expected to grow dramatically. Increasing individual and corporate donations, along with obtaining access to more grant funds, are essential to ensuring the healthy cash flow required to grow the business. It would enable Fresh Start to hire more trainees, as well as upgrade tools and equipment -- tools and equipment essential to ensure its trainees obtain the market-ready skills necessary to re-enter the workforce.

Fresh Start welcomes all who want to support the program. Interested parties seeking more information about Fresh Start's business, either to purchase furniture, volunteer, or donate money, tools, or equipment, are encouraged to write to Grace Lutheran Church, 46 Woodland Street, Hartford, CT 06105, or call the church office at (860) 527-7792, or contact Fresh Start Board Chair Pastor Rick Kremer at rickkremer@aol.com.

Tour Fresh Start on Wednesday, June 13, 2018

Of special note, on June 13, Fresh Start will host an open house as the last stop on Hartford Blooms' Asylum Hill neighborhood tour. The Asylum Hill tour is part of Hartford Blooms Garden Tours' annual nine-day, June 9-17, bus and walking tour of Hartford neighborhoods. The open house will feature music, food and flowers befitting the tour's theme: "Jazz, Arts & Flowers." It will be an excellent opportunity to see Fresh Start's operations first hand. Event details, registration and ticket information can be obtained on Hartford Blooms website: http://hartfordblooms.gdn; or by calling its office at (860) 296-6128.

It's spring. It's a time of renewal.

Fresh starts renew lives.

Fresh starts begin with grace.

Don Shaw, Jr.
Writer and Editor
RedTruckStonecatcher.com

Photos by Don Shaw, Jr. and Fresh Start Pallet Products LLC

Life Saving Diversions at St. Elizabeth House

2018-02-28T21:25:00.000-05:00

St. Elizabeth House, 118 Main Street, Hartford, CT,
home of Mercy Housing and Shelter Corporation's Diversion Center.

Waiting for the door to open, people are lined up as many as forty deep on a typical weekday morning at St. Elizabeth House's main entrance. They are our neighbors in crisis hoping for support once inside. In imminent danger of being swallowed into the downward cycle of homelessness, they are seeking a life saving diversion from living on the street. This is their reality. And it's just a small glimpse of their daily reality that I saw on my recent visit to St. Elizabeth's. I was there to learn first-hand about Mercy Housing and Shelter Corporation's innovative program to divert people away from becoming homeless.

Twenty months ago on July 5, 2016, Mercy Housing and Shelter Corporation (Mercy) welcomed its first clients to its newly created Diversion Center at St. Elizabeth House on Main Street in Hartford. Faced with diminishing federal and state financial support for Mercy's long-established transitional housing programs, Executive Director Dave Martineau, now retired, and current ED Judith Gough led a nine month multi-organization collaboration to develop an aggressive "up front" program designed to immediately divert people away from homelessness --- people who are on the brink of having to survive minute to minute alone with no place to go. "This program enhances Mercy's ability to prevent a person from becoming homeless before their situation spins into a full-blown, life threatening crisis," Executive Director Gough told me.

Throughout its thirty-five year old mission of providing housing assistance and supportive services to persons who are homeless, or at risk of becoming homeless, Mercy has prided itself as being on the forefront of creating workable community solutions. Simple and direct, the Diversion Center's goal is to find its clients safe, stable housing rapidly. The Center's reach is wide. It provides services in what's organized as the Greater Hartford Coordinated Area Network, which, in addition to Hartford and its surrounding towns, includes Enfield, Manchester, East Hartford, Ellington, and Tolland.

"Nearly thirty percent of people in this situation [of being homeless] can be diverted from this tragic outcome with minimal mediation," according to Connecticut Coalition to End Homelessness workshops. "Often the solution can be overcome with little or no money to reverse the events leading to homelessness," saving Hartford and Connecticut thousands of dollars.

According to Stephanie Corbin, Mercy's Shelter Diversion Coordinator, the diversion process is best described as highly responsive "front door triage." It provides personalized solutions with accompanying emotional support aimed at mitigating the problems leading to a client's crisis. It's all accomplished at the Center in centralized coordination with several Hartford based agencies serving the homeless, including Journey Home, the Salvation Army, Community Health Resources, and the City of Hartford. Corbin emphasized that the key to successful client outcomes is case manager creativity. The solution for each client must address the direct question, "What do we need to do right now to keep you out of the shelter system?"

Stephanie Corbin (L), Shelter Diversion Coordinator, conducts a case
conferencing session with case managers (L-R) Jackie Florez, Shefia Ibrahim,
and Latoya Smith to review recommendations for each client.

To counsel people in crisis quickly and directly, a collaborative team of case managers from Mercy, the Salvation Army, and Community Health Resources staff the Center every week. People seeking the Center's support first call the 211 Infoline, which initially assesses the caller's need for services, and then, as deemed appropriate, schedules an appointment for them to see a Center case manager within 24 to 48 hours. Appointments are scheduled Monday through Friday beginning at 9:00 AM.

A sampling of client-specific crisis resolutions include:

Arranging a family intervention allowing a teenager to seek redemption and return home after being kicked out for unacceptable behavior.
Working with a family facing eviction because of an unresolved rent dispute with their landlord.
Working with a family being evicted for violating a rental agreement by housing non-family members.
Assisting a client with short-term financial assistance needed to keep them in good stead with their landlord while they recover from a medical setback.
Providing a client with bus or train fare enabling them to reunite and live with family residing in another state.

In addition to crisis resolution assistance, Diversion Center clients may also see a nurse or physician's assistant in the center's medical suite staffed by Charter Oak Health Center, or find respite in St. Elizabeth House's Friendship Center with a healthy meal, or hot shower.

St. Elizabeth's Friendship Center serves a hot lunch prepared on site.

Opened just twenty months ago, Mercy's Diversion Center is still in its formative stage, yet its results to date are encouraging. In fiscal year 2017, 2,577 individuals were seen by a case manager. During that period 456 were diverted from homelessness, sixty-two of whom were between the ages of 18-24, and 124 required limited financial assistance that helped them avoid homelessness. Further, 1,244 people, whose cases were not readily resolvable, were referred directly to city shelters, and the remaining group were either referred to other area programs, or were deemed ineligible for assistance.

According to Executive Director Gough current demand for the Center's diversion service is showing an increase over last fiscal year. With one full year of experience, and a second well underway, the Diversion Center has charted a path for other agencies serving the homeless to follow, and to improve upon collectively. It's a path the Connecticut Department of Housing strongly endorses. It's a path leading to life saving diversions, or perhaps one could say "Mercy-ful Diversions."

This post was reprinted in the Mercy Housing and Shelter Spring 2018 Newsletter, and in Journey Home Connecticut's Journey Home News Spring 2018.

Don Shaw, Jr.
Writer and Editor
RedTruckStonecatcher.com

Photos by Don Shaw, Jr.

For the Record: I am currently a member of Mercy Housing and Shelter Corporation's Board of Trustees. Further, I served as an analyst in developing "Hartford's Plan to End Chronic Homelessness by 2015"; and I represented Hartford Area Habitat for Humanity in the development of a subsequent implementation plan called "Journey Home -- The Ten Year Plan to End Homelessness in the Capitol Region"

Delicious Food with a Generous Serving of Second Chances

2018-02-13T15:48:00.000-05:00

Chris White, a Culinary Training Collaborative graduate,
with Felicia Jenkins, Chef Instructor at Zest 280

Eat lunch at Zest 280 and you'll enjoy a good, healthy lunch along with a generous serving of second chances. I did. On my first visit I savored this mission-based café's homemade Grain Bowl. It was a delicious combination of lentils, quinoa, brown rice, peppers, tomato, kale and grilled chicken. This cozy café at 280 Park Road in West Hartford, sister restaurant to the acclaimed Pond House Café, is celebrating its first anniversary since owners Kim Yarum and Louis Lista reopened it a year ago with a mission dedicated to providing former prison inmates a second chance to earn the skills necessary to re-enter society with a viable career in the workplace.

