Brake the Cycle of Poverty

Brake the cycle of Poverty Weeklong 2012

2012-02-02T07:51:00.000-08:00

Our 2012 Weeklong ride will commence, Saturday, June 23, 2010 thru Thursday, June 28, 2012.

We are contacting parishes now to be part of the 2012 tour.

Contact Lou Terzo, 860 649-1546, or at twoterzos@att.net if you are interested.

Brake the Cycle Weeklong 2011 Journals

2012-02-02T06:35:00.000-08:00

BTC 2011 Day 1, Manchester to Rocky Hill via Hartford and New Britain.

We began our 2011 ride just like all the others...we all came to St. B's and gathered. We loaded the support vehicles with our "stuff". some say that I brought too much with me. I look back on that and I believe I did. I should have thought more about those is poverty who have little to carry with them. I brought far too much, a sign of having too much perhaps.

It was exciting to see Eric and Tom Sacerdote there for their real first BTC ride. Little did they know their lives would be changed and their "family" would grow.

Some of us noticed the Channel 3 news van and wondered, "could they be for us?" We were doubtful. But guess what, they were. So nice to have that initial publicity. Must have been a slow news day.

But at least we got on TV. Any exposure, even a little, helps our cause.

We finally got going around our designated time. Father Stephen sent us off with a blessing and we all had thoughts of his dad in our mind and hearts. Thanks Father.

The ride was like most, dodging the cracks in the road, waving to people we saw, chit chatting with each other, taking in the experience, hoping it wouldn't rain.

One funny thing that happened along the way was when Bob picked up the full can of gasoline in the middle of the road just before we got onto the Charter Oak bridge.

When we got to Wethersfield Ave I got chills. I thought of Matthew and would I possibly "see him" this morning.

When we got to Casa de Francisco I was happy for our first stop and wondered what to expect. As we wondered into the room for Teresa to speak to us I hung back to talk to a few of the guys that were sitting there. I asked them if they were wondering why we were there dressed all funny. The first man said "no, I'm not". I said, "really?" and them I told him anyway. We started a nice conversation and he warmed up and really got into it. His name was Noel and the other gentleman's name was David. Both have been out of work for a long time. Both were a bit angry but both were hopeful. Both told me they wanted to work and would do just about anything. A third gentleman, overhearing our conversation, chimed in with his comments about all the money the government is spending overseas to "help" and he asked "what is being done for us here at home?". Good question. This was the beginning of our 2011 journey and the them we would hear more frequently.

Teresa Wierbicki provided a wonderful overview of what good was being done with the now Supportive Housing. It really was nice for those living there although the numbers able to receive help had to be reduced from the hundreds served by the Shelter to only the 40 living at the Casa.

We were educated again on the problems of those less fortunate than ourselves and we were educated on the needs and ongoing support required to keep Casa open.

We also learned about the assistance many of the surrounding churches provide and, of course, Carol Rizzo's meatball grinders!

We moved on to Billings Forge Community Works and met with Rita Decker-Parry. We were given the tour as Rita explained the good they are providing for those folks in Frog Hollow which we understand is the second poorest community in the United States after Brownsville Texas. We saw the Farmers Market which gives folks a means of selling their products and builds community.

The Farmers’ Market at Billings Forge was created in 2007 as a seasonal weekly market providing the residents of Billings Forge and the surrounding Frog Hollow neighborhood with access to fresh, local foods. The Farmers' Market creates a diverse meeting space to draw energy into Frog Hollow, particularly by engaging nearby capitol-area workers.

We ate lunch in the Cafe/Kitchen. The Kitchen brings together employment, education, access to healthy eating options, and a connection to the environment using hands-on training, community interactions, and a shared love for food.

We saw where the residents lived.

Today, approximately 270 residents live within the 98 units of mixed-income, affordable housing housed within the Billings Forge complex.

Check out their website for more information. http://www.billingsforgeworks.org/

While at Billings Forge it began to rain, actually it began to pour.

We began our ride to New Britain.

When we did arrive at Representative Chris Murphy's office, we were soaked to the skin, dripping wet. Yet, we were invited in.

We met with Lee Reynolds, Outreach Director, and Megan Forgione, Staff Assistant. Both were attentive to our concerns and needs.

It was cold and chilly in their office since we were so wet. We were invited into their conference room which had some light colored brown chairs and sofas. We were concerned we would ruin them but we told not to worry.

Well during the discussion which was really a good conversation, I noticed where I had my arms on the arms of the chair I was sitting in began to turn a dark brown from the wet. I immediately got up and noticed the biggest wet spot on the seat of the chair. I got up and stood behind the chair but continued to drip, drip drip all while our conversation continued.

We exchanged good comments and both Megan and Lee seemed genuinely interested and seemed to be sincere in that they would pass on to Chris Murphy our concerns. They even encouraged further get togethers on a regular basis. Sort of wanting to be accountable? We hope that is true.

I think we left believing this was one of our best political visits, especially since Chris Murphy will be running for Senator.

We left New Britain and it was pouring. Yet we continued to ride. We were uncomfortable. Those in poverty can't get out of the rain and deal with the uncomfort of poverty everyday. So we road on.

I was reminded of what Lee Reynolds said in our meeting. She said she mentioned to Megan wondering if we would come because of the rain. She added that she was sure we would be there because of our mission. And we were.

We arrived at St. James and began the process of showers and unpacking for the night. Tom Sacerdote was a blessing since he arranged all of the logistics with Carol Rizzo. All went well.

We gathered for our pasta dinner and all those desserts. I connected with my Aetna friend Nancy and after dinner we presented to about 16 folks.

Presentation went well and we proceeded back to the church and the upper rooms where we would spend the night together on our air mattresses.

All in all the first day was over and quite a success. Eric and Tom were indoctrinated and hooked.

Peace,

Lou

BTC 2011 Journal- Day 2 - Rocky Hill to Waterbury

We all had a pretty good night's sleep. Jokes were made about some high maintenance couple.

We awoke to breakfast and were greeted by Tom S as he arrived early from his home down the road, where he slept for the night.

One by one we came down, first for coffee, then some food. We seem to always be eating. Sometimes I feel guilty we have so much to eat while those we do this ride for do not.

When we left St. James, we were given a send-off by some of the folks that were there last evening as well as a group of kids. Pretty cool I think.

As we road towards the Berlin Turnpike, this is where we realized Claire's right brake was not working properly and also when Anne had her two flat tires. I was mistaken yesterday.

After Claire and Anne got their bikes on a support vehicle and left for repairs, the rest of us continued our ride. We had to be in Waterbury supposedly by 11:00 am.

Well, the ride was a bit longer than expected and we hit some mean hills, especially one in particular where one by one we peeled off and walked. A few of us made it to the top but it was a real struggle. 10% grade uphill is not easy. Again, you have to think of those in poverty and the uphill battle they have everyday. We only struggle for a short time and know we will have a place to rest at night, a roof over our heads and a nice, hot shower. And, we have support as we ride. They do not have anywhere near the support we have.

Well we had to make a call and tell Barbara at the Soup Kitchen in Waterbury that we would be a little late.

We arrived there as they were beginning to whine down. We did get served lunch and that stirred an interesting discussion with several of the clients there. Claire and I had a nice conversation with a gentleman named Todd. He was quite articulate and told us stories about the struggles going on in Waterbury where the unemployment rate is the highest in the state. He has been out of work for over a year and is now collecting $30 a week unemployment. That is it! Think about it...living on just $30 a week and he thinks he might get cut off shortly. He wants to work and will do anything. He used to work at the hospital and has some skills but there is nothing available. He said he has over 200 homeless friends. He was bitter to a degree but was also positive and smiling. His friend, John, on the other hand, was really angry and resentful that we were even there. When Claire asked how Todd felt about his situation, John went off on her angrily asking her what she knew about poverty and why were we there eating their food when he had friends out on the green that hadn't eaten in 2 days like himself. All Claire and I could do was agree with him and apologize.

This was the first time I felt kind of embarrassed that we were visiting a soup kitchen. The resentment got to me. Although the women who talked to us about the soup kitchen was glad we were there and glad we were interacting with the clients. So....

