Celebrating Fifty Years of Hands On Hartford

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.

Habitat Homeowners Help Others Help Themselves

Janice and Kerry Foster with a KJ Foster Scholarship Fund recipient

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 homeowners Janice and Kerry Foster for the event. Here is their story.  

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.

A Blossoming Partnership Grows Beautifully

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.

Life Saving Diversions at St. Elizabeth House

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"

Hartford Habitat Builds at Carter Project in Canada

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

Homer Found a Home

Marj's Signed Welcome and Blessing at Hartford Habitat's House of Faith Groundbreaking

Homer arrived quite unexpectedly at Rev. Marjorie Davis's home in early April. He was a fluffy little thing, cute and cuddly, in need of a home -- but what was she to do with Homer? How could she help him?

Marj is hardly what I would call a retired UCC minister. She's always working on some project, attending a workshop, or advocating a just cause. She's a good friend to all who know her here in Granby, CT. Like many in town, I have a shared passion with Marj. Ours is Habitat for Humanity -- she's a long-time Habitat advocate and donor. I fondly recall her participation in Hartford Habitat's House of Faith groundbreaking at the corner of the city's Case and Laurel Streets (Marj's parents, Swedish immigrants, once lived on Laurel). Habitat's House of Faith program is an interfaith collaboration where multiple faiths work side-by-side to build a new Habitat house.  During the ceremony's traditional board signing she inscribed her welcome and blessing to the new homeowners-to-be on one of the two-by-fours designated for the home's first wall. I have displayed a picture of it on my computer screen for inspiration ever since.

But Marj's question remained -- what to do with Homer? His arrival was a surprise. Would her home be the best place for him? He's awfully cute but, you see, Homer is a stuffed animal -- a puppy with the words Habitat for Humanity displayed on a bright green collar. Marj wondered if Homer would be better suited for a young child. It turns out Habitat for Humanity International sent Homer Marj's way as a thank you memento for her recent donation. 

"Hello, Don? This is Marj Davis" I heard answering her call. Quickly she explained Homer's arrival, and gently peppered me with questions to which my responses were equally quick: 

"Do you know someone who might like Homer?" "Yes."
"Does the family in the new Granby Habitat home have children?" "Yes."
"Do they have a young child?" "Yes, her name is Shelby. She's eight years old"
"Would she like Homer?" "I think so."
"Would you be a able to deliver him?" "Yes." 

I had been meaning to pay Ralph and Jaime Wyman a visit to see how they were settling in to their new Habitat house so Homer's arrival proved fortuitous. Soon I was at the front door of Wyman's West Granby home -- a home that they moved into just in time for Christmas four months earlier.

The Wyman's New Habitat Home

Shelby was away on a playdate when I visited, but Jaime and Ralph assured me Shelby would be thrilled with Homer -- just as they all are thrilled with their new home. Some school teachers had told me Shelby was a chatterbox who couldn't contain her excitement about moving in to her Habitat house while it was nearing completion last fall.

Shelby and Homer

When she returned home and saw Homer waiting to greet her, Shelby jumped with joy. So thrilled that she immediately wrote Marj a thank you note, and just as quickly dropped it in the mail at the post office across the street. Shelby's charming note included a drawing of her new home in which she and Homer are looking out the front window enjoying the view of their brand new world.

Homer found a home.

Thanks Marj.

Shelby's Thank You Note to Marj

Don Shaw, Jr.
Writer and Editor
RedTruckStonecatcher.com

Photos of new Habitat home and Shelby courtesy of Jaime Wyman
Shelby's thank you note courtesy of Rev. Marjorie Davis
Photo of Marj's Signed Welcome by Don Shaw, Jr.

"One. Two. Three. LIFT!"

"One. Two. Three. LIFT!"

On July 16, on an expertly prepared site ready for volunteers, hammers were in full swing building walls for a brand new Habitat for Humanity raised ranch under construction in Granby, CT. 

On Habitat site supervisor Stan's count, -- "One. Two. Three. LIFT!" -- and undaunted by the stifling heat and humidity, a volunteer crew of twelve from Granby's First Congregational and South Congregational churches raised the home's first wall. 