Zest 280's complete menu is a made-from-scratch fare of soups, salads, sandwiches, and hot plates, all prepared on-site by paid "externs" who commit to a rigorous career development program sponsored by Community Partners in Action (CPA) in collaboration with Zest 280 and The Kitchen at Billings Forge in Hartford's Frog Hollow neighborhood.

On the day of my first visit, Chris White was my host and server. His welcoming style, attention to detail, and willingness to explain Zest 280's mission appropriately complemented Zest’s bright and open atmosphere. He holds a permanent position on the Pond House Café's banquet staff, where he was placed after completing his Zest externship. However, this day Chris was handling Zest's hosting duties gladly to fill a last minute staffing need.

The healthy, homemade Grain Bowl I ate on my first visit.

On my second visit my friend had the Roasted Beet Salad and ...

... I ordered the Salmon Cake Served Over Indian Rice.

Working as a Culinary Training Collaborative, CPA, The Kitchen and Zest 280 combine to provide professional training in food preparation and customer service with actual on-the-job business experience to prepare people "seeking a second chance for careers in the culinary arts and hospitality industries." The Collaborative is integral to CPA's mission which focuses on behavioral change and advocacy for criminal justice reform. CPA's "employment, basic needs, reentry and recovery services work together to reduce recidivism, enhance public safety and inform public policy -- all at a fraction of the cost of prison."

Critical to the Collaborative's success is The Kitchen at Billings Forge. Its Kitchen Culinary Program provides desperately needed paid job training opportunities for people who face the often overwhelming challenges of unemployment, low education levels, and high poverty rates. Also, it seeks to help the significant number of former prisoners who are released to Hartford where they often remain only to face high barriers to employment. The Kitchen's specific on-the-job training creates real-life experiences for participants interested in both culinary and customer service careers. All training is conducted by experienced professionals working side-by-side with students cooking for and serving patrons in its café, as well as at catered events. As reported on its web site "almost 100 folks so far have started the training and, within eight weeks of completing the program, 75% went directly to jobs with starting wages averaging 119% of minimum wage."

Zest 280 fulfills its partnership responsibilities by employing selected Kitchen Culinary Program graduates directly into what it calls its 10-week hands-on culinary "externship." It's a paid position with the opportunity for the graduates to apply their newly acquired skills outside of a training environment. Externs work under the tutelage of Chef Instructor Felicia Jenkins, a seasoned chef who turned her own second chance years ago into more than two decades of combined experience with The Kitchen and the Pond House Café. Felicia guides the externs through a structured program designed to provide advanced culinary skills, as well as "front-of-the-house" customer service skills critical to professional interaction with the public. After completing their externship, participants receive Zest's assistance in finding permanent job placement through interview coaching, and guidance on resume preparation and job application completion. To date twelve externs have successfully completed the program and nine have been placed in area positions.

On my third visit Victoria Negrón was our host and server.
My friend enjoyed the Zesty Starter and I savored
the perfectly spiced Thai Chicken Salad.

Zest 280's bright and open atmosphere.

The Culinary Training Collaborative is an excellent example of a partnership determined to clear a pathway back into society for individuals seeking a second chance. The opportunity to work at Zest 280 provides a vital step along the road to gainful employment. It's a step toward restoring hope and dignity to a vulnerable population searching for an opportunity for redemption. Zest 280 is The Eatery with a Twist where you'll enjoy a delicious healthy lunch with a generous serving of second chances.

Believe in second chances and eat with Zest! Often!

Zest 280 is located at 280 Park Road in West Hartford
(Photo from the Community Partners in Action web site)

Don Shaw, Jr.
Writer and Editor
RedTruckStonecatcher.com

Photos by Don Shaw, Jr., and one from Community Partners in Action as noted.

Face Reality. Take a Stand. Make a Difference.

2018-01-27T10:44:00.000-05:00

Lighting a Candle in Frauenkirsche, Munich, Germany
In Memory of My Father Who Fought in WWII
to Free the World of Nazi Tyranny

January 27, 2018
International Holocaust Remembrance Day in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust

Indifference manifests itself in ignorance, silence and acceptance. Turning our backs to the injustices suffered by the marginalized, vulnerable, and victimized in our local communities and around the world is a weak and heartless admission that the status quo is just fine with us when it doesn't affect our lives directly -- at least not yet. And that's a very big "yet" because unchecked turmoil can arrive anytime at our doorsteps regardless of who we think we are.

Let's face reality. The other, the stranger, the not-of-my-kind are real people, not abstractions. Each has a story -- a personal story of a real life, filled the with the kinds of hopes and dreams most of us share in wanting to be accepted, and allowed to live in peace and pursue a purposeful life.

The challenge is to move us from uncaring indifference, or gratuitous caring with no commitment, to making a genuinely positive difference, large or small, however we are able. We must move from ignoring today's reality to facing it head-on by taking a stand, and turn ignorance into awareness and action.

Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel fought relentlessly against the force of indifference. It's dangerous. It's deadly. In his December 10, 1986, Nobel Prize acceptance speech Wiesel said,

"We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented. Sometimes we must interfere. When human lives are endangered, when human dignity is in jeopardy, national borders and sensitivities become irrelevant. Wherever men or women are persecuted because of their race, religion, or political views, that place must - at that moment - become the center of the universe."

Let's face reality. Let's take a stand. Let's make a difference. Today and always.

A version of this post was published in CT Viewpoints on January 30, 2018.

Don Shaw, Jr.
Writer and Editor
RedTruckStonecatcher.com

Photograph by Don Shaw, Jr.

Faith is a Verb

2018-01-10T19:43:00.000-05:00

Sign on Bike & Build trailer in the
First Congregational Church of Granby, CT parking lot

“To have faith in something is an inducement not to dormancy but to action. To me, faith is not just a noun but also a verb.” – President Jimmy Carter

I’ve had the good fortune and honor of meeting President Carter a few times including being invited to sit right beside him at lunch on a Habitat for Humanity work site in Haiti, as well as, to attend one of his Sunday school lessons at Maranatha Baptist Church in Plains, Georgia. What has always impressed me is his true interest getting to know a person as an individual -- you, me, whomever he is with. As his friend Rev. Eloy Cruz taught him, people need “to love the person who happens to be in front of [them] at any particular time.” That is, it's vital to deal in specifics (what we actually will commit to doing) in our relationships with the people around us -- those we know, those who are strangers, those we serve, those who serve us, those who need protection from injustice. It led Carter to a question he continues ask himself to this day, “What shall I do?” It’s a question we should ask ourselves always, individually and as a group.

President Jimmy Carter welcoming the congregation
before teaching his Sunday School lesson
at Maranatha Baptist Church, Plains, GA

To help keep me focused on President Carter’s question, I frequently listen to These Hands a song sung by one of my favorite singers Dave Gunning of Nova Scotia. It’s a song I’d like my church to sing. Here are excerpts from the lyrics by Dave Gunning and George Canyon:

Dave Gunning performing at the
Salmon Brook Music Series in Granby, CT

Some hands have held the world together
Some hands have fought in wars forever
Tell me what shall I do with these hands of mine

Some hands have blessed a million people
Some hands helped free the world from evil
Tell me what shall I do with these hands of mine

The world could use a hero of the human kind
So tell me what shall I do with these hands of mine

Some hands can stop a life from dying
Some hands comfort a baby crying
So tell me what shall I do with these hands of mine

The world could use a hero of the human kind
So tell me what shall I do with these hands of mine

I want to sing it from my heart, I want to hear it in the wind 'Til it blows around the world, and comes back again All that we can ask, is for ours to be free To use them when we want, for whatever the need

Some hands give voice to a nation
Some hands wrote "The Times They Are a-Changin'"
So tell me what shall I do with these hands of mine

The world could use a hero of the human kind
So tell me what shall I do with these hands of mine

To fulfill our individual and collective responsibility to build a better world, we must answer the question, What shall we do with these hands of ours? Faith is a verb for all of us.

Don Shaw, Jr.

Writer and Editor

RedTruckStonecatcher.com

Photos by Don Shaw, Jr.