I asked Todd what he was going to do for the rest of the afternoon. He said "look for a job". He sounded frustrated. We heard the same theme about why our government cannot help those at home who need help.

We had also met Glenda when we first arrived. She had been homeless for 3 years but she had a big smile on her face because she had just gotten an apartment and was ready to move in. All she could say was that she hung in there and stayed positive. She had worked for Pitney Bows and got sick, lost her job and her place of living and was out on the street. I cannot imagine being homeless for even one day.

After our visit at the soup kitchen, we went across the street to the YMCA and met with Jim O'Rourke, Exec. Director, who gave us a quick summary of the goo they were doing, especially for the youth of Waterbury and the various programs they provided that feed the kids and kept them out of trouble.

He also told us some stories like about the women who came in looking for help and would not make eye contact because she was so embarrassed. When she was successful and on her feet and could afford things, she never gave. Now, down on her luck and asking for assistance, she found it difficult. Could be any one of us. After all, those in poverty look just like you and me.

Jim also advised us of the union no vote and what he thought it meant to the state and to his operation who already had a funding cut. He was afraid of further cuts sine the YMCA is non-profit and also because he has a lot of member who are state employees.

Everyone seems to be hurting.

We hung around Waterbury for some time. Has some coffee and took in the environment. I kept wondering how many of the people I saw on the green were in poverty, hadn't eaten or were out of work. I am sure there were plenty.

We finally made our way to Blessed Sacrament and I went in and met with Rene Raymunt, our host. they were getting ready for our pasta dinner and then our presentation. Rene and Linda Hendrickson would take us over to their homes for showers and then we would come back for our meal and presentation.

The three couples all went to Rene's house. She had two Boston Terriers but they didn't bother any of us.

Joan and I slept on a big blowup mattress that lost air during the night and we would up in the center on top of each other.

There were not a lot of people at the presentation but they interacted with us and were engaging. I thought the presentation went quite well. Very successful evening and the meal was excellent. Again too much food.

We got back to Rene's house, chit chatted for a bit and off to bed. Day 2 was complete.

Day 3 tomorrow.

Peace,

Lou

BTC 2011 Journal- Day 3 - Waterbury to Milford

We all arrived back at Blessed Sacrament around the designated time, those from Linda's house right on the dot.

Doug Hall, Jean Pierre, and Wayne joined us. Tom Sac left us for a the weekend.

We had all eaten breakfast at the homes we stayed at for the night, so we were pretty much ready to go. There would be no poverty centers or political stops on this ride today.

I got a chance to ride up front since Wayne was going to bring up he rear. I enjoyed riding with Johnnie F and Doug. We got too far out in front and had to stop along the way. Eric and Anne were right behind us. We waited along side of the road for the rest of the group to catch up. In the meantime a women in the house across the street from where we stopped asked if we needed anything. Johnnie said maybe a restroom. She said sure and invited all of us in to her home. How nice to welcome complete strangers into her home. This is again part of these rides I find so amazing, the hospitality of people. I am humbled by it.

The rest of the group got here and also were welcomed to use the restroom. A very nice break although we would be breaking shortly down at Rolando's on Rt. 67.

The ride was smooth and not to difficult. Downhill as they say.

We all had previously provided Wendy with our Subway orders (nice suggestion Wendy) and the support folks did their thing and got us our lunch. We did not eat it until we actually got to Milford which we did earlier than expected. I guess the 30 miles went by quicker than we all thought. Since we were down at the beach where St. Gabriel's was, everyone enjoyed the extra time.

We ate our lunch under a shady tree near the beach. Again we feasted.

As we all gathered on the stone wall near the water's edge and were getting our picture taken by Joan and Wendy, Sue came running over to get into the picture and proceeded to step right on the pile of potato chips Joan was munching on. It was funnier in person.

We all relaxed until just before 3:00 when the reporter from the Milford Mirror was to greet us.

Br. Larry suggested we bike up the street, wait for the signal and bike in together for the photo shoot.

We did just that. Some of us were interviewed as was Br. Larry, our contact from St. Gabriel's.

We still had some time before the 4:30 mass and that's when we found out that we would not be doing a presentation that evening. This was a surprise to all of us.

Bob did get to speak at mass after communion and was excellent. Fr. Maroney welcomed all of us at mass and we had greeted the parishioners before and after mass.

Right after mass we gathered in the church hall and had a fantastically delicious pasta and meatball dinner. When the plate of meatballs piled high were brought in we all went "Whoo". It was great.

We dined with the Social Action folks and Br. Larry.

After dinner we were driven off to the respectful homes were we would all be staying.

I think everyone had a different experience at the place they rested their bodies and heads.

Joan, me, Anne, Pam, and Johnnie when to the same house, Barbara who made the meatballs and pasta. Would you believe we ate more while chatting on their back porch. Typical Italian host.

And to top it off, Joan's Italian cousin and a relative of Barbara's are from the same home town in Italy. Joan got her cousin Teddy on the phone and he and Barbara had a conversation like they were long lost relatives. A small world indeed.

This was our second home with a dog. Johnnie, Pam, and Anne slept in an RV parked in the parking lot.

Here maybe some of you others can share your experience that night with those you stayed with.

We all slept well.

The end of Day 3. Peace, Lou

Lou, I just wanted to remind you that this was the morning that I accidentally activated the alarm in the school and alerted the police to arrive at Blessed Sacrament. Almost arrested.

Good thing Art knew the turn-off command.

Peace. Bob

Some thoughts from the King's and Ryan's on their accommodations over night. We stayed with Lauren who is a CCD teacher at St Gabriel's who lived on Shore Drive with her three children. Lauren took us on a tour of the Milford Harbor and some ice cream before we settled in at her beautiful home for sleep. In the morning, we had a small breakfast and headed for Mass at St Gabriel's.

BTC 2011 Journal - Day 4 - Milford to Woodbridge to Southbury

Definitely will need some assistance with Day 4 Journal Milford to Southbury from the second part of the team.

Those of us who had to ride to Woodbridge for a presentation at Our Lady of the Assumption had to get back to St. Gabriel's by 7:30.

I thought I overslept and went out to wake Anne, Pam, and Johnnie in the RV. Little did I remember that I told them 6:30 and not 5:30. They were not happy.

We had our breakfast at Barbara's house, eggs, english muffins. We got to St. Gabe's at 7:30 and were greeted by Br. Larry and Eric and Fr. Maroney.

We hugged and thanked everyone and set off, four of us. me, Johnnie F, Pam, and Anne and Joan and Dave as support.

I was a little apprehensive about the Que Sheet since it was my first one. All seemed to go well and the early morning ride was absolutely peaceful and beautiful. Hardly any cars. I think I said "Car Back" only three times the entire 15 miles.

We got to Our Lady of the Assumption without incident and waited a bit before Betty McVetty greeted us. My original contact was Roberta Alvarez but she could not be here this morning. She was disappointed as was I. She was so nice over the phone and as a host.

We began setting up and to my surprise I did not have the right cord to connect my computer to the projector. Panic! We tried to get someone from the parish to get us a cord. No luck. I tried calling John Ryan but all were at mass or doing the St. Gabe's presentation. And, the cell service was spotty at best.

Pam had left, picked up by her husband, off to Kelly and Kurt's daughter's christening.

Luckily Anne's phone had service and I left John Ryan a panic message. When I called back because time was getting close to our presentation time, I found out that Kathy and Wendy were on their way with the right cord. Apparently both were packed together after our last presentation.

They dropped it off with 5 minutes to spare.

As I was waiting for them to get there I saw Pam's husband, Chris, out in the parking lot. I was worried that something was wrong with Pam. she had lost her wallet and returned to look for it in the van. They had gotten all the way to Wallingford and had to turn around. Her wallet was right where she put it down in the van.

I was struggling to get the presentation to work. I hooked up the cord okay but when I pressed the buttons to get the presentation from my computer to the screen my computer went black. Nothing. I was going to have people gather around the computer screen if necessary if we could not get the projection on the big screen. Now I was in trouble. I started pressing buttons like crazy. I guess the Holy Spirit was with me. Somehow the screen filled with the presentation. I was elated.

