Saturday, April 20, 2013
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Resources
Here is my running list of New Haven area resources. Please feel free to contact me if you know of any resources that are not included on this list!
Shelters
Columbus House Inc
586 Ella T Grasso Blvd, New Haven, CT
(203) 401-4400 ·
(203) 776-6208 ·
Shelters
Columbus House Inc
586 Ella T Grasso Blvd, New Haven, CT
645 Grand Ave, New Haven, CT
(203) 777-2522 ·
Those who despise their neighbors are sinners, but happy are those who are kind to the poor. (Proverbs 14:21)
After a two week hiatus, I am back with an update on the New Haven Street Ministry project. To get this project off the ground, I have made a personal commitment of going to the New Haven Green for a few hours each week, and beginning to have a dialogue with the people that I encounter. Admittedly, my first attempt was pretty uneventful; the people that I attempted to speak to were pretty unwilling to have a dialogue with me. (A few even told me to leave them alone!) After sitting on the Green for a little over an hour, unsuccessfully trying to engage people, I left wondering if this initiative was even worth it. However, I felt compelled to try again, and two weeks later (yesterday), I went back.
This trip to the Green was completely different than the first. No sooner did I sit down on a bench, a young lady noticed my clerical collar, introduced herself as Jessica*, and asked if she could talk to me. With her boyfriend Jerry* watching from a few benches away, this woman proceeded to ask me if I could help them find a place to stay for the night. Unfortunately, even though I did find her and her boyfriend a place to stay at some local shelters, she was not willing to be seperated from her boyfriend, even just for the night. She was so inebriated and high that she really didn't even comprehend what I was saying. In the end, I gave her my card and asked her to call me if there was anything that I could do. I have not heard from her since.
While I was speaking with this woman and her boyfriend, an older gentleman came over to say Hi, conversed with us for a while, and went off to sit on an adjscent bench. After I had finished speaking with the couple, I went over to see if he would speak with me. This gentleman, Eric*, was such a wealth of knowledge. He told me that even though he lives in transitional housing, he was homeless for quite a while and "knows the system. He even proceeded to give me a list of the resources that were the most useful to him. He also gave me some of his own insight on poverty in Hew Haven; he told me that there are many (even ample) resources for the destitute. He also told me that everyone that I was seeing on the green was an addict of some kind. In retrospect,100% of the people that I have spoken with have told me that they suffer from some kind of addiction. This raises so many questions about what really contributes to poverty, and what we can or even should do about it.
I left the green with a plan: first, if I am to continue this ministry, I am need of funding for things like parking in New Haven, gift cards for meals and for whatever other issues that may arise while interacting with these people. (Perhaps a Kickstarter campaign? More to follow on this.) Also, I am in need of resources. When Jessica and Jerry asked me where they could stay for the evening, I had no idea. I was able to look up the address of some shelters on my phone, but what if I had known of an AA meeting or an even better resource? Eric was able to list at least five resources off the top of his head, and I plan on taking advantage of his knowledge and adding to this list.
Friends, as I enter the early stages of this new and exciting ministry, please feel free to comment or e-mail with thoughts or suggestions. I would love to hear from you and to benefit from your wisdom and experience.
Peace,
Kristen
*All names have been changed to protect confidentiality.
This trip to the Green was completely different than the first. No sooner did I sit down on a bench, a young lady noticed my clerical collar, introduced herself as Jessica*, and asked if she could talk to me. With her boyfriend Jerry* watching from a few benches away, this woman proceeded to ask me if I could help them find a place to stay for the night. Unfortunately, even though I did find her and her boyfriend a place to stay at some local shelters, she was not willing to be seperated from her boyfriend, even just for the night. She was so inebriated and high that she really didn't even comprehend what I was saying. In the end, I gave her my card and asked her to call me if there was anything that I could do. I have not heard from her since.
While I was speaking with this woman and her boyfriend, an older gentleman came over to say Hi, conversed with us for a while, and went off to sit on an adjscent bench. After I had finished speaking with the couple, I went over to see if he would speak with me. This gentleman, Eric*, was such a wealth of knowledge. He told me that even though he lives in transitional housing, he was homeless for quite a while and "knows the system. He even proceeded to give me a list of the resources that were the most useful to him. He also gave me some of his own insight on poverty in Hew Haven; he told me that there are many (even ample) resources for the destitute. He also told me that everyone that I was seeing on the green was an addict of some kind. In retrospect,100% of the people that I have spoken with have told me that they suffer from some kind of addiction. This raises so many questions about what really contributes to poverty, and what we can or even should do about it.
I left the green with a plan: first, if I am to continue this ministry, I am need of funding for things like parking in New Haven, gift cards for meals and for whatever other issues that may arise while interacting with these people. (Perhaps a Kickstarter campaign? More to follow on this.) Also, I am in need of resources. When Jessica and Jerry asked me where they could stay for the evening, I had no idea. I was able to look up the address of some shelters on my phone, but what if I had known of an AA meeting or an even better resource? Eric was able to list at least five resources off the top of his head, and I plan on taking advantage of his knowledge and adding to this list.
Friends, as I enter the early stages of this new and exciting ministry, please feel free to comment or e-mail with thoughts or suggestions. I would love to hear from you and to benefit from your wisdom and experience.
Peace,
Kristen
*All names have been changed to protect confidentiality.
Saturday, April 13, 2013
See, I am Doing a New Thing! (Isaiah 43:19)
The New Haven Street Ministry project is my attempt at a grassroots religious response to the overwhelming poverty in New Haven, CT. My project is in the early stages of planning, but please contact me if you would like to get involved at kristenprovostswitzer@gmail.com. Stay tuned for information on my progress and how you can get involved!
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