Creating Hartford Collective Culture at Know Good Market

2017-12-20T11:45:00.000-05:00

Know Good Market, October 12, 2017
Photo Credit: Taylor Peracchio

Creating Hartford Collective Culture at Know Good Market

By Drew Kozub, Leah Fuld, and Taylor Peracchio, Trinity College '21

What does it mean to be from Hartford? What defines the city’s identity? In recent years, Hartford is developing a reputation for its amazing food truck vendors – and this is no accident. Jeff Devereux (Trinity College ’12) is among the founders of the social enterprise Breakfast Lunch & Dinner (BL&D), which holds many events with the goal of fostering “collective culture” in Hartford. One central event is Know Good Market, an open-air food truck event held in Hartford’s Parkville neighborhood on the second Thursday of the month from April to November. At Know Good Market, residents come together to enjoy food, drink, and local vendors, while also developing a closer attachment to one another and to the city of Hartford.

Devereux describes collective culture as a state in which “everyone feels a part of a community, regardless of race, income, or background. …[E]veryone can get involved and participate in something together.” In this way, Devereux’s efforts with Know Good Market are about far more than having fun. Community events that build social networks, trust, and a sense of shared goals can contribute to building upon Hartford’s strengths and addressing its challenges.

Hartford’s struggles and where they stand

Since the late 1990s, survey after survey placed Hartford among the poorest of all American cities. As its population shrank, poverty and racial segregation grew.[1] As a result, redevelopment stalled and the city fell into an extended fiscal crisis. Many of the suburbs surrounding Hartford are wealthy, but suburban residents typically come into the city only to work, leaving directly after the workday. Downtown, sidewalks that are packed by day empty out in the evening hours. In part as a result, many recent college graduates leave Hartford for bigger cities.[2]

While some view Hartford’s size, poverty, and diversity as a disadvantage, Jeff Devereux sees these challenges as opportunities. Indeed, he believes that the city’s diverse population and relatively small size are both advantages in launching a business like BL&D. Hartford has the components of a great city, but needs a shared sense of identity – a kind of social glue – to bring these ingredients together.

Know Good Market

Know Good Market fosters collective culture by bringing together people from different parts of Hartford for a shared experience. In only its second year, the market has grown from two food trucks and about a hundred people, to twelve vendors and as many as eight hundred people. When we visited on Thursday, October 12, the market was the perfect place for a diverse range of residents to get food and drinks after work. The market had numerous culinary options, and almost all the vendors had lines reaching from their trucks. The lines were a great opportunity to meet new people and start making connections.

Another site for interaction is the market’s single, long communal table. With few other places to sit and eat, people can’t help but sit together and meet a new neighbor. Proximity to Hog River Brewing Company on Bartholomew Avenue also helps build social connections. With beers in hand, strangers felt even more comfortable beginning to interact.

Hog River Brewery. Photo Credit: Taylor Peracchio

The Know Good Market is successful in building collective culture in part because the vendors share Jeff Devereux’s goal. Butcher & Red, for instance, produces delicious food by buying products from local farmers and using a non-profit, shared kitchen called Hands on Hartford. Participating in the Market has helped them make connections with other vendors in Connecticut and learn more about what is going on in Hartford. Referring to some of Hartford’s other new businesses that participate in the market, they said: “Hog River Brewery and Story and Soil Coffee show us that Hartford can be a place for young and innovative business owners to thrive.” And through Know Good Market, they see these businesses “all supporting each other.” Moreover, they see the market bringing in residents that generate business and increase a sense of collective culture: “Know Good Market attracts people that don’t usually go into Hartford, and it’s becoming a thing for people to do. It gets them out of their normal social bubble to see that Hartford has some cool stuff going on.” Other vendors concurred. Krystal, from Zipped and Printed, which sells a variety of items featuring bright African textiles, sees Know Good Market as “something really special … bringing the Hartford community together regardless of age or other factors.”

Through face to face interactions at Know Good Market, we get to know our neighbors better, we trust them more, and, ultimately, we’re more able to work together to make change. This collective culture makes the city a more attractive place to live and may contribute to combatting “brain drain” and bringing in more tax revenue.

A Know Good Market Vendor. Photo Credit: Taylor Peracchio

You Can Help Too!

So now you might be asking, what you can do to help? The answer is quite simple: attend Know Good Market! Start following BL&D on social media so that you won’t miss upcoming events. Jeff Devereux plans to continue creating opportunities for the community to connect at Know Good Market and beyond. Going to events hosted by Breakfast Lunch & Dinner is a great opportunity to have fun while becoming a part of the collective culture of our city. This sense of shared identity will become a resource in addressing challenges and capitalizing on opportunities as a greater Hartford community.

Want to know more? Visit Breakfast Lunch & Dinner’s website to learn about their full range of projects and upcoming events, and also find links to social media accounts: http://www.breakfastxlunchxdinner.com

This article is the fourth and final in a series of four student blog posts featured from Trinity Assistant Professor Abigail Williamson's first-year seminar Civic Engagement and Community as described in my blog post Classroom to Community at Trinity.

Don Shaw, Jr.

Writer and Editor
RedTruckStonecatcher.com

[1] Chen, Xiangming and Bacon, Nick. “Confronting Urban Legacy: Rediscovering Hartford and New England's Forgotten Cities.” Hartford: A Global History https://catalyst.library.jhu.edu/catalog/bib_4733740

[2] Whalen, Dana. “Lawmakers Look To Ease The ‘Brain Drain.’” CT News Junkie, 5 Mar. 2017, www.ctnewsjunkie.com/archives/entry/lawmakers_look_to_ease_the_brain_drain/

Hartford Magnet Schools: A Beneficial Burden

2017-12-19T20:19:00.000-05:00

Karen Taylor, Second Vice-Chair, Hartford Public Schools

Hartford Magnet Schools: A Beneficial Burden

By Mitchell Pfaff, Anna Barry, and Jack Ricciuti, Trinity College

Mitchell Pfaff (Trinity College ’21) is from Westwood Massachusetts and has a growing interest in politics.

Anna Barry (Trinity College ’21) is from Sutton, Massachusetts, and attended Worcester Academy in Worcester, Massachusetts. At Trinity, she is a member of the Equestrian Team and a writer for Trinity's chapter of HerCampus, which is an online magazine for college women.

Jack Ricciuti (Roxbury Latin ’17, Trinity College ’21) is a member of the varsity Trinity men’s lacrosse team and intends to major in political science or economics.

Karen Taylor doesn’t ever shy away from a debate. When she engaged the mayor of Hartford in a heated conversation about problems with the city’s schools, he walked away so impressed that, soon after, he appointed her to the School Board.

In all of her other projects, Karen is equally as focused and energetic about her impact on the Hartford community. Aside from being a Member of the Hartford School Board (and a Trinity College alumna), Karen is the Program Director of the Consortium on Higher Achievement and Success, a board member at the Hartford Public Library, and a supporter of the Capital Region Education Council (CREC). A devoted mother, Karen wants to see a better future for the city that she grew up in.[1]

In 1996, the Connecticut Supreme Court found that Hartford schools were illegally segregated along racial and economic lines in the Sheff v. O’Neill case. The state was ordered to desegregate schools in the greater Hartford area. The implementation and funding of CREC magnet schools was the State of Connecticut’s response to the landmark decision.[2]

Today, however, the citizens of Hartford remain divided when it comes to the CREC magnet schools. By attending a meeting of the Hartford Board of Education and speaking with Karen Taylor we were able to see these stark divisions. At the Board of Education meeting, we witnessed passionate parents speak out against injustices as they voiced their opinions on ways in which the Hartford school system needs to be improved.

These parents’ comments suggest that some in Hartford believe that magnet schools are nothing but a drain on the local school system. Karen Taylor provides another outlook – she sees magnet schools as a way to bring the greater Hartford area together. By integrating the schools in the greater Hartford area, Karen believes that the people of the region will form connections that allow them to work together to solve shared problems. In other words, magnet schools promote building what Harvard Professor Robert Putnam calls social capital. Social capital refers to the value of social interaction and trusting relationships.[3] If the greater Hartford area is able to increase its levels of social capital, then Hartford will marshal its resources collectively to become a more prosperous city.