We presented to about 25 folks but a lot were Social Justice committee folks. but they were engaged and we interacted well. One lady was angry because she was tauting this presentation to her Social Justice friends who go out to breakfast together every Sunday. She expected them to be here at the presentation. They chose breakfast out.

But I believe the presentation went well. When we did the slide about What does it mean to be in Poverty? a little old Italian woman said she could answer that. Anne prompted her to do so. she shared how it was growing up poor. Like I said, good engagement with our audience.

I was very pleased this morning.

After the presentation Johnnie and I said goodbye to Anne. Big hugs.

Then Johnnie and I started off to Southbury with Dave and Joan as our support. We rode for about 5 more miles and we all stopped for lunch at Dunkin donuts. We spent a lot of time just talking Social Justice there. We were making great time and did not want to get to Southbury too early. We were wondering how all was working out back at St. Gabriel's and the two after mass presentations.

John Ryan and I spoke and we decided that Johnnie and I would wait for them in Southbury before going to Sacred Heart. Apparently Eric and Wayne were going to ride the entire way and Claire, Bob, Jean Pierre were going to ride from Rolando's.

When Johnnie and I got to Southbury we road on Poverty Road, then we went for Ice Cream. Again we talked and rested until we heard from Kathy when Bob et al would be on Main Street. We gathered at Poverty Road and Main and waited for Eric and Wayne to arrive. The new riders road their bikes on Poverty Road.

We all road into Sacred heart together.

We had a wonderful greeting of quite a number of people. After we settled some and stored our bikes, we all left with our host families to shower.

Joan and I went to Sue Eskierski's who was not only an avid golfer but also a cyclist. She had a lovely home, lived by herself with her dog Savannah, and was the nicest host.

We hit it off perfectly.

She also owned a gourmet Pasta shop on Poverty road and supplied the pasta used for this night's supper.

We again feasted. About 35 folks from Sacred Heart were there. Fr. Joe and Chuck Dietsch were perfect hosts as expected.

We had another great presentation but this time Eric, Sue Ryan, Jean Pierre presented as they did earlier at St. Gabriel's. It was special especially Jean Pierre when he talked about "Think about it!; Talk about it!; Take Action!". He virtually "kicked" poverty right out of Connecticut like kicking a soccer ball.

Sacred Heart is a special place to visit with our connection with Fr. Joe.

We all left in an excellent mode.

Sue took Joan and me to Stop and Shop to get our breakfast for the next morning. We also got to see her Gourmet Pasta Shop, Villarina's and had some Gelato and some Italian chocolate. I was in heaven. Sue also gave Joan a jar of their best selling pasta sauce.

This was by far our (Joan and me) best night. We slept wonderfully and sue could not have been any nicer. Thanks Fr. Joe!!

We had to rest up as the next day was going to be our longest and maybe toughest.

Lou

BTC 2011 Journal - Day 5 - Southbury to West Hartford

We woke around 6:30 and had breakfast with our host, Sue. We were to be back at sacred heart for coffee/donuts for those who wanted it before the 8:30 mass. All arrived on time. Wayne left us last night. Tom Breen joined us.

Seems to work pretty well with cyclists coming even for just a couple of days. Thanks so much to support folks that worked out the comings and goings so perfectly.

Jeanette supported the day before. Kathy MacDonald and Mary Nason were there as usual for the time they could be. I appreciate everyone's participation. Thank you.

Fr. Joe started mass right on the dot. We were all so pleased to be in his presence again and listening to his homily. We were reminded of what we had to give up and what Sacred Heart gained for yet another time.

We prayed for Eric's grandmother who passed away the night before.

Fr. Joe's homily hit home and was a bit challenging. Justice is easy, Christianity is hard. We still are digesting that.

So we left for West Hartford feeling good, blessed, and in high spirits. Sacred Heart is a special place for us. We visited on this ride back in 2004, our first Connecticut tour.

We headed for West Hartford via route 67 and 6 most of the way. Today I would ride in the back again and found that was going to be a challenge after riding upfront yesterday. But, I made the most of it with the company I was with, Jean Pierre, John Ryan, Claire, and Pam. We talked, encouraged, sang and rode those hills together. "On that Holy Mountain" got us going especially Jean Pierre and Claire. We had fun, if abusing yourself riding up hill is considered fun. But, if you think of the poor while doing those hills, you get to the top, one pedal stroke at a time.

We were looking forward to ice cream at Gilly's in Thomiston. It was out of business. Bummer! We were all going to get in the support vehicles instead of biking up the nest big hill which appeared to be a bit dangerous because of the lack of a good shoulder. We all discussed and it was decided that three of us would attempt riding up the hill. Johnnie F, Eric, and myself would head for the hill.

Every other BTC ride we did on this road we went down this hill and up the nest gradual hill to Watertown. We were doing it in reverse this year.

The hill was real steep at first and we struggled. Lots of traffic and even a funeral procession of cars. But we all got to the top. The three of us would meet the rest up the road for a pizza lunch.

We rode for a while and came to the green in Terryville across from Immaculate Conception parish. They opened their door for us to use their rest room. How nice! The Holy Spirit was with us.

The pizza was delicious and we all filled ourselves again. Seems we do eat a lot on these rides.

After lunch we got back on the bikes. "Riders Up!"

We continued our way to West Hartford. Johnnie and Eric took to the front while the rest of us sort of spanned out. The traffic was somewhat of a concern but we all managed fine. Pam almost took out a mailman crossing in front of her as she barreled down a hill.

We got close to Holy Family Retreat Center and Johnnie and ERic were patiently waiting for us. We all road in to Holy Family together although the road was being repaired and was not suited well for a road bike. Jean Pierre on his mountain bikes was the happiest.

We all got to our rooms showered, a few snacks and then dinner of roast beef and other goodies. The food was wonderful. Fr. Stephen biked over from St. Bridget and although a bit sweaty enjoyed the dinner and, of course, his birthday cake, as we celebrated his 46th birthday.

We finished dinner and then got ready for the presentation at St. Peter Claver's parish.

The presentation went wel again although we did not have a large crowd, approximately 10 to 15 and there were several small children.

We followed the same presentation format with the presenters as we did at Sacred Heart. Jean Pierre was louder and as good as he was previously. He quietly got the message across. Tom Sacredote presented for the first time and was excellent. He brings another dynamic to the team.

And, as was started down in Milford, when we got to the Social Justice committee part of the presentation, we invited the representative from that parish to say a few words. So we invited Gigi Frailey to speak as we had Br. Larry in Milford and Chuck Dietsch in Southbury.

After the presentation we went back to Holy Family for some snacks, talk, and a singing of our BTC song, "We Must Not Be Silent".

We discussed the plans for the next day, our Finale, and we decided we would do the shorter ride to get to Bloomfield.

We we all tired and all but Johnnie, Pam and I left for bed. The three of us continued talking and sharing for a while longer.

The day ended peacefully just like the others. We are all blessed.

Lou

BTC 2011 Journal - Day 6 - Finale - West Hartford to Bloomfield

We all awoke and got ready for 7:00 am mass at Holy Family. We would har another inspiring homily by Fr. John Baptist Pesce. He was as good as ever. Today was the feast day of St. Irenaeus, a perfect saint for our mission of poverty awareness. In Fr. John's homily he emphasized we should all celebrate the dignity of oneself. His homily could not have been any better for us. It was like it was planned.

We left so blessed and feeling good.

Thank you Fr. Terry again for your hospitality!

We all went over to the other room for breakfast and we feasted again. Excellent breakfast food to get us energized for the day's ride. We also made sandwiches for lunch later.

Charlie joins us this morning. That was a nice addition for the day.

We gathered, prayed and left with a lot of time to take a nice leisurely ride to Bloomfield and Foodshare.

We had 11 cyclists this morning.

The ride was only a bit over 10 miles and we were making great progress as the route was quite easy today.

