A Little Clarification

We do a lot at NLHHC!  I don’t think that many people actually know exactly how much is done for the homeless population at this establishment.  People know that we operate a homeless shelter and that it is somewhere in New London.  Beyond this, there is confusion as to what, and where HHC is. 

There is some confusion between the Community Meals Center and us.  Often people want to volunteer at a soup kitchen and call us.  I usually direct these generous persons to Montauk Avenue.  Some aren’t really sure where we are.  HHC has two sites, the daytime hospitality center at 19 Jay Street (All Souls) and the nighttime emergency shelter at 76 Federal Street (St. James).  The generous people of New London also want to make donations that should really go to our the Salvation Army or The Community Meals Center.  While it is wonderful to know that the people of the town have us in their hearts and on their minds, we don’t really need clothing.  HHC’s thrift store, Homeward Bound Treasures, currently has a surplus of clothing.  Nor do we need perishable food.  Perishable items would be better donated to the Community Meals Center. 

However, we do take non-perishables in case of an emergency.  We do have ongoing needs which, if you email me, I’d be happy to send you a list of commonly sought after items.  And if you aren’t sure about what to donate, just ask!  I don’t mean to be negative here: people are generous and are just trying to help.  That’s why if you call or email I will try to find out whom, if not us, could use your assistance or support.

So what does HHC do then?  Well, first and foremost it is an emergency shelter.  At St. James Church there are currently 50 beds for nightly use.  In addition, there are overflow arrangements which include a number of cots and, if nothing else, the emergency shelter at St. James offers a warm place to come in from the elements on a cold winter’s night.  We do our best to provide a safe place for anyone who is experiencing homelessness, whether temporary or chronic. 

What we try to offer, in addition to a safe place out of the elements, is a hospitable atmosphere and to limit the institutional feel that institutions such as NLHHC are prone to.  Part of this effort is to offer an evening snack to our guests, which is provided by some very generous volunteers.  We are also trying to get volunteers to come in and interact with the guests in a positive way, whether that is to help them find a job or to simply talk to them.   You’d be surprised at the lives and potential of many of our guests!  In addition, there are rules at this shelter.  For one thing, there is no violence.  Also, no abusive language of any sort. This is supposed to be a safe place.  We provide a somewhat stable environment: any returning guest at the shelter must arrive by 9:30 (or have a good excuse like work, hospitalization or recovery program) and lights out is at 10:00.  This allows for some constancy in ones schedule and life.

HHC is also a daytime hospitality center.  Beyond providing a place of respite from the elements during the day, the staff at the New London Homeless Hospitality Center assist the guests who come into the Center in acquiring needed services such as disability, social security, assistance in finding a job and permanent and sustainable housing, and recovering vital documents, including birth certificates, social security cards, and other items needed to find gainful employment or services.  The goal at the daytime center is to help everyone at the shelter out of homelessness and to keep those who are approaching homelessness off the streets and in a stable position.

What does this mean for the community?  For starters, there is an immediate economic impact:  persons who would be on the street are off them and in a safe environment.  People who might cause problems are in a non-disruptive environment.  Person who might end up in the ER on a cold night are kept warm and healthy.  HHC saves the city of New London tax dollars every day by simply treating those who enter as humans that are on hard times.

There is a quantifiable impact from our shelter as well: Within one year, from July 2009 to June 2010, the nighttime shelter offered 16,792 nights of shelter, the daytime center logged 20,935 visits, and a whole host of individuals were offered assistance in receiving services ranging from intensive mental health treatment to social security benefits.  Further, with the opening of the Veterans House, eight homeless veterans are housed; giving them a chance to rise above their situation!

The New London Homeless Hospitality Center helps people out of homelessness and into a stable and productive environment.  People find housing, jobs, and income through its efforts.  People find their way out of debilitating conditions such as alcoholism or drug abuse through the efforts of the staff and the generosity of the community.  These last may take some time, but in the end lives are changed and the community is a better place! 

A Brief Introduction to the Homeless Population.