Benefits of Magnet Schools in Hartford

Even two decades following the Sheff ruling, Hartford schools remain not only under-funded but also extremely segregated. While the Hartford region covers 87 square miles, the city itself is only about 18 square miles today, surrounded by more than two dozen suburban towns.[4] In Hartford, Latinos and African-Americans comprise more than three-quarters of the population. In comparison, surrounding towns are predominantly white, as the table below comparing Hartford, West Hartford, and East Hartford indicates.

Table: Racial and Ethnic Composition of Hartford and Neighboring Cities

	Hartford	East Hartford	West Hartford
Total population	124,775	51,252	63,268
Percent White (non-Hispanic)	16%	42%	75%
Percent Black (non-Hispanic)	35%	24%	6%
Percent Asian (non-Hispanic)	3%	6%	7%
Percent Hispanic	43%	26%	10%

Source: U.S. Census, American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2011-2014

The CREC magnet schools offer some children in Hartford an escape from the relatively low performing district schools in the city. CREC advertises that, in contrast to the city’s schools, a majority of CREC graduates attend post-secondary education programs.[5] By providing students from lower income areas with the tools to succeed, magnet schools facilitate the lessening of socio-economic inequality. Moreover, by drawing children from across district lines, magnet schools bring together children and parents from different backgrounds, who may have never met otherwise. This creates a form of social capital known as bridging, which describes the growth of relationships between diverse groups of people.[6]

People like Karen Taylor hope that by bringing together people from the many different communities in the greater Hartford area, they can facilitate the creation of a more unified Hartford region. If they are able to break down the strong ethnic and socioeconomic divisions that plague the region, they will form a more cohesive community, perhaps even leading to a more even distribution of wealth.

Challenges with Magnet Schools in Hartford

While there are a great deal of positive effects from magnet schools within Hartford, there are also a few negatives in the way the system currently is implemented. One issue is the potential damage to bonding social capital. Bonding is a form of social capital that is created by forming deeper and more meaningful relationships among people within a specific group.[7] Though magnet schools have been able to successfully break down divisions along ethnic and economic lines and across towns in greater Hartford, they have also divided neighbors within Hartford. This division is the result of the lottery system used to determine which children can go to a magnet school. To ensure integration, placement through the lottery system factors in a student’s race or ethnicity. Magnet schools admit no more than 75% students that are Black and Latino, while Whites and Asians, referred to as “reduced isolation” students, must make up the remaining 25% of each school.^[8]

This 75-25 ratio in magnet schools was mandated as a way to desegregate schools. Meanwhile, segregation persists because many Blacks and Latinos within Hartford are eager to enroll in these schools, but Whites and Asians who primarily live in the suburbs have been less interested. Blacks and Latinos are forced to wait in line for a seat, unable to enroll until more reduced isolation students decide to join them. Currently half of Hartford’s youth are in CREC schools, but some observers suggest that interest from White and Asian students may have “maxed out.”^[9] Therefore, those Black and Latino students who want a seat, but are unable to get one, are forced to go to segregated Hartford public schools.

As a result of these pressures, Karen Taylor has experienced Hartford parents complaining that the system is rigged if their child is not picked by the lottery. This anger can divide neighbors along the lines of those who attend magnet schools and those who attend regular public schools.

Hartford’s Road to Recovery

Despite these challenges, Karen Taylor sees magnet schools as an effective long-term solution to undo extreme segregation and socioeconomic disparity in greater Hartford. Magnet schools do have short-term consequences that can lead to more localized divisions among neighbors and anger from those who are unable to benefit from the lottery system. These smaller fractures within neighborhoods will slowly be healed as the greater Hartford area becomes more unified and equal. Through the early stages of the unification of Hartford, it will be rough and divisive. Having only begun to receive attention and funding as recently as 2003, the CREC schools are very much in their infancy.[10] The process of undoing decades of segregation is a long and grueling one. While the people of Hartford will continue to try to repair bonding social capital, the responsibility for mending divides is not theirs alone. Those who live in the suburbs of Hartford should work to benefit the greater Hartford area as a whole by sending their kids to magnet schools. When more suburban students attend CREC magnet schools, it allows more children from Hartford to attend those same magnet schools.

As Karen Taylor remarked, “the future is integrated.” All parts of the region will need to come together, especially the suburbs, in order for the Hartford region to create opportunities for the next generation that allow it to achieve its full potential.

This article is the third in a series of four student blog posts featured from Trinity Assistant Professor Abigail Williamson's first-year seminar Civic Engagement and Community as described in my blog post Classroom to Community at Trinity.

Don Shaw, Jr.

Writer and Editor
RedTruckStonecatcher.com

Photo of Karen Taylor from the Hartford Public Schools' website

[1] Karen T. Taylor, “40 Under Forty 2017” Hartford Business.com, (July 14, 2017) http://www.hartfordbusiness.com/article/20170714/PRINTEDITION/307129855

[2] NAACP. "NAACP Legal Defense Fund : Defend, Educate, Empower." Sheff v. O'Neill | NAACP LDF. 2014. Accessed December 10, 2017. http://www.naacpldf.org/case-issue/sheff-v-oneill.

[3] Robert Putnam, Bowling Alone (New York: Simon & Schuster, 2000).

[4] Chen, Xiangming, and Nick Bacon. Confronting urban legacy: rediscovering Hartford and New England’s forgotten cities. Lanham: Lexington Books, 2015.

[5] CREC Foundation. "Open Choice Registration." CREC. 2017. Accessed November 05, 2017.

http://www.crec.org/choice/

[6] Robert Putnam, Bowling Alone (New York: Simon & Schuster, 2000).

[7] Robert Putnam, Bowling Alone (New York: Simon & Schuster, 2000).

^[8] Torre, Vanessa de la, and Matthew Kauffman. “As Sheff V. O'Neill Case Persists, Frustrations Grow Over Minority Students Left Out Of Magnet Schools.” Courant Community, Hartford Courant, 23 Sept. 2017, www.courant.com/community/hartford/hc-hartford-sheff-case-discrimination-claim-20170912-story.html.

^[9] Joffe-Walt, Chana. WBEZ. 2015, August 7. 563: The Problem We All Live With- Part Two. This American Life. https://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/563/the-problem-we-all-live-with-part-two?act=1

[10] Kennedy, Tim. "Hartford: Integrating Schools in a Segregated Place." Teach For America. June 29, 2016. Accessed November 20, 2017. https://www.teachforamerica.org/one-day-magazine/hartford-integrating-schools-segregated-place.

Illuminating Stronger Ties at Hartford's Night Fall

2017-12-17T16:36:00.000-05:00

Night Fall event in Hartford with Connecticut's Capitol in in the background, October 7, 2017

Illuminating Stronger Ties at Hartford's Night Fall

By Preet Patel, Trinity College

Preet Patel (Trinity College ’21) is an aspiring economics major from Belchertown Massachusetts who is looking forward to getting more involved in Hartford in the coming years. During his first semester Preet volunteered at a Hartford Habitat for Humanity build with the Trinity Campus Habitat Chapter.

In the shadow of the illuminated state capitol building, hundreds of people sat mesmerized by a powerful show. Joyful laughter, sparkling smiles, and camera flashes dotted the magical landscape of Bushnell Park. Standing on stage and looking out onto people of many cultures and ethnicities, we raised and then lowered our lanterns, signifying the importance of a connected community rising through problems, and lowering barriers. Although it takes place only one night a year, Night Fall not only brings the community together, but serves as an epicenter for crossing borders, socially, economically, and ethnically, resulting in a region with greater social connectedness.

Night Fall and Social Capital

Night Fall is a yearly community event held on the first Saturday in October, celebrating the rich culture, diversity and arts of Hartford through a majestic puppet performance. The show is the creative concept of lead artist, Anne Cubberly. The puppets and art featured in the show are created in conjunction with local artists and creative people of Hartford. Many of the performers and professionals in the show call Hartford home. Hartford's rich cultural communities are emphasized throughout the event. Before the show, the tempting aroma given off by the line of food trucks draws large crowds of people anxiously waiting for a delicious treat. Adults of different races, and cultures engage with one another, sparking fruitful conversations and interactions.