At this rate we would get to Foodshare too early. John Ryan suggested when we got to West Hartford that we hang around town and engage people. It was a great suggestion but no one took him up on it. We kept pedaling on.

We got to a small green and I decided to call Sarah Santora at Foodshare. She suggested we arrive around 11:45. Since it was only 10:30 we had some time to kill. So, Pam suggested we all discuss the weeklong and what stood out this year for us. A perfect idea.

Dave Kohl started s off mentioning how he had some kind of conversion this year and now feels he would like to cycle with us next year. This got us all going. We began to share ideas and feelings. It was suggested we go to those committed parishes a week prior to the weeklong and speak at their masses about BTC and the following week. It was also suggested we have a rally/protest in Hartford for poverty awareness and have many of those in poverty attend. We discussed having two teams of BTC cyclists especially on the weekend. Many shared what struck them most about the ride this year. A few mentioned we should have more of a resulting "Take Action" step.

The whole thing was the highlight of the 6 days in my opinion.

We had to cut the discussion short as we had to get to Foodshare on time.

Once we got there, Sarah and other Foodshare folks enthusiastically welcomed us. The Catholic Transcript was there to interview and talk to some of us. They documented our ride. Also Channel 61 Fox showed up and interviewed me. However, it never was broadcast on their nightly news. It reminded me what we have heard before, poverty is not a hot news item.

We were glad and fortunate to have Representative John Larson speak at this year's Finale. He was great and complementary on what we were doing and spoke in depth about the poverty issue of Connecticut and in the US.

I was fortunate to be the MC and introduce the speakers. I first mentioned a bit about BTC, where we rode this year, the hills, the rain, the saddle sores and how people in poverty suffer everyday where we only "suffer" for a few hours.

Fr Stephen first spoke and was excellent as always. He mentioned St. Irenaeus, Our mission as Christians and that it was our goal to put Foodshare out of business.

After Fr. Stephen and John Larson, the next speaker was a representative from the Governor's office, Deb Heinrich. She is the non-profit liaison. she to was excellent, thanked us for what we are doing. She also was grateful for what Foodshare and CABHN are doing.

Next were Sarah and Ellen Small Billard from CABHN. Sarah discussed the good Foodshare is doing for those less fortunate and their advocacy as well.

Ellen discussed CABHN's goal and mentioned their mission. We are fortunate to have partnered with CABHN going forward.

You should all connect with CABHN and get their news letter to stay informed on upcoming legislation that impacts low income folks. This is a "Take Action" step.

I ended the Finale by mentioning PEDAL and that we would be back on the roads again next year.

Great Finale!!

Some of us stayed and took part in the Hunger 101 workshop that followed. The experience was very informative as we were able to see how it felt for those in poverty and their everyday struggles to makes ends meet and what means and resources they "had" or didn't have. We actually walked in their footsteps.

If you get the chance to take this Workshop, "Do it!"

The a few of us rode back to St. Bridget to complete this year's journey. We arrived at St. Bridget without incident.

An end to a great 6 day "weeklong" experience.

Peace,

Lou

Brake the Cycle of Poverty Bike Ride in PA - 8/8/2010

2010-08-05T14:50:00.000-07:00

Recently we were contacted by Erica Hesselson from Kutztown, PA regarding Brake the Cycle. she has organized a fund-raiser bike ride to benefit her non-profit, community service organization in Kutztown called Friend, inc.
Friend, Inc. is a muilti-service social agency that supports the well- being of those in need and is committed to strengthening the lives of families and individuals living in Northeastern Berks County PA.

They provide a food pantry, case management, budget counseling, parenting support groups, and financial crisis intervention.

Erica was on the interent searching poverty related subjects and came upon our Brake the Cycle website to her surprise. She immediately reached out and invited us to join them for this poverty event.

Well, a few of us have taken her up on the invitation and will be heading to Kutztown to ride in solidarity to their cause, the benefit of Friend, Inc. and we are hopeful of developing an ongoing relationship in the fight against poverty in the United States and our respective states.

Watch for our journal next week.

Lou Terzo

Pam’s 2010 BTC Ride Reflections:

2010-07-05T10:54:00.000-07:00

After having a day to digest the last six days, I continue to be amazed by the Brake the Cycle Team. I have read all the comments that everyone has written and I have to agree with all of them. The community that has developed from this mission is something that I have never experienced in my life. Every year I am humbled by the team work that it takes to make this trip work. You all are disciples of God.

Every year that I have made this trip, it seems like one thing usually sticks out. Some years it is the poverty centers, the soup kitchens, the church communities, the bike ride or what we learn as a team. This year, we seemed to experience it all. We were able to see different programs that help the poor on Thursday and Friday and we were also able to visit our representatives. I thought our presentations ran very well. They were concise but very informative. We worked great as a team. I thought this year people were ready to hear what we had to say. This is a great sign. The people that were willing to take complete strangers into their homes were absolutely amazing. Everyone was very welcoming. I cannot tell you how many times I saw Jesus on this trip.

The biking part of the trip usually teaches me about myself and the team. This year was no different. I want to thank everyone for the strength that you give me on this trip. I have never seen so many hills as I did this year. To the faster riders, Doug, Tom, Lou, Johnny, Rob, I do know what you give up to try to keep us as a team. It is appreciated. You guys are amazing. To the riders in the back of the pack John, Bob (you were amazing on those hills) and Claire, you make it easy to ride with you. You provide support when I think I do not have the strength to do another hill. You make me laugh just when I think I am done. Charlie, Wayne and Lou, thanks for following behind us to make sure we are all safe. You guys are so patient and understanding. I know I never am alone. We couldn’t do it without you.

Father Stephen, it was go to see you and celebrate your birthday. We missed you riding. Thank you so much for all your support in this mission.

We missed you Ann. Hope you are feeling better.

To all of our support team, Suzanne, Kathy, Joan, Mary, Kelly, Dave, Wendy, John, Jane and Pat, We could not do this ride without you. You provide support when we need it the most. As Matthew 25 says you feed us when we are hungry, provide us drink when we are thirsty and help us from becoming lost and you keep us clean. Most of all you provide us with encouragement when we need it the most.

I treasure each and every one of you. Thanks for being a part of my life.

I am very proud to be part of the BTC team. I am looking forward to continuing the work that we started this past week. As I stated at our last meeting, I hope not to go into hibernation this year. It is time that I walk the walk and talk the talk for 52 weeks of the year rather than just one. This mission changes my life every year and this year was no different.

God Bless all of you,

Pam

BTC 2010 Journal Day 6 – West Hartford to Waterbury (the Finale)

2010-07-05T10:49:00.001-07:00

We awoke to a beautiful morning and meandered over for 7:00 mass in the chapel at Holy Family. Fr. John Baptist said mass. Fr. Terry and the team attended and it was a nice way to begin the day.

After mass we headed over to have breakfast. We had a nice selection to eat and the coffee hit the spot.

We also were supplied lunch meat and bread to make sandwiches for later in the day. Sometime if you ever get a chance ask Bob King about sandwiches and the beach.

After a good morning meal and some reflections on the previous day, we all gathered outside and prepared our bikes and ourselves for the day’s ride.

This would be our last ride on this year’s tour. The Finale.

We would be biking to Waterbury to a Naugatuck Valley Project site called ANAMET.

The NVP has embarked on a campaign to transform ANAMET, a Waterbury brownfield, into an asset for surrounding low income communities and all of the Waterbury area. NVP is asking for federal funding for assessment, remediation and redevelopment of the 17-acre site.

The area has some environmental problems but with the proper investment and funding, the intention is to build a Community Center that will not only serve the people of the area but will beautify the site as well.

We look forward to this finale as we did last year when we finished at PHRN, the Public Housing Resident Network. We were fortunate last year to be part of that celebration where PHRN was given a $35,000 grant from CCHD.

The ride from Holy Family was not bad at all. We would hit a few hills here and there but nothing like the hills in Bethlehem and New Milford. Kind of a piece of cake ride today. This was especially true when we came to the Farmington Canal Heritage Trail. This was a 2 mile bike path with beautiful smooth pavement. Very nice.