To understand the need of our homeless neighbors I believe it important to understand who makes up this population.  As far as my experience at the Homeless Hospitality Center goes, there is no easy definition of homeless.  Anyone you meet could be, or have been homeless at one point in their life.  A 2009 report on Connecticut homelessness exemplifies this statement.  It listed 299 people who had experienced homelessness in the Norwich-New London area within one year: 157 single adults, 52 families, and 90 children in these families.[1]

Of that number:

“20% of single adults served in the military.

15% of single adults and 39% of adults in families were currently working.

62% of sheltered single adults and sheltered adults in families had a 12^th grade education or higher.

39% of single adults had been in a hospital, detox or rehab for substance use.

42% of sheltered single adults reported suffering from a health condition that limits their ability to work, get around, and care for themselves.

33% of sheltered single adults and sheltered adults in families and 100% of unsheltered single adults and unsheltered adults in families found on the night of the count were Chronically Homeless.”[2]

A minority of homeless individuals can be considered chronically homeless, that is, those who have been homeless for a year or more, or who have experienced four or more episodes of homelessness in the past three years.  These are often people with disabilities such as alcoholism, substance abuse disorders, mental illness, or HIV/AIDS. [3]  To even be considered chronically homeless, a person must have slept in an emergency shelter or in a place unfit for human habitation.

Nationally this population constitutes only 10 percent of the homeless population but use 50 percent of the resources for homeless services and other costs like health-care in a crisis or incarceration.  While this population is only 10 percent nationally, it is significantly higher in southeastern CT: from 35-40 percent of the population.  These figures mean that the costs in southeastern CT, Norwich and New London included, are much higher per homeless individual.[4]

A second minority of homeless individuals, approximately 10 percent, are designated episodic homeless.  These individuals, often younger, are frequent users of the shelter and other homeless services and are at risk of becoming chronically homeless.  Often a problem associated with these individuals is substance abuse, though a mental or learning disorder can be a cause of homelessness for them as well.^[5]

A significant proportion of the homeless, roughly 80 percent nationally but only around fifty percent here in Southeastern CT, are the transitional homeless; that is those who are experiencing a temporary difficulty that can be overcome.  A sudden crisis such as job loss, housing loss, or a family or personal health care emergency is associated with this population.^[6]

What can I say about the homeless population?  There is little to generalize this group.  Persons from all backgrounds can become homeless, and when homeless, there is little one can do to get out of this problem alone.  People can screw up as a child in high school, suffer from a mental or learning problem, suffer from addiction, or, as in the majority of cases, simply have had a series of small or large catastrophes that led to homelessness.  Often there is something that can be done to help them out of homelessness.  And often, we as a community spend less by helping than standing by.  Finally, they are our neighbors, people like us, who need a little help.

---

[1] Source: Connecticut Coalition to End Homelessness. “Appendix K: Norwich-New London Data,” in  Connecticut Counts 2009 Point-In-Time Homeless Count Final Report Published Aug, 2009: 178. www.cceh.org/pdf/count/connecticut_counts_2009_final.pdf. Accessed Oct. 22, 2010.

[2] Ibid, 178.

[3] Source: Connecticut Coalition to End Homelessness. Southeastern Connecticut Ten Year Plan to End Homelessness. p. 6.

[4] Ibid 6.

[5] Ibid 6.

[6] Ibid 6.

The Passing of a Great Man

I met Father Emmett Jarrett around June of this year (2010), while seeking a place to stay in New London.   My wife is a pastor in Georgetown, Connecticut and for this reason I have two places of residence: at the parsonage in Georgetown and at St. Francis House in New London.  I didn’t know this at the time, but at this interview, really just a meeting with a few members of St. Francis House over lunch, I was meeting for the first time one of this world’s truly great men and a lion in his faith and community.  I knew him for only a little while, only three months since I moved to the House in July.  But in that three months I have been greatly impacted and changed by this man, Father Emmett, as were anyone and everyone who met him.  I cannot do his life justice, nor is that the purpose of this post.  I only intend to show, as I am capable, how this man impacted and continues to impact the community around him.  I think the best way to show how he affected the community is to describe the night of his wake and vigil, and the day of his funeral and interment as I saw it.