People waiting in line at the food trucks at Night Fall

Despite the harmony at Nightfall, Hartford has seen a decline in social capital in recent years, with important consequences. Social capital as defined by Robert Putnam, is the social interactions, networks, and trust among community members that allow for collective action.^[1] Hartford through a series of events such as deindustrialization, suburbanization, and homogeneous communities, has experienced barriers to collective action between the city and the municipalities beyond the urban core.

Declining Social Capital in Hartford

Hartford is an often misunderstood city that has experienced extraordinary transformations throughout its history.^[2] Today Hartford is fragmented both jurisdictionally and socially, contributing to weaker social ties between community members. There is not a clear chain of events to track Hartford’s decline in social ties, but there are some factors that illuminate the problem. One factor that led to the decline of Hartford was the city’s dependence on stable manufacturing, industrial, and insurance jobs. When those industries began merging with larger corporations, moving headquarters, or shutting down, the problems for Hartford really began.^[3] The movement of high skilled workers out of Hartford created among the most racially and socioeconomically polarized regions in America. In part as a result, Hartford’s central city has among the slowest growing economies in the United States. Meanwhile greater Hartford actually ranks as among the wealthiest regions in the world.^[4] The polarization between the suburbs and the city is also clear along racial and ethnic lines. The movement of people out of the city and into suburbs created a separation of people, ideas, and cultures, increasing the ever present divide.

The suburbanization of Hartford caused a profound ripple effect that led to the erosion of social capital between the city and the surrounding towns. Hartford has a disadvantage in that it has a fixed boundary, with no ability to expand. When the industrial jobs left, many high skilled workers left to the surrounding areas, because there was little growth within the city.^[5] When largely white people moved to the suburbs, they created homogeneous communities of politics, cultures, and ideals. The separation between the suburbs and the city is toxic for bridging social capital which, according to Putnam, allows people and communities to get ahead in life.^[6] The polarized communities across municipal boundaries prevent people from making social connections that offer potential for economic growth.

A large crowd gathered near the stage at Night Fall

Without bridging social capital, communities cannot benefit from sharing skills, and knowledge. Events like Night Fall are crucial, because they promote social connection of people across different town lines, ethnicities, and cultures, encouraging stronger social networks to address Hartford’s challenges and opportunities in the future.

Night Fall Strengthens Social Capital

Events like Night Fall work towards bridging social capital between the city and the surrounding towns in several ways. The food trucks with dozens of people in line force different people to interact with one another. The performers in the show are supported and are able to display their talents to the community. An audience member from West Hartford reinforced that she values Night Fall because it “increases social interaction between demographic groups.” This shared sense of culture brings the whole community together. Not only does this allow people from the suburbs to interact with people from Hartford, but it also bridges ethnic groups in Hartford. Night Fall allows these divided groups to come together and interact with one another, promoting unity and collective action among the people of Hartford and with people of greater Hartford.

One of most crucial ways Night Fall increases social capital is its emphasis and work within the community. In the time leading up to Night Fall, the organization hosts artistic workshops throughout the city. In the workshops, the community is connected to the show through the creation of lanterns.^[7] Constructing the lanterns increases social capital within the community because it fosters a sense of cultural unity. The people of Hartford have a chance to showcase their culture, art, and diversity, encouraging connection to one another.

Night Fall’s ability to promote diversity in the community makes it powerful tool in creating stronger social capital and consequently a tighter sense of community.^[8] In an interview with the Hartford Courant, LB Munoz, a chairwoman for Night Fall, stated: “every year we're trying to relate everything back to the neighborhood we're in. Downtown is incredibly diverse, home to people who have come from afar.”^[9] Night Fall celebrates Hartford’s diversity, and acknowledges that the city’s diversity is an asset that can propel the city past its barriers.

View overlooking the stage at Night Fall

Transforming Hartford Through the Power of Collective Action

It is clear that the people of Hartford and its surrounding suburbs have the power to transform the city. Residents in the surrounding suburbs should attend events like Night Fall, and engage with and invest in the sleeping gem that Hartford truly is. Events like Night Fall prove that interactions across barriers are possible and fruitful. If there are more social interactions between the suburbs and the city then, according to Putnam, the region will be better equipped to meet any challenge.^[10] Just as I had the opportunity to lift the lantern from Night Fall’s stage, Hartford and the surrounding towns have the opportunity to illuminate a whole new generation in greater Hartford through collective regional action.

This article is the second in a series of four student blog posts featured from Trinity Assistant Professor Abigail Williamson's first-year student seminar Civic Engagement and Community as described in my blog post Classroom to Community at Trinity.

Don Shaw, Jr.

Writer and Editor

RedTruckStonecatcher.com

^{Photos by Preet Patel}
^[1] Putnam, Robert D. Bowling Alone. (New York: Simon & Schuster, 2001.)

https://books.google.com/books/about/Bowling_Alone.html?id=cettawwJwxsC

^[2] Chen, Xiangming, and Nick Bacon. Confronting urban legacy: rediscovering Hartford and New Englands forgotten cities. (Lanham: Lexington Books, 2015.)

https://books.google.com/books/about/Confronting_Urban_Legacy.html?id=qeB_AQAAQBAJ

^[3] Walsh Andrew, “Hartford: A Glocal History,” Confronting urban legacy: rediscovering Hartford and New Englands forgotten cities. (Lanham: Lexington Books, 2015.)

https://books.google.com/books/about/Confronting_Urban_Legacy.html?id=qeB_AQAAQBAJ

^[4] Chen, Xiangming, and Nick Bacon. Confronting urban legacy: rediscovering Hartford and New Englands forgotten cities. (Lanham: Lexington Books, 2015.)

https://books.google.com/books/about/Confronting_Urban_Legacy.html?id=qeB_AQAAQBAJ

^[5] Walsh Andrew, “Hartford: A Glocal History,” Confronting urban legacy: rediscovering Hartford and New Englands forgotten cities. (Lanham: Lexington Books, 2015.)

https://books.google.com/books/about/Confronting_Urban_Legacy.html?id=qeB_AQAAQBAJ

^[6] Putnam, Robert D. Bowling Alone. (New York: Simon & Schuster, 2001.)

https://books.google.com/books/about/Bowling_Alone.html?id=cettawwJwxsC

^[7] "Night Fall." Night Fall Hartford. (Accessed November 03, 2017.)

http://www.nightfallhartford.org/

^[8] "Night Fall." Night Fall Hartford. (Accessed November 03, 2017.)

http://www.nightfallhartford.org/

^[9] Dunne, Susan. "Autumn Celebration Night Fall Moves To Bushnell Park." Courant.com. October 02, 2017. (Accessed November 03, 2017.)

http://www.courant.com/features/hc-night-fall-hartford-1005-20171004-story.html

^[10] Putnam, Robert D. Bowling Alone. (New York: Simon & Schuster, 2001.)

https://books.google.com/books/about/Bowling_Alone.html?id=cettawwJwxsC

Yanil Teron: Bonding the Heart of Hartford

2017-12-16T17:53:00.000-05:00

Yanil Teron: Bonding the Heart of Hartford

by Muhammad A. Zeb, Trinity College

Muhammad A. Zeb is a freshman Class of 1963 Scholar from Corpus Christi, TX. He is founder of a South Texan non-profit called the Heritage Bridge Foundation, and has been selling cars since he was 16 years old.

A metropolitan area is similar to a human body, wherein each city functions as a unique organ, while the central city represents the heart. The City of Hartford -- the heart of a 1.2 million person metropolitan area -- is starved of its lifeblood in a region starkly divided by income and race across municipal boundaries.^[1] These divisions present barriers to social capital^[2] in the region, reducing trust, participation, and its ability to work collectively. Activist Yanil Teron^[3] has rolled up her sleeves to reinvigorate the region’s social capital. As the executive director of the Center for Latino Progress, she recognizes that, “Hartford is truly the heart of this region.” She has dedicated her professional career to building community, especially among Latinos in Hartford. In addition to these close-knit bonding interactions, Ms. Teron further seeks to build bridging social capital across diverse groups in order to channel their energy through the veins of Hartford and its surrounding area.