While on Old Waterbury Road, which had a nice hill, we came upon Epiphany Roman Catholic church. I wanted to go in but the doors were locked. It would have been nice to connect with somebody there and also to use their restrooms. Come to find out that Wendy and Joan did, in fact, get into the church and were able to leave some of our information with a person at the church. Who knows, maybe we will here from them. In any case, I can mention we stopped by and try to connect with them for an upcoming visit.

At this point we were a little more than 5 miles from our point of completion.

We began looking for a place to have lunch. We came upon a cemetery and parked ourselves under some trees at the entrance. We really were not infringing on their grounds. It was a great place to stop.

Out came the sandwiches, the fruit, the cookies, the chips, the Gatorade but best of all the chocolate milk from Subway. Yummy!!!

We relaxed while consuming our lunch. As it got nearer to 1:30 we decided it was time to get back on our bikes and head over to 99 Jewelry Street, the site of ANAMET.

John Ryan led the way. We arrived in plenty of time. We were greeted by Cori Thibodeau, Executive Director, Office for Catholic Social Justice Ministry and Bishop Peter Rosazza.

After a short while the Finale began. Cori introduced Bob King who represented the BTC Team. Bob, in his eloquent way, thanked everyone and mentioned how proud we were to be part of this finale and reminded Bishop Peter how he had told us back on the send off on our initial ride to Washington DC that he could not make the hills flat, as John Ryan had requested, but that we should think of the poor with every pedal stroke as we struggled up each hill. Those in poverty struggle 24/7 with no relief. We get fed, showered, and a place to sleep with a roof over our heads.

Bob did request of Bishop Peter that perhaps he could do something about those hills in Bethlehem and New Milford.

After Bob spoke Cori introduced Steve Schrag from the Naugatuck Valley Project and Western Connecticut Central Labor Council. He was very articulate in explaining the plan for the ANAMET site. He rattled off some statistics that further emphasized the need for this planned renovation.

After Steve came Ken Curran, a representative from Congressman Chris Murphy’s Office. Ken first commented on our cycling jerseys and how good looking they were. I had to pat myself on the back for that one. He then congratulated the BTC team and what we are doing and offered Chris Murphy’s assistance in the fight against poverty. We definitely have to hook up with Chris Murphy’s office next year. Looks like we will be biking those Waterbury hills again next year.

Finally Bishop Peter said a few words about the NVP and his connection with them. He also thanked us and everyone involved in making this happen. He then awarded the representative from NVP a $30,000 check to begin the work to be done here. What a great end to a 6 day tour for poverty awareness!!!

We rode in total about 240 miles. Not quite the 50 mile per day average we mention in our presentations but close enough. There is always next year.

Keep pedaling my friends and keep PEDALing too!

Lou

BTC 2010 Journal Day 5 – New Milford to Collinsville to Wethersfield

2010-07-05T10:48:00.000-07:00

We had a wonderful breakfast with those folks who brought us over to the church and revisited last evening We were more relaxed this more as we believed we had much more time to make it to our next two destinations. We would be splitting up this afternoon. Some of us would stay in Collinsville while the others ventured over to Wethersfield. Two presentations at the same time. Hadn’t done that before.

Bob made a revision to his Cue Sheet and we avoided going up those monstrous hills on Route 109 at the beginning of our ride. We stayed on Route 202 which was definitely a more pleasant ride. There was more traffic but wide shoulder and far less hill climbing. We would stay on this route for like 19 miles.

There were some steep hills here and there. Going into Litchfield was “fun”.

John Ryan fell a couple of times and had a small issue with his bike an shifting but he survived.

While in Litchfield when we were taking a break on their green, we noticed a couple of folks with a big camera. Thinking it was some film crew I ventured over and had a small conversation with the women “reporter”. She thought our mission was interesting but the cameraman did not had what was necessary to film or interview us. I gave her my card none the less. You never know.

I also went over to the restaurant where we had a great send off breakfast when we last visited this area and presented at St. Anthony of Padua parish several years ago. I wanted to see if Michael Lynn Capello still worked there. They did not remember her or us.

We continued our ride and enjoyed some nice down hills as well. As we entered the Burlington/Collinsville area we hit a 2 mile down hill that had to be on of the best down hills we ever experienced. I broke the speed limit for the second time on this ride. The first time the speed limit was 25 mph but this time it was 40 mph. Wow!

We hung a right at the bottom of that hill and proceeded on to St. Patrick’s. We arrived around 2:00, more than 4 hours early.

We had our lunch in the cool basement of the church and relaxed some before the four bikers heading on to Wethersfield had to depart. Everyone else who “had” to hang around until 6:00 pm decided to go to Holy Family to shower and relax, take a nap, whatever.

We need to hear from someone who presented at St. Patrick’s. this would be Claire’s first time presenting. From what I was told she is a natural and did a great job. Sue Ryan also pitched in on that presentation.

Johnnie F, Tom, Pam, and I rode to Corpus Christi parish. We left around 2:30 and arrived there at 4:00. We were two hours early. Nancy Kiely came around 3:00 and we discussed setting up. She was concerned about the possibility of a lack of attendance.

The four of us had to “shower” in the sink in the respective Men’s or Ladie’s rooms. While I was in “showering” in walked a gentlemen who had a shock I am sure because I was in my birthday suit when he came in to do his thing. He didn’t say one word or make a jester or move to wash his hands. He just quietly left when he was done. I am sure he had a story to tell.

After our “showers” we told Nancy we would be going over to Cold Stone Creamery for some ice cream and be back in plenty of time.

Yummy! Was that ice cream good.

Went back to Corpus Christi. Pam said she was surprised that this parish was on our list and sort of echoed the concern Nancy had. When we got to the church the parking lot was full. But it wasn’t for us. They had daily mass.

During the potluck we did get a decent crowd of about 25. And, we had the parish’s three pastors in attendance. One was the retiring pastor, Fr. Lonegan who served both Corpus Christi and Sacred Heart parishes. The other was the new pastor, Fr. Jay and the other was Fr. Campion. We also had a visit from Fr. Stephen. So we had four priests at the beginning of our presentation. Hadn’t had that happen preciously.

The presentation went well and we engaged with the participants quite frequently. I could tell Nancy was pleased because she was smiling as we ended. She came over and was impressed with the turnout and our message. Nice how the Holy Spirit works His ways.

It was a great end to our presentations for the week. We took home some goodies and packed up and headed for Holy Family.

Unfortunately we found out that Fr. Terry was a bit indisposed with some health issues and would not be joining us tonight as we would all gather for a little celebration of Fr. Stephen’s 44th birthday.

We got to Holy Family slightly ahead of the others coming from St. Patrick’s.

We put the bikes away for safety and went to our assigned rooms. It was quite stifling from the heat of the day but we suffered through it.

Rob DeSesa also joined us this night. He would ride with us on Tuesday to the finale in Waterbury.

A pretty nice day of sharing and we finally ha a chance to be together as a group and tell some stories, laugh, and relax together. Although it was hot, everyone stayed around until they realized we had to get some rest for tomorrow. I will remember this ride to some degree because of the trials and tribulations of Claire. She sure had some stories. So glad she joined us on the ride. She hung in there even when the hills pulled her down.

Pedal or ……., Pedal or ……….

Lou

BTC 2010 Journal Day 4 – Bethlehem to Hamden to New Milford

2010-07-05T10:47:00.000-07:00

We left the Church of the Nativity, after breakfasting at our respective host families homes, as early as possible so that there would be time for the bikers to ride into Church of the Ascension in Hamden. Well, as things sometimes happen, we never had an opportunity to get on our bikes and rode in the support vehicles all the way to Hamden.

As it was, we arrived at the church as the 9:00 mass was just ending and parishioners were filing into the coffee and donut time after mass.

John Ryan quickly got the presentation set up but we could not get the remote slide changer to work (batteries). So we presented the old fashion way using our fingers to do the pointing.

We were pleasantly surprised by the number of folks who attended our presentation. This would be a reoccurring trend for the week.