The evening of his wake and vigil was wrought with moments that I cannot forget.  I believe he would have called these moments the Holy Spirit moving around him.  Others might write them down as his continued impact on the world he loved.  Whatever you would like to term it, there was energy in the air, one of love and community that transcended class, ethnicity, gender, and ideology.  In the course of the evening I saw the homeless population he served interacting and mourning with clergy, wealthy, and middle class; the list goes on. 

To begin, with warm music in the air, a homeless man, a recovering addict who resides in the shelter below the church, stood vigil over Father Emmett’s body in the first hour of the evening.  This man had already received treatment for his addiction and now his place of refuge in the evenings is at the shelter Father Emmett helped found. 

A little while into the evening, around eight o’clock, I was setting out father Emmett’s last book, Broad Street Blues: A Reader in Radical Discipleship, which he, together with his daughter Sarah compiled and edited.  A gentleman who resides in the shelter, a very jovial personality, asked me: “would you buy me that book?”  I told him there was no need, the book is free and only an offering was ask.  This homeless gentleman’s eyes brightened, a smile crept across his face, and he was truly beaming as he reached into his pocket, pulled out a single dollar, all he had on him, placed it in the offering jar then grabbed a copy of the book.  I’ll never forget the joy I saw in that moment as the man who has so little contributed to Father Emmett’s legacy.  In that moment, this gentleman bore witness to the generosity and sense of community that Father Emmett espoused by giving as he was able, just as those who served him at the shelter and the wealthy and middle class alike gave in their own way.  In that moment this homeless gentleman was an equal to everyone in the room, an important member of the community!

Throughout the evening music filled the air as a jazz ensemble played music that graced Emmett’s ears in times gone by.  And it was toward the end of the evening that a different kind of music resounded: The organ played, singers sang, and another resident at St. Francis house, a young lady who, working at FRESH helps our community fight hunger and educate children in a sustainable way, sang and played the guitar for Father Emmett and his family.  As her voice rang out, as all sang and participated that evening, I could see the joy in Emmett’s family as the community showed their personal love for a beloved father. 

I stood vigil over Father Emmett’s body at 5:45 am along with Reverend Cathy Zall, executive director of the Homeless Hospitality Center, and just as the homeless gentleman had done at the beginning of the evening.  I came in to see a resident of St. Francis House also standing vigil.  This young man is a temporary member of the household like me; one who came seeking help and support in his personal fight for peace, and found it at the St. Francis House.  He stood vigil all night long, bearing witness to the aid Father Emmett gave him and all those who seek peace and justice, and to the good fight Father Emmett fought for this cause in our community.  Again I will say that this young man stood up all night in thanks.

Around 6:30 am, another young man came in from the cold, windy street, one who had never met Father Emmett before, but who felt him and the importance he held in the community.  His presence was unanticipated and unrequested, but certainly welcome as all of the community was to the nighttime vigil.  He came with a case, and in that case was a violin.  As light began to shimmer through the great stained glass window at the front of St. James church he began to play a sweet song in remembrance of the great man whom he had not met, but who the young gentleman felt a connection and a need to celebrate and remember his passing.  I do not know the name of the song he played, but the warmth it brought as the night turned to day will always be with me.  The vigil ended at 8:30, well after my personal vigil ended, when the simple pine coffin that held the remains of Father Emmett’s body was closed.

The funeral was a stark contrast to the simple vigil of this austere man.  An Episcopalian worship in the highest of settings with incense and song, pipe-organ and chanting, bishops and clergy of all types in attendance, the service celebrated Father Emmett Jarrett, Third Order, Society of Saint Francis’s life in a manner befitting a king!  In the grandeur of this ceremony, the impact of Father Emmett could be felt.  The wealthiest and poorest members of the community came together celebrating his life.  A Christian service, reflecting the spirituality of Father Emmett, his funeral was attended by Jewish rabbis, a local Muslim religious leader, a Native American spiritual leader, and I would be shocked if there were less than a few atheists in attendance. 