Hartford’s Current Diagnosis

Historically, Hartford was synonymous with the term wealth. From manufacturing to finance to insurance, Hartford served as a hub of economic activity in the United States.^[4] Though this is not the case in the modern day, Hartford continues to possess generous traces of the resources of its glory days, such as a sizeable industrial sector. Hartford is also home to numerous higher education institutions. These institutions are a vital asset in the revival of Hartford as they nurture future citizens of the area. Instilling the importance of social capital in the students of such institutions offers a promising future for Hartford.

The city of Hartford enjoys a wealth of diversity. Though the existence of wealth and diversity in a region is often a positive element, diversity and wealth are polarized in greater Hartford, leaving much of the wealth in the surrounding suburbs.^[5] This departure of wealth from the city has led to a financial crisis in Hartford as the city has minimal taxable property within its 17.9 square mile jurisdiction. Furthermore, segregation and mistrust within and between the various ethnic populations of the city of Hartford are at a high level.^[6] As the largest ethnic group in the city is Latino, specifically Puerto Rican, Yanil Teron’s primary goal is to increase social capital among the Latinos of Hartford.

Step 1: Bonding a Broken Heart

Social capital is a vital element in a successful community since it represents the value of human networks that enable collective social action. A high level of social capital is often associated with better health, better child development, and greater safety and prosperity.^[7] The two types of social capital, bonding and bridging, are closely related and one can contribute to the other.

To address the issue of the broken heart of the greater Hartford area, Yanil Teron is leading the Center of Latino Progress to generate bonding social capital among the Latino population of the city of Hartford. The projects led by Teron include immigration services and adult learning classes, specializing in English proficiency. These in turn coordinate with the FUTUROS program for job placement.⁹

Most recently, the Center for Latino Progress has developed the BiCi Co. program, which encourages individuals to bond over the activity of biking, through workshop courses and planned bike rides that facilitate face-to-face interactions.^[8] As Teron explained, “Our social capital plan goes beyond the professional interaction… we do fun things too.” In addition to fun, the program promotes environmental sustainability and transportation access.

To further build social networks in Hartford and beyond, Ms. Teron and her organization often partner with other organizations. This fall, for instance, they participated in the Heroes and Icons Exhibit by the Arte Foundation. At this event I was given a first-hand look at how Teron’s plan of increasing greater Hartford’s social capital occurs through the force of bonding social capital.

Yanil Teron, center, with Matt Pianka (left) and Muhammad Zeb, both Trinity Class of '21

The event specifically focused on the interaction of people around their appreciation for Latino culture and heritage. The spectrum of attendance greatly varied from the Latino working class to elite members of society. I was impressed to see how a simple gathering can increase in bonding social capital. In a corner holding a plate of Puerto Rican delicacies, I saw a Latino entrepreneur giving job tips to a mom of two. Shifting my glance I saw an immigration attorney discussing policy with a state representative in the presence of a new immigrant.

“This is only the first step in our plan,” Teron claimed when I expressed my awe to her. “The city of Hartford needs to bridge out to the wealthy suburbs to help greater Hartford improve,” she explained.

Step 2: Pumping Social Capital through the Veins of Greater Hartford.

As the map displays, Hartford is financially challenged yet its surrounding suburbs include dense pockets of wealth. Teron’s ultimate goal is to use the rebuilt heart of the region to pump social capital throughout the region, thereby connecting the financially stable to the financially marginal. “People come and go from the city every day, but they don't interact with the residents of the city. Our goal is to make these outside visitors interact with Hartford residents,” Teron elaborated. In order to accomplish this CLP is currently broadening its outreach to partner with programs like Hartford Magnet Schools and the Girl Scouts of Connecticut to increase bridging social capital.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2011-2014 estimates,
generated by Muhammad Zeb using Social Explorer.

You should do something too.

Yanil Teron contributes to healing Hartford’s broken heart, through bonding social capital. Now her goal is to bridge this new social capital to the greater Hartford area, thereby reinvigorating the region. As the heart of the region, Hartford will pump social capital through the veins of the greater area, and gradually return to its vibrant past.^[9] Trinity students have a responsibility to aid this progression. According to Teron, “Trinity students must branch out of their homework assignments, and get out in the community,” in order to build bridging and bonding social capital. So the next time your friends decide to order food delivery, advise them to go out to a restaurant. Building social capital is an enjoyable process, and we have already made strides in the right direction, thanks to the efforts of Yanil Teron and other Hartford leaders.

Muhammad Zeb's article is the first in a series of four student blog posts featured from Trinity Assistant Professor Abigail Williamson's first-year student seminar Civic Engagement and Community as described in my blog post Classroom to Community at Trinity.

Don Shaw, Jr.

Writer and Editor

RedTruckStonecatcher.com

Photos and graphics submitted by Muhammad Zeb.

^[1] Chen, Xiangming, and Nick Bacon. Confronting urban legacy: rediscovering Hartford and

New Englands forgotten cities. Lexington Books, 2015. https://books.google.com/books/about/Confronting_Urban_Legacy.html?id=sWYemwE

ACAAJ

^[2] Putnam, Robert D. Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community. New

York, Simon & Schuster, 2000. https://books.google.com/books?id=rd2ibodep7UC&printsec=frontcover&dq=bowling+alone&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiGgqqFyKDXAhVrL8AKHaS1Ao8Q6AEIJjAA#v=onepage&q=bowling%20alone&f=false

^[3] Teron Yanil, “Center for Latino Progress” ctprf.org, http://www.ctprf.org/

^[4] Chen, Xiangming, and Nick Bacon. Confronting urban legacy: rediscovering Hartford and

New Englands forgotten cities. Lexington Books, 2015. https://books.google.com/books/about/Confronting_Urban_Legacy.html?id=sWYemwE

ACAAJ

^[5] Chen, Xiangming, and Nick Bacon. Confronting urban legacy: rediscovering Hartford and

New Englands forgotten cities. Lexington Books, 2015. https://books.google.com/books/about/Confronting_Urban_Legacy.html?id=sWYemwE

ACAAJ

^[6] Teron Yanil, “Center for Latino Progress” ctprf.org, http://www.ctprf.org/

^[7] Putnam, Robert D. Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community. New

^[8] Teron Yanil, “Center for Latino Progress” ctprf.org, http://www.ctprf.org/

^[9] Chen, Xiangming, and Nick Bacon. Confronting urban legacy: rediscovering Hartford and

New Englands forgotten cities. Lexington Books, 2015. https://books.google.com/books/about/Confronting_Urban_Legacy.html?id=sWYemwE

ACAAJ

Classroom to Community at Trinity

2017-12-13T16:22:00.000-05:00

Trinity College Campus, Hartford, CT

Relationships. It's all about relationships. Relationships are the interpersonal connections among us that build social capital. Social capital is the sum of the relationships enabling a society -- a country, a city, a community -- to function effectively for everyone. Social capital is bound together in networks of relationships, and networks link to connect more people one to the other. Societies rise and fall on their investment in social capital. The stronger the networks, the stronger a society's social fabric. The weaker the networks, the chance of a tear, or, in the extreme, a complete shredding of the social fabric increases. It's simple in concept, but complex in practice. Observing it from afar, listening to a lecture, or reading a textbook doesn't cut it.

October 3, 2017, marked the launch of Trinity College Assistant Professor Abigail Williamson's Civic Engagement and Community first-year student seminar unit on Social Capital in Hartford, an exercise in community learning. Along with gaining greater understanding of the theories of social capital by discussing it in context to life in Hartford, the unit introduces first-year "students to their role as Hartford residents and potential community members," and encourages them to "contribute to Hartford by publicizing Hartford civic events and the work of selected community leaders." All of this learning culminates in students sharing their Hartford experiences by "writing blog posts for a general public audience."

To help the students start learning about Hartford, Dr. Williamson invited me to the October 3rd class to share my career and volunteer experiences working in and across Hartford's public, private and non-profit sectors, as well as to offer my blog as an initial forum for sharing their stories. My discussion with the class focused on the issues I see facing Hartford with which I've had first-hand experience -- specifically, city finances, affordable housing, poverty, homelessness, immigrant and refugee services, food insecurity, and education.

