Where Are They Now?

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

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.

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.

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

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

Creating Hartford Collective Culture at Know Good Market

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

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[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/