This house is Hartford Habitat's first rural build. Granby's town leadership is fully supportive. That's the way it is in Granby, my hometown.

First Congregational and South Congregational Crew 

Just before lunch break First Church member Ruth Rosebrooks, retired and revered Granby school teacher, whose generous long-time community volunteering includes stints with Habitat, paid the crew a visit to offer her heartfelt encouragement. She hammered home the first wall's final nails before we lifted it place.

Ruth Rosebrooks hitting the nail square on the head, as always.

The Granby Habitat house is now in full construction mode. The Granby homeowners-to-be are faithfully working to complete their construction sweat equity. Volunteer construction crews are being scheduled for the rest of the year offering their time and sweat in partnership.

Building affordable housing is not a heavy lift when a community lifts together.

"One. Two. Three. LIFT!"


This post was published by the Granby Drummer, August 29, 2016.

Don Shaw, Jr.
Writer and Editor
RedTruckStonecatcher.com

Photos by Don Shaw, Jr.

Pedaling Their Mission

Bike & Build cyclists cheered by greeters upon
arrival at First Congregational Church of Granby, CT,
June 7, 2016

"I see them! They're here! Bike & Build just arrived!"

Every June for more than ten years the Bike & Build Providence to Seattle Tour has overnighted at First Congregational Church of Granby, CT on it annual Providence to Seattle trip, one of its eight yearly cross-country cycling tours raising awareness for, and money to fund, critically needed affordable housing. It's a celebration the church looks forward to hosting every year.

Bike & Build, founded in 2002, has been pedaling its message for affordable housing ever since 2003. In its first 13 years Bike & Build’s cross-country tours have engaged 3,000 young adults in service who have delivered the affordable housing message, and have donated more than $4.5 million for the cause in the process. In 2015 alone, riders rode 1,021,000 combined miles, worked 25,700 hours building affordable homes en route, and awarded $637,311 in grants to organizations such as Habitat for Humanity,  Rebuilding Together, and many other affordable housing groups.

As its mission and vision state, "Through service-oriented cycling trips, Bike & Build benefits affordable housing and empowers young adults for a lifetime of service and civic engagement," and it "envisions future generations who are committed to a lifetime of civic engagement and who inspire individuals and communities to create fair, decent housing for all Americans."

The following photographs tell the story of Bike & Build's Providence to Seattle (P2S) 2016 tour stop at First Congregational Church, June 7-8, 2016. Check out the Bike & Build website for lots more details.

Enjoy the Ride!

Thrilled to get off the saddle!

Cooling off in the shade and resting weary legs.

Parking the van and trailer carrying clothes, equipment, and food.
The caption on the trailer says it all.

Riders showing off pictures from today's ride while munching on calorie replenishing snacks.

Off to the showers courtesy of the Farmington Valley YMCA,
and the Marquis of Granby Junior Ancient Fyfe & Drum Corps bus.

Chowing down on First Congregational Church's legendary annual B&B feast.

Brian Liss, executive director of the Farmington Valley YMCA, being congratulated by Rev. Dr. Ginny McDaniel of First Congregational Church, and Don Shaw, church member and member of Hartford Area Habitat for Humanity board, in recognition of the YMCA's many years of generously offering its showers to the cyclists.

After a good night's rest, up and at 'em early to get the bikes ready to roll June 8, 2016.

The pressure to get going.

Last minute treatment.

Mandatory morning briefing on the ride ahead. Today's destination: Kent, CT.

The reason they ride!

Group photo before mounting up.

Ready to lead cyclists to the Granby Habitat house under construction.

Bike & Build cyclists at the Granby Habitat house construction site,
which is right along the start of their route to Kent, CT.

Underway! Leaving the Granby Habitat house site. Onward to Kent. Enjoy the hills!!

Don Shaw, Jr.
Writer and Editor
RedTruckStonecatcher.com

Photographs by Don Shaw, Jr.

Tour map and Bike & Build information from its website.