We had revised our presentation so that we could complete it within the timeframe allowed between their 9:00 and 11:00 masses. We actually did what we had to do in 42 minutes!! Everyone who spoke did so in a focused manner and right on point. One of our better presentations if you ask me.

Afterwards we had some good dialogue with some of the participants who stayed for the presentation and they shared some interesting comments. This one couple shared how some of their friends are so oblivious to the poverty situation. One person they told us about was a lawyer friend who could not believe that people in poverty weren’t there through no fault but their own, that there wasn’t any systemic problem. Complete blinders. It’s just that there are people out there who do not want to “see” or choose not to “see”. We were grateful for this sharing and many provided positive feedback to our presentation.

It just seemed more people were being responsive to what we had to say than in other years.

We left the Church of the Ascension fully charged yet knowing there would be some challenging hills ahead.

First thing we hit was Hill Street. What does that tell you? Any street or road or lane or avenue with the word “hill” in it tells you it ain’t flat.

Granted that sometimes it could be a down hill which we all thoroughly enjoy.

Well it seemed there were more up hill hills than down and they were a bit hard to climb. I got off my bike again even if it was for a short bit. Seemed like a couple of hills were real killers. Names like Gaylord Mountain Road, Towantic Hill Road, Jacks Hill Road.

When we approached Southbury we had an opportunity to again bike on Poverty Road. We decided not to do so. Once you have been on Poverty Road you really do not want to do it again!

We picked up Tom in Southbury and continued the ride to St. Francis Xavier. Time was running short and it was doubtful we would make it on our bikes. So sooner than later we were asked to get in the cars.

We drove into New Milford and St. Xavier’s. Around the back of the church Deb Zahn welcomed us and led us over to her house where we would all shower and get ready for mass.

It was an adventure driving up those hills to Deb’s house. We were supposed to go up them same hills the next morning. None of us knew that as we drove over to Deb’s house.

Her house was beautiful with several showers and a nice pool where several of us took advantage of a quick dip.

Since we had already gone to mass earlier we decided we would venture back to the church in time to set up and partake in the potluck.

After a bit of relaxing, we headed over and arrived as mass ended and had a wonderful meal. Many of us sat with the parishioners and shared stories. At our table, Denise shared her story openly. She had been homeless and had to visit food pantries and the shelter. Se had some physical problems and needed hip replacement surgery and had to rely on her family for support but she was really too proud to ask for help. That is why she would up in the shelter and having to go to the food pantry. So she knew what it meant to be in poverty. But here she was after pulling herself up and out and wanting to give something back. She still had difficulties in her life but wanted to hear what we had to say. She took my card and said she would reach out to the Episcopal church in the area to try and set up a visit. She was quite a lady. I think most people at our table very shocked as she revealed her story so openly.

We presented this night to an audience that included many teenagers. The reaction and interaction was quite good. After we were done a young lady approached me with some difficulty speaking. I had thought that she was choked up after my Jesus story but it was more than that. She asked if we had ever presented in Bristol. I indicated we had. She began to cry and wail a bit and said that she thinks she saw a photo of her mom among the images we used in our presentation of those who can be in poverty, you and me. We replayed that portion of the slide presentation and she pointed out the photo. She cried even harder. This was her birth mom who she had not seen from what I understand for a long time. This young lady had been adopted by a family in New Milford after being in four other homes. So, the picture of her mom was overwhelming to her. They asked if I could send the photo. I said I would dig it out and do so. The young lady gave me her email address.

We then gathered to get our host family assignments. This year would be the year of the host families.

We then all left to be reunited in the morning at the church for breakfast and departure to Collinsville and Wethersfield.

The Lord blessed us again with good weather and safe riding and meeting good people.

Lou

Reflections from a New Biker

2010-07-05T10:45:00.000-07:00

Reflections from a new biker………….

Hi Team: I felt compelled to write about this experience from a new rider's perspective. ....and thank you for an awesome spin into new hills and valleys. Love, Claire

So what is it that would make someone take vacation time to be with a group of people that she doesn’t know well, biking on a bike just purchased in April, to go to some of the lowest income areas in Connecticut? Really, there is nothing rational about this decision but a response to an invitation, and a spiritual prompting.

The days before the ride were very anxious for me. Could I actually do this? I am not exactly young, I did not have time to train the way one should probably train, I had fallen once and that was not an event I wanted to repeat. Many people were cheering for me including the Office of Catholic Social Justice Ministry, the Nutrition Team at CT Children’s, the folks at St. Elizabeth Seton, my kids and most importantly my husband, Rich. I did not want to let them down, nor did I personally want to fail.

Those who have lived with me know that I am totally dysfunctional in the morning. So, to think that I could get up at 5:00 AM to be at St. Bridget’s by 7:00 AM , to start riding soon after was in itself a grandiose miracle.

Seeing everyone in the green, white and orange shirts made me feel part of the group. We started off, my heart was pounding, not from biking but from profound fear. Those first moments are a bit of a blur…..what gear to be in, can I keep up? was it Pam behind me encouraging me?...watch the glass, the pot holes, the cars…why am I panting so much? Is my heart ok? What is my pulse? Have I used up all my glycogen? Am I totally out of my mind? Frankly, it was all about me and I was having a field day in my head examining my response to the first few miles.

In a while, we passed the SAG(supplies and gear) wagon and they yelled out, we are so proud of you. I wanted to cry and I think I did. I felt the love. But you really can’t cry and ride so I talked myself out of it and kept going. Then the hills began and I felt myself empty of energy, felt my lungs expand beyond what I thought they could and felt the doubt of whether I could do this. Then I saw the sign for Coventry. That is where my parents lived their last years and memories just flooded my mind. Under my breath, I said….mom, dad…can you believe I biked to Coventry? Remember when I told you it was so far to Coventry and why did you live so far from me. I felt sad that I had not visited them more and began to cry again. Biking does not really allow you to stay in a morose state as you need to attend to the next hill.

The flowers are just so beautiful as you bike along. Tiger lilies, flax, Russian sage, orange, blue, purple just whizzing past your vision….sun shining, very hot, now shady, now passing over a stream and a chill is in the air…so refreshing.

When we finally got to Willimantic, the experience changed for me. Just for history purposes for those who don’t know me, I have always been justice minded by serving on boards, serving food at soup kitchens, advising on what programs are needed and how could they be funded and donating. I have always stood safely on the perimeter. But in Willimantic we began to get “up close and personal”. We stood outside the Soup Kitchen and talked to Dave. He said he got some income from canning. I thought he worked at a cannery, canning tomatoes or something like that. Then I learned that someone like Dave cannot get a job and canning means collecting cans. He described how he walks about town, searching for cans on the roadside and in dumpsters. There are good days and bad. He described his weight loss from his constant need to walk just to get a minimal income. He talked about a long walk to a local park as he had heard that there were baseball games there and people probably left lots of cans. He made it to the park but there was no game that day…..a wasted walk. I thought to myself, why wouldn’t he have checked the newspaper and remembered that poor people don’t get the newspaper every day as I do. He described how there are canning territories and if you go to someone else’s territory there can be violence. I began to understand the energy and drive it takes just to get through the day. I think I understand why poor people just give up. When I tired on the bike ride, there was always the sag wagon pulling up and an offer to put my bike on the rack and jump in. There I was engulfed in air conditioning, offering of snacks, lots of encouragement and a ride to the top. I was able to opt out when the going got tough…those in poverty have few advocates and little opportunity to opt out.

When we joined the others at the table in the soup kitchen I listened to their stories. These are people who have encountered bad times due to unexpected circumstances, emotional issues that don’t allow them to recover a baseline existence, illness. We met a gentleman who had worked for the State Dept. of Education for 17 years and now has diagnosed alzhiemer’s disease. Without support, it is impossible to figure out how to lift himself from this poverty existence. I was humbled by all of this and realized how easy it is to judge another person when you really know nothing about them. Beneath the unshaven faces, I saw the dignity and face of Jesus in each of them.

The Willimantic experience changed the bike ride for me. I realized that it was really not about me and my biking expertise, it was about encountering others. Being at the back of the pack, pedaling at what was my absolute max, knowing that the rest of team were probably wishing I could go a lot faster was a poverty experience for me. I was emptied of all that I had and filled it with the love I felt on the team, the generosity that I received from the support team and the hospitality that we received at each stop.