During the next several days, RedTruckStonecatcher will feature a series of the students' blog posts. Through them they will share their experiences learning about and participating in Hartford life, and we'll learn right along with them.

Don Shaw, Jr.
Writer and Editor
RedTruckStonecatcher.com

The Gift of Dignity

2017-11-21T15:45:00.000-05:00

With Christmas rapidly approaching stores are brimming with potential presents anticipating the post-Thanksgiving throngs rushing to buy the right gift for the right person. Gifts are the currency of the holidays. Given in the right spirit, gifts are important symbols expressing our love and affection for family and friends.

Being on the outside looking in during this joyous time of year can be disheartening and debilitating. So in the same right spirit, donations are collected to share our abundance with neighbors less fortunate, unable to afford the right gift at the right price. It's a generous and caring tradition we encourage and rightly applaud every year. However, many parents desperate to buy their children presents, but unable to do so, swallow their pride to accept handouts. Ultimate parental embarrassment often occurs in front of their children when well-intentioned gift-bearing volunteers arrive at their door on charity visits. So what to do?

Add one more gift to your list, the gift of dignity. Give parents-in-need the opportunity to buy their gifts. It can be done. It has been done. Hartford City Mission's Christmas Store proves it.

For five years running, now entering it sixth season, Hartford City Mission (HCM), serving north Hartford, CT's neighborhoods, has succeeded in bringing Christmastime joy and dignity to the many families it serves through its after school and summer youth programs. As described on its website, HCM Christmas Store is a "special store where parents can buy new gifts for their children at tag sale prices. This gives the parents the dignity of purchasing gifts for their children ... and allows them to raise money to help the mission subsidize the cost they have to pay to send their kids to sleepover camp in the summer."

In 2016 the store had more than 2,300 gifts in stock, and raised over $2,500 for sleepover camp. Its success has grown year after year "typically providing eighty families access to buy presents directly in their community, which has the added benefit of avoiding budget-stressing travel costs," explains HCM Executive Director David Ambrose. Last year the store sold nearly 700 gifts, a number that has increased significantly over the years. "Parents regularly volunteer at the store, and for those who still find the cost of buying gifts a strain, they may earn store credit through their volunteer work," Ambrose points out.

As beneficial as the ability for parents to purchase affordable presents is, the ability to make connections is equally as important. The Christmas Store's welcoming atmosphere allows families to connect directly with their children's participation in HCM's programs, and parents with each other. "Through the store Hartford City Mission engages parents to foster a fuller connection to HCM's work, as well as connect and collaborate with other parents," emphasizes Ambrose. These connections build important relationships. They help everyone - parents, children and HCM - "communicate better and support each other, ultimately leading to a better understanding of community issues and needs, and potential solutions."

The Christmas Store's spirit is positive and vibrant. Long-time HCM volunteer, and now HCM's administrative assistant, Danielle Ambrose captures that spirit in her article The Christmas Store's "Gift" to Parents printed below. It was featured in HCM's Winter 2017 Newsletter.

The Christmas Store's "Gift" to Parents

by Danielle Ambrose

HCM Christmas Store

"The doors open, and a maze welcomes you. The walls are not made of brick, concrete, or anything cold. The sides of the maze calling to you are tables piled high with toys. On your right you see action figures and battery operated trucks. On your left you glimpse countless bright pink and purple boxes of brand new shiny dolls waiting for a home. Straight ahead you see tall stacks of board games. And, out of the corner of your eye you see a whole table of art supplies spilling over, ready to be used.

HCM Christmas Store

Basketballs, footballs, and soccer balls fill another table. Then you turn around to see a tower of colorful stuffed animals. And oh my, have you ever seen so many Legos?

A smiling face comes alongside you, welcoming you, and encouraging you to look around and take your time picking out what you need. Smelling something sweet draws you to keep going, as the scent of hot chocolate entices you. The sounds of laughter, happiness, and Christmas music accompany you all the way through to the end.

What kind of dream is this? Not one that you need to wake up from! The HCM Christmas store recently finished its [5th] season of serving our Noah and Nehemiah After School (NAS) parents, neighbors, and friends.

We thank all of you who donated for your generosity in giving over 2,000 gifts, and for the time that many of you spent setting up the store, pricing, organizing, wrapping presents, and most of all being a friendly face to our HCM family. It was because of your giving spirit, that we were able to offer parents the gift of dignity, as they came into the room full of presents, holiday cheer, and welcoming volunteers.

For many parents Christmas can be a discouraging time as they desire, but cannot afford to give their children something special, or surprise them with presents they are hoping for. Parents shopping at our Christmas store did not have to feel that disappointment. They came to the HCM Christmas store and watched their money stretch as the gifts were marked down below half price, many at tag sale prices!

As a volunteer and NAS parent, the magical feeling I shared with our HCM families that week was overwhelming joy! For me, the excitement I have leading up to Christmas grows daily as I imagine our children opening the gifts that we have thoughtfully, sometimes sacrificially picked out for them. The ultimate reward comes as they smile with joy over each one Christmas morning. It was so special to be at the store with families I have grown to know and love this school year, imagining with them their beautiful children’s familiar faces lit up with the same joy, and sharing in their excitement. I am so thankful that it is the greatest gift of all, Jesus, that has brought us all together!" -- Danielle Ambrose

The gift of dignity is integral to the programs and services of many worthy organizations, too numerous to name, that focus on providing access to food, shelter, clothing, jobs, health care, education, etc. Their efforts must and should be supported. We must answer their calls to help them do more, individually and collectively. Hartford City Mission's Christmas Store provides a successful practical example of what can be done.

Let's give the gift of dignity this year, every year, every day, however we are able, to everyone everywhere. Dignity builds bridges of understanding, opportunity, and hope that bind people and communities one to each other.

If you would like to donate to HCM's Christmas Store, you may call Danielle Ambrose at Hartford City Mission at 860-246-0132. To learn more about Hartford City Mission, take a few minutes to view the HCM video at this link.

This post also was published in CT Viewpoints on December 12, 2017.

Don Shaw, Jr.
Writer and Editor
RedTruckStonecatcher.com

Photos and logo courtesy of Hartford City Mission

Divisiveness: A Weapon of Mass Destruction

2017-11-01T20:11:00.001-04:00

What's the opposite of welcoming? Unwelcoming. What's the opposite of inclusion? Exclusion. Welcoming is inclusive, unwelcoming is exclusive -- it's divisive.

Divisiveness is a weapon of mass destruction. It destroys families, communities, and countries. It's a plague. It sickens, weakens, and often kills its infected hosts who refuse to realize, until its too late, that their ignorant assumptions of someone or something not of their tribe -- the other, the stranger, the religion, or the ideology -- can lead to mass social destruction if we put fear and hatred reflexively ahead of listening and understanding.

Last year I wrote Bipartisanship: A Bridge Too Far? in which I posed the question, "Can we as a nation come together to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth in today's destructive U.S. court of public politics, where the truth can be elusive, and where spinning truth and facts to fit a point of view or a promised outcome seems all that we hear from competing politicians, regardless of political party?"

In the article I presented Mark Gurzon's and Arthur C. Brooks' points of view, which offered constructive ways to bring America together to reject the polarization that is preventing our ability to govern the United States effectively. They open a knowingly difficult path to restoring our faith in each other and in our country, but we have to have the courage to follow it. It gave me hope. It gave me optimism. "It's not a bridge too far," I concluded. Was I naive? Am I naive?

In the months since I wrote the piece, the dysfunction gripping the United States has tightened. Polarization has wedged a deepening divide between many segments of society. It's stretching our social fabric thinner and thinner. Our government leaders drive the wedge deeper, constantly blaming, mocking, name-calling, lying, and pointing fingers at those not of their tribe: people they dismiss out of hand, rather than attempt to embrace, include, or welcome, or even try to understand their points of view. It's a criticism they sharply accuse each other of doing year after year after year. They-did-it-so-we-can-too is their thinking. This approach is a weapon of mass destruction.