Father Emmett’s funeral reflected the liminal character of his life, a character that crossed all social boundaries to better the community he lived in.  Those who felt the need came forward to share a moment of his life.  In my opinion, the most eloquent of all these was a homeless gentleman who was so impacted by Father Emmett that he could not help but share.  The preacher who delivered the homely was well chosen, reflecting the joy of Emmett’s life and how he quite literally changed the world.  Finally, the saxophone, an instrument Father Emmett loved, was played.  All of this brought warmth to a potentially somber affair and filled the room with celebratory energy, an energy that out-shone the sadness that accompanies the passing of a great man, in deference to the celebration of his generous life.

The interment was soft, another contrast.  In a beautiful place surrounded by nature Father Emmett was buried in the presence of those who loved and cared about him.  Everyone was invited to sprinkle the simple pine coffin with holy water and place a handful of dirt over him.  And so, a long line of those particularly impacted by him processed in accordance with his wishes.  Finishing this line were the residents at St. Francis House.  I, the least of this community, the newest member of the House, was honored with the privilege of laying flowers over the coffin before sprinkling dirt. 

For those who stayed a little after this interment, we were honored by a blessing that I had never born witness to before:  A member of the St. Francis House community, the Native American spiritual leader mentioned earlier who ministers to the prisoners in Connecticut’s correctional facilities, performed a Four Direction and Pipe Ceremony for the late Franciscan Father.  I will not describe this beautiful ceremony; I am not capable of it.  I will only say that in my eyes it was a befitting sending and I was privileged to participate in it.  A little later, during the reception following, this same leader left a spirit plate, gathered from the food of the table under a tree in the St. Francis House garden. 

This is the best way I can describe the impact Father Emmett had on his community.  My best tool is words, something the late Father was far more adept with than I; my best cannot measure up.  What I saw are strangers and acquaintances coming together to celebrate this man, the rich and the poor alike.  The influential and those who have no voice came to bear witness to his life as equals.  I saw members of the St. Francis House community representing the many causes of Father Emmett; a voice for peace,a voice for those in prison, a voice for the hungry, and a voice for the homeless; all mourning this man in their own way.

Father Emmett Jarrett's death is a passing of sorts:  Each of us needs to pick up where we can in our own way.  I promise to support the cause I am here for, homelessness, in the best way I am able and using the skills and talents I have.  I believe each of us can support our community in our own different way as best we are able and I ask that you all do this.  We all lost an important advocate for many important causes, an important voice that would speak up when no other would.  Now we all need to speak! 

I will continue with my voice, my written words here at the New London Homeless Hospitality Center and I hope many of you will join me as volunteers or as other supporters, as each of you can; bringing your time, talents, and skills.  We really can make a difference as a community.  Homelessness may be an unbeatable foe, but that did not stop Father Emmett, and that certainly will not stop me!

A Pleasure to Make your Acquaintance!

(This is a copy of an article that appeared in the September, 2010 issue St. Francis House Troubadour. (Vol. 12, No. 1).  This issue celebrated the release of Broad Street Blues, the late Father Emmett Jarrett, TSSF's final publication.  I hope you enjoy!)

I’ve always wanted to live by the ocean.  Growing up in west-central Wisconsin, I’ve always been fascinated by what was exotic to me: the ocean.  We had plenty of water to enjoy; Wisconsin is especially blessed with many deep and wide river valleys and I fondly remember tubing down a particularly wide and low portion of the Eau Claire River as a teen.  But for some reason the ocean and sailing ships have always fascinated me.  I think it must’ve been the prospect of adventure and reading the Iliad and Odyssey as a kid. 