And on the day after the ride, I still feel myself pedaling and feel the motion forward. I do not want to forget this, I want to move forward, I want to help.

Claire

BTC 2010 Journal Day 3 – Manchester to Bethlehem

2010-07-05T10:41:00.001-07:00

We started out from St. Bridget at 8:30. Everyone was again excited to begin but also a bit concerned about the hills we would encounter this day. We had seven bikers and our usual support of six.

Today we would be riding all day. No poverty centers today. The ride was too long. A 48 miles day lay ahead.

The ride into Hartford was quite nice except for the bus that kept getting in front of us or stopping and forcing us into the middle of the road on Silver Lane. Other than that, the traffic was not a problem this Saturday morning.

The ride through Hartford went on Asylum Avenue and Farmington Avenue without any problem. We tried to engage with people as much as we could.

As we got out of West Hartford and started to get into Farmington and into Unionville, we noticed that the hills started to pop up more often. On one hill I popped my chain several times and couldn’t get up the hill. I was stuck between gears. Bob offered to assist me up the hill but I finally got my chain on properly and proceeded up the hill. This hill was only the beginning.

Some of us remember this from last year especially the big downhill on US 6 into Thomaston. We did stop for ice cream at the same shop we had done previously. Bob was trying to get the US Soccer team World Cup score but to no avail.

After having some delicious ice cream and using their facilities, we headed up that long climbing hill. Steady as she goes.

I was amazed at Claire and he determination to get up those hills. She had already accomplished riding the most miles in a day and now she was conquering them hills.

Coming through Watertown was a bit difficult because of the hills. Even taking it easier did not seem to help. I guess it just comes with the territory.

We stayed on Route 6 for a long time with consistent hills up and down. I kept hearing that mantra that Bishop Peter told us to chant as we climbed those difficult hills. For each pedal stroke, think of the poor. You are struggling for a brief time, those in poverty struggle on a 24/7 basis. We thought about it a lot today.

One of the tougher hills was Magnolia Hill road. I was off my bike for a short bit as was Doug. I knew I was in trouble when I saw how difficult it was for Johnnie F and Doug to climb. Wow!

Doug broke a spoke he was putting so much pressure on his wheels. He would up riding John Ryan’s bike since John and Claire had gotten into the van. It was fortunate that they had compatible clip in pedals. Funny how John didn’t mind not riding the rest of this day and the next.

After more hills which included some sweet down hills followed by some wicked up hills, hills that abruptly went from down to up so fast it was impossible to down shift to the right gear.

We finally made it to the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem. We were warmly greeted by Bette Roche who I had communicated with via email at least 25 times in order to solidify this visit.

We were assigned to our host families in order to go off and shower and return for 5:00 mass. Joan and I stayed at the rectory. Kelly and Dave stayed to help set up for dinner and the presentation. They would be going home tonight after dinner. I thanked them both for their time and support for the two and three days they devoted to BTC. I love those guys.

I went over to the rectory with Fr. Joe Looney and he showed me to the room Joan and I would stay in. He had to get ready for mass and I rushed to shower. Joan was on her way as she did nt do support this day but was on her way to Church of the Nativity. She would get there during dinner. Dave and Kelly would be taking our car back to Manchester.

Mass was wonderful and Fr. Joe welcomed us formally and tied his homily to our visit and stressed our commitment to Christ’s mission. He especially stressed the 48 miles we rode that day. I smiled during mass a lot because of his comments.

We had great food served by members of the family and we all engaged different folks during dinner. I met a nice family and got to give their 7 year old son a BTC water bottle. They were appreciative.

We presented within an hour and had a very responsive group of a bout 25 or so. The presentation went smoothly and we thought better than most.

The morning was set up where the host families would provide breakfast for the team. Joan and I shared that time with Fr. Joe. He was quite happy to have guests and someone to talk to since he lives alone. We enjoyed sharing time with him.

Bette is his right hand person and helps “run” the parish with 500 families.

She and the host families sent us off in our support vehicles with big smiles and appreciation for our visit.

Lou

BTC 2010 Journal Day 2 – Hebron to Hartford

2010-07-05T10:40:00.000-07:00

We started our day with a nice pancake breakfast at out host family’s home.

We then headed over to St. Peter’s. We were supposed to gather and leave for Hartford by no later than 7:00 am. It didn’t happen.

Anne showed up the night before but was still under the weather. This morning he decided not to ride again as she was still feeling a bit weak. She would help with support.

After everyone arrived, we decided that we would split up. We had to be at John Larson’s office by 9:00 to meet with John Rossi.

Johnnie F, Tom and I departed around 7:40 and hustled our butts to try and get there on time. We had to meet Charlie at the founders bridge. Dave and Anne drove support for us. We hustled and got to Hartford by 9:05.

The others rode at their pace and headed over to a place called the Retreat which was a pilot assisted living program only 5 years old. This was connected with CRT, the Community Renewal Team heade up by Nancy Pappas. She worked out the details of the visit with Pam.

At John Larson’s office we met with John Rossi and three college interns who admitted being oblivious to poverty on campus. We think there is an opportunity on college campuses to open their eyes.

The visit with John Rossi went well and he was again prepared for our visit. He had some hand outs and advised us of some of the programs the Obama administration was putting in place to end homelessness.

He also discussed the rapid transit bus lines that were being implemented in CT and the rail service being considered fom New haven to Hartford to Springfield. These rapid transit facilities would be quite beneficial for lower income folks to get them to their places of employment. As everyone knows this is sometimes a stumbling block for individuals access to good jobs. A rapid transit system offers a means to help pull themselves out of poverty.

All in all our visit to Larson’s office was informative and it appeared there was a lot going on in Congress. The deficit is definitely the biggest item being discussed. Anything that would increase the deficit is going to have a difficult time passing through Congress, especially on the Senate side. We have a difficult battle brewing.

Charlie, Johnnie, Tom and I then went over to the Retreat building and joined the tour that was being held for the other part of our team. What a positive assisted type living facility. Nothing like it is the US. It was a very positive, health program for the elderly and kept them oput of a Nursing Home which depleted them of their assets. This program does not and actually helps them hold on to the assets. You really could see the positive in the demeanor of those folks we saw living in the building. We even got a tour of one clients apartment and she was glad to let us see her “home”.

We asked what we could do and were told to request more of these pilot programs be instituted. What a huge difference that would make. Avoiding a Nursing Home seems like such a good thing. We left there with a lot of hope for the future.

We then biked over to the shelter connected with CRT, the Stuart McKinney Shelter for men. What a well run clean Shelter. Nancy brought us over but we were provided with the inner working by Jose. He really educated us on the life within the shelter. W met one of the volunteers, Alex Mobley who was a budding poet. Jose was encouraging Alex to publish his poems Alex read many of them off the top of his head and later showed us his written.

We had lunch at this shelter and again the food was surprisingly good. Only a few clients were around as the men must leave the shelter during the day. They come back at night Jose has bee there for 13 years and loves his job. He also mentioned this job is not a job for wimps. We all got a chuckle out of that. We gave then a check donation as we did for the Covenant Soup Kitchen. Jose was quite happy.

After the Shelter we headed over to Dodd’s office and met with mark DeStephano for most likely he last time. We had a good conversation with him but with Senator Dodd on his way out Mark could not really say what position Senator Dodd had on some issues. But it was still a pleasant visit and we wished Mark well.

While waiting for Mark to greet us, two chiropractors came out of the other office due to their curiosity about our bikes. They seemed genuinely interested in what we do. I gave them each a card nd look forward to them possibly contacting me.

Because our last visit of the day was Lieberman’s office at 4:00, some left early for home as there was no presentation tonight. But while gathering outside of Dodd’s office Pam noticed Karen Kohl’s keys tucked in a corner of the steps leading to Dodd’s office. She was actually lucky to see them as we were about to leave when she looked back. Those of us who know Dave Kohl well just chalk this up as Dave being Dave. We called him and he was very happy!!