Yes, divisiveness is a weapon of mass destruction. It has the power to destroy us without launching a missile, dropping a bomb, or firing a bullet. Divisiveness is the weapon that charts the future path of rockets, missiles, and bombs. The internal and external enemies who threaten the destruction of the United States have been sowing the seeds of division for years, just waiting for the harvest. ISIS, racism, bigotry, and ignorance thrive on our dysfunction. They will hammer the wedge more each day if we don't wake up from our sleepwalking toward the abyss.

We have a choice. We can continue to sleepwalk aimlessly toward "permanent enmity" where "bigotry and contempt make it impossible for America to do many great things," or we can reject polarization and wake up from our national nightmare by exercising self-respect and respect for others. Which will you choose?

This post also was published in CT Viewpoints on November 7, 2017

Don Shaw, Jr.
Writer and Editor
RedTruckStonecatcher.com

Government Always Matters

2017-09-12T10:43:00.000-04:00

Satellite Image of Hurricane Irma
Credits: NASA/NOAA/UWM-CIMSS, William Straka

Mayor Bob Buckhorn got it right when he told NBC's Willie Geist "This is when government matters," after Hurricane Irma passed through Tampa.

It matters when government is prepared to lead. We honor and fully appreciate our first responders whose mission is to serve and protect us in the wake of disasters, both natural and human caused. We want and fully expect our governments -- federal, state and local -- to execute a coordinated and effective disaster response of immediate rescue and relief followed by supportive recovery and reconstruction efforts.

We hail the many heroes from government, the military, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and every-day citizens running full speed to aid those in distress. We are mobilized by the common call of our human decency to help our friends, neighbors and strangers in times of immediate need.

President Trump made the right call when he unequivocally ordered immediate national disaster declarations directing rescue and relief aid to the victims of hurricanes Harvey and Irma. His focus was on saving lives, not what it might cost. It's a call we should expect any president to make. Thankfully, it's a decision made all the more easy because the United States has a well-prepared, expertly trained team ready to mobilize at a moments notice. A team long in the making years before Trump's presidency. A team championed, created and funded by generations of forward thinking federal administrations, state and local governments, NGOs, and citizens committed to sustaining it year after year.

It's a team comprised of weather scientists from NOAA and NASA who could rationally predict with a high degree of certainty the course and magnitude of the storms as they approached; of a network of seasoned news media skilled in broadcasting events as they unfold, and disseminating the government's warnings alerting the public; of expert first responders ranging from FEMA to military units to local fire, police, and emergency medical services; of hospitals and NGOs fully prepared and ready to fulfill their missions of aid and relief; of faith-based organizations calling on their congregations to respond; and concerned citizens, like you and me, ready to answer the call to assist our neighbors in need. Our ability to respond is the value of time-tested responsible government leadership. It is born of commitment to collaboration and trust, and a willingness to partner.

Our natural rush to respond to disasters brings out the collective best in us to help each other survive and recover. It unifies us. Let's capitalize on this unifying spirit to mitigate the occurrence of self-inflicted disasters. Disasters caused by how we may choose to negotiate international diplomacy; to send our military into harms way; to address economic growth and security; to understand science; and to enforce the rights and fair treatment of the abused and vulnerable. Being passive observers won't do. We must rush to help our government focus on creating a common good that is meant for all of us. To avoid self-inflicted disasters our leaders must choose wisely, and choose our leaders wisely we must.

"This is when government matters." This is why government matters. Government always matters.

This post also was published in CT Viewpoints on September 21, 2017

Don Shaw, Jr.
Writer and Editor
RedTruckStonecatcher.com

Hartford Habitat Builds at Carter Project in Canada

2017-09-05T10:48:00.000-04:00

Hartford Habitat Crew at JRCWP 2017
Lisa Chirichella, Don Shaw, Christina D'Amato, Tom Trumble

July 9-14, 2017, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

A week of building. A week of friendship. A week of faith. A week of changing lives.

In celebration of Canada's 150th anniversary, President and Mrs. Carter brought their 34th annual Jimmy & Rosalynn Carter Work Project (JRCWP 2017) to several communities across Canada, with Edmonton and Winnipeg the two main host sites. The event highlighted Canada's welcoming embrace of diversity and inclusion. Of the project's 150 homes to be built, seventy-five are in Edmonton and nearby Fort Saskatchewan. Hartford Area Habitat for Humanity was there in body and spirit.

President Carter greeting volunteers, sponsors and Habitat homeowners
at the JRCWP 2017 opening ceremonies.

Lisa Chirichella, Christina D'Amato, Tom Trumble and I, representing Hartford Habitat, trekked to Edmonton to volunteer a "hand up" to our northern neighbors. Our assignment was House 21, the future home of the Yusuf Ahmed family (Yusuf, a Canadian resident originally from Ethiopia, and his wife and three children). For Tom and me it was our seventh international Carter project; for Lisa and Christina their first with the hope to volunteer for more.

Hartford Habitat crew Christina D'Amato, Tom Trumble,
Lisa Chirichella, and Don Shaw with future homeowner Yusuf Ahmed

In true Carter Project style, construction was a well orchestrated symphony of enthusiastic and welcoming voices, of pounding hammers, of buzzing saws, and of familiar construction commands -- "one, two, three, lift!" -- as walls, windows, and roofs were raised straight, plumb, and sturdy. Yusuf's commitment provided a resounding crescendo when he fulfilled his family's 500 hours of required sweat equity on our final work day. Congratulations were cheered all around!

Homeowners and volunteers celebrated daily
with high-fives, hugs and handshakes.

Every morning devotions and testimonials from the many grateful Canadian dignitaries, corporate and community sponsors, and Habitat leaders set us on our way to begin each day's construction after a hearty breakfast in the big-tent mess hall. But the truly emotional morning highlight was the daily ritual of high-fives, hugs and handshakes along with cheers of thanks and gratitude from Habitat homeowners-to-be. They greeted all of us -- more than 900 strong -- as we proceeded along the winding path to the work site. That alone was enough nourishment to last the whole workday!

As volunteer builders we looked to our house leader Mike O'Brien, a Habitat pro from Calgary, for expert guidance. He masterfully expanded our technical skills. We built exterior and interior walls, installed insulated siding and windows, built stairs, and, believe it or not, "squared" the walls of the entire first floor (that's the value of a good Habitat supervisor!). Under Mike's leadership we, along with about ten other volunteers assigned to our house, accomplished a lot by week's end. Simultaneously exhausted and exhilarated, we looked forward to accomplishing more back home.

Lisa and Christina installing
fire wall insulation on the house's sheathing.

Tom and Don building an interior wall.

As we departed Edmonton, we reflected on Habitat for Humanity's founding conviction "that every man, woman and child should have a simple, durable place to live in dignity and safety, and that decent shelter in decent communities should be a matter of conscience and action for all."

The benefits of an affordable safe, secure, healthy home are measurable. It is well documented that good, solid affordable housing provides an opportunity for a family to thrive in an environment unburdened by the stress and insecurity of constantly searching for a stable place to call home. Children achieve greater success in school, parents focus more on succeeding in their careers, and families realize better health outcomes, just a few of the many benefits of a decent, affordable home.

In the words of President Carter, "In order to create true, sweeping changes in providing decent housing, we must begin to talk about this human necessity as a basic human right. This is not something that families around the world can only wish to have, not something that only the luckiest can hope to realize, but something that everyone should have an opportunity to achieve.

When we understand the magnitude of housing needs and their different forms in communities worldwide, we will recognize that as more fortunate people we are morally obligated to act. Once we view the issue of housing in these appropriately urgent terms, we will begin to act in concert more effectively.”

We are committed to supporting Habitat for Humanity. It is why we build in Hartford. It is why we traveled to Edmonton. Please join us.

Note: Lisa Chirichella is Chair of Hartford Habitat's Board of Directors; Christina D'Amato is Hartford Habitat's Corporate Engagement Manager; and Tom Trumble and Don Shaw are Hartford Habitat Board Members Emeritus.

Photos: Courtesy of Habitat for Humanity International and Hartford Habitat JRCWP 2017 team.

Don Shaw, Jr.
Writer and Editor
RedTruckStonecatcher.com