My fascination with the ocean and my background in a land of river valleys is probably what drove me to study ancient Mesopotamia at Yale; a land between two great rivers, a trade emporium connecting the Persian Gulf and Indian Ocean with the West.  Studying the Ancient Mesopotamians is the study of a great civilization of farmers and merchants who traversed the rivers and canals of what is modern Iraq, and partook in trade with the Persian gulf and Indian Ocean in search wealth and opportunity.

The Ocean is one of the attractions which draw me to New London.  Running along New London Harbor in the morning, where the Thames meets the Sound, reminds me of my time years ago when I was sent to Monterey California to study at the Army’s language institute.  I love the smell of the ocean air, the breeze, and the sounds in the morning as the ferries come and go.  I like just walking along Bank Street and experiencing the feel of a city by the shore; I like to people watch, explore shops, and have a bite to eat.  New London is truly a delightful town.

However, it’s the people that brought me to New London, specifically the homeless population.  Running in the morning and exploring in the evening I see this segment of New London’s population.  Some fit into a stereotype of homelessness, but most would be difficult to designate as anything but the average citizen just trying to get by and enjoying a morning or evening.  I meet all types of people on my morning and evening treks through town:  A young man just out of high school on his own for the first time, a thirty year old trying to scam me out of a few bucks, a disabled, forty-something man who has driven freight since high school and now must find something else, and yes, a few people who suffer from alcoholism.  I could compare these to a kid going to college, a crooked politician, a laid off factory worker, and a few of my friends at the VFW post which I frequent in Fairfield County where my wife is a pastor at Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Georgetown CT, part of the ELCA.  These are people from all treks of life who could use a little help!

I am one of two volunteer coordinators at the New London Homeless Hospitality Center on 19 Jay Street.  Alyssa, the other coordinator, and I work at the center as AmeriCorps Vista volunteers.  We, like so many other Vista volunteers across the country, receive a very modest living stipend (105 percent of poverty level) and are tasked with creating a sustainable program that will continue unfunded and unaided by the government after we are gone.  We will work one year out of a three year grant; our goal in New London:  to increase the staff at the Hospitality Center’s capacity through volunteers and I must say it is a rewarding job. 

The will of the people is there, as are the resources.  New London is doing its best in trying times to alleviate, as much as possible, homelessness and all the problems it can cause in the area.  Further, many of those we encounter  daily need just a little help in order to get out of their current situation: assistance with some paperwork, a few bucks to help with a security deposit, or simply to know what resources are out there to find work or affordable housing.  Many problems are solvable without social workers but with a little help from volunteers. 

Further, there is paid staff, at the Hospitality Center and elsewhere, which can help with more difficult cases.  Building a rapport with those who come to the Hospitality Center, informing and encouraging them to seek this aid, can and will make a difference. This too can be met by volunteers.  In addition, the effect of the staff at the Hospitality Center can be expanded dramatically by volunteers who are willing to take on some of the more basic responsibilities of the staff, such as being at the front desk which is the first entry point to the Center, or by assisting with evening set-up at the shelter thereby giving staff more time for in depth contact with guests as needed. 

I need to thank St. Francis House for allowing me to stay with them this year.  Prayer in the morning prepares me for my day.  Evening meals with the good people of the house helps me unwind.  Yet there is no pressure to participate in anything the House has to offer: they accept that my job needs to come first and that it is important to myself and my community.  Perhaps this is partly due to St. Francis House’s relationship with the hospitality center: Fr. Jarrett sits on the Board of Directors and St. Francis House was vital in starting the New London Homeless Hospitality Center years ago. 

Without St. Francis House, not only would my time as a Vista be significantly more difficult, it might not exist at all!  All those who stay or have stayed at the shelter would probably be on the streets or in the woods.  All who frequent the daytime drop in center would likely be around the community, some disrupting local businesses, others drawing on public resources, paid for by taxpayers.  And all who have used the Center to get out of homelessness might still be on the streets today!  We, as a community and I as an individual owe St. Francis House a giant Thank-You! 

I have my work cut out for me.  But this work is very rewarding, both for myself and for the wonderful community in which I gladly call home. I have much support in the community and specifically with St. Francis House to perform my task which I joyfully take on.