The others went to Starbucks for some coffee and a treat. Definitely needed at this point.

Those who stayed got to go over to Lieberman’s office and speak with Kathy Bass, his congressional aide. We expressed our concerns over the continuation of the EITC and the Child Tax Credit and tried to find out what Joe’s stance was on that. We also asked Kathy if she could find out what Senator Lieberman’s position was on the new defining of poverty guidelines as presented by the Dodd McDermitt bill.

Claire also brought up her concern about child obesity and requested the Senator’s position of that as well. Kathy was going to follow up on that and get back to us. She took a lot of notes and hopefully will get back to us.

Claire also mentioned someone on her staff who was losing their home and asked what could be done. Kathy asked a few questins and recommended this person contact their office. She felt they could be helpful.

This is exactly what Mark had said when Claire mentioned it to him earlier in the day.

While getting ready to leave for Manchester, a young African-American woman came over to talk to me about what we were doing and to possibly us connecting with St. Joseph’s college in some way. I gave her my card. Hopefully she will contact me.

Finally we all headed to Manchester where we would bed in our own homes, get a good night’s sleep and start out at 8:30 in the morning for Bethlehem.

Lou

BTC Journal Day 1 – Manchester to Willimantic to Hebron

2010-07-05T10:39:00.000-07:00

We all began to gather at St. Bridget’s on our decided time of 7:00 am. I (Lou) met up with Bob as I biked over. We were the first to arrive.

One by one we came. First a few support folks then each biker arrived eager to begin this year’s ride. First time rider, Claire Dalidowitz didn’t know what to expect but was ready.

Everyone packed their overnight bags and each Support vehicle was stocked with Gatorade and snacks. Bikers prepared heir bikes, pumping up their tires and remembering what they had to bring.

Finally it was time to leave. Fr. Stephen provided our send of blessing and we were off. We headed to Willimantic through Manchester streets and got on 44, biked past Shady Glen and picked up route 85. Route 85 was taken to Route 6. A few fast downhills added to the morning’s excitement.

It was hot and humid. Again that thought of discomfort we felt but it made us think of those in poverty who feel that discomfort everyday. We were only going to feel it for a day here and there.

We biked along route 6 without incident thinking about last year’s trip and what happened along route 6 as we ventured to Willimantic and St. Joseph’s church. Nothing like that happened this day.

We made our way to the Windham Willimantic Child Care & Family Development DayCare and as we pulled in the kids were all excited. “Here come the bikers!!” they shouted. We were warmly welcomed and Johnnie F introduced us all to the kids. These were little “guys” and we told them about the importance of wearing a helmet and drinking lots of water to stay hydrated.

Then we asked them if they wanted to “ride” one of our bikes. I offered my helmet and one by one each child came up to be hoisted up onto the bike and had their picture taken by one of the staff. It was perfect and each child seemed to really enjoy their “ride”.

When we completed that, I asked the kids if they wanted to ring the bell on my bike. Wow, what a response. It was actually difficult to get away as the staff tried hard to gather the children for their next activity.

We left with a bit of joy in our hearts. I think we all really enjoyed our visit.

We then pedaled over to WAIM, Windham Area Interfaith Ministry.

We received a warm greeting as we arrived and Linda Zaccare, the Case Manager for WAIM gave us a nice tour of the facility. We were all again educated about the good WAIM brings to he Windham area. Clients come, no questions asked and request things they need like household items, clothes, furniture.

WAIM services or helps around 7500 people each year. Donors pull up in the cars and unload various items. While we were there several cars did pull up full of items that would most likely help someone in need. The run WAIM quite efficiently. The tour was very educational.

We left WAIM around 11:30 ad headed over to the Habitat house that some of the BTC team worked on. It was nice to see the progress made and hear about the family that would be shortly moving in. This particular home was handicap accessible as the family had two disabled children. Kind of sad but also nice to see what living conditions they would have.

We then biked over to the Covenant Soup Kitchen and met with the clients there and had lunch with them. We had been there a few years ago and it appeared the numbers have not improved and actually have increased. We have seen and heard this over and over. With the economy being what it is, more people find themselves in need of using Soup Kitchens. Some of us were surprised by the number of children who accompanied their parents into the Soup Kitchen.

The food was excellent bt the stories we heard broke our hearts. One man we talked to, Dave, had just begun coming to the Soup Kitchen and it was difficult for him to share his story. He cried as he shared how he got there. He was running a General Store just a year ago, had a falling out and walked away from it. Little did he know he would be living in a tent and eating at a Soup Kitchen less tha a year later. He told us he would be receiving a pension check shortly and hoped the income form his pension would be enough for him to get his own place to live and pull himself out of his current situation. He was very distraught and your heart had to go out to him.

Claire and I also talked to a guy, Steve, who was homeless, living in a tent as well. He was quite upbeat for his situation but his attitude is what kept him going. He couldn’t get a job because he had no references. How did he get buy? He did “canning”. What is canning? You guessed it. He walked the streets of Willimantic collected bottles and cans. He said he averaged around $300 a week. Well that was a good week. He really benefitted from Eastern but now that school was closed he knew his “income” would go down. But he was managing. He asked us for a bike or if we could get him a bike. It dawned on me that I saw a relatively “new” mountain bike at WAIM. I advised Steve to go over right after lunch and ask for that bike. He was a bit reluctant to do so. I told him they would not judge him or ask any questions. I told him to mention our visit, gave him my card and name, and told him to ask for Linda. We hope he follows through on it. With a bike he could cover more territory faster.

You know, he told us the “canning” was competive and many were out her collecting. It was a first come first served thing so you really had to hassle. He did but has recently been robbed of $25 which is a lot of empty cans. That was something he was really bothered by because it happened right in the soup kitchen. Quite a sad thing but Steve seemed elated that we offered encouragement and a way for him to get the bike.

We left after a good lunch and a lot of sharing and listening to clients’ stories. We again became their voice. We would bring their stories to Hartford the next day as we spoke with our Federal legislators.

Finally we ended our visits at Holy Family shelter and Sister Peter sat us down and gave us the ;attest information on how much the Shelter was helping single women and their familes. It was an encouraging discussion. Sister Peter remarked about the good they were doing and we responded by telling her that we hoped some day she would be out of that job. Again we were educated in a way that would help us become more aware.

We began our rid to Hebron and St. Peter’s Episcopal church but first stopped at the Community Health organization office and ACCESS office and had a great conversation with Leigh Duffy from Generations Family Health Center about their programs and how we can engage with them at some future point. They do a lot of good offering Healthcare to low income folks.

We waited for the thunder storm to pass before riding over to St. Peter’s. It was not a bad ride over. A few hills but nothing too too difficult. Claire did get into a support vehicle as she had just completed the most miles ever for herself. She should be proud of what she did. We all were.

We got to St. Peter’s and Fr. Perry set us all up with our host families to go over and shower and then venture back to the church hall for a nice supper together.

Our presentation lasted just under an hour and from what feedback we received was greatly appreciated by those who were there. They participant were really into it and responsive to our questions. All in all I think we had a very successful first day.

We then all separated and went to the respective homes of our hosts and quickly retired to get ready for the next day.

Lou

Brake the Cycle of Poverty Tour 6/24/2010 thru 6/29/2010

2010-07-05T01:11:00.000-07:00

We began the our 2010 BTC bike tour of CT on Thusday 6/24/2010. Here are the journals for the six day ride plus a couple of reflections, one from Claire, a first timer, and one from veteran biker, Pam.

The Journals are my recollection of the six days.

Lou

Journal from our visit to The First Congregational Church of Cheshire, October 4, 2009

2009-10-06T16:33:00.000-07:00

Here is the Journal from yesterday's visit to The First Congregational Church of Cheshire.
Bob, Mark, Pam and I gathered at St. Bridget around 7:00 am Sunday morning. Jeanette planned on meeting us at the church.
We greeted each other and Fr. Stephen popped over to say good morning and wish us well and a safe ride. Bob had requested that Fr. Stephen keep our visit to The First Congregational Church in his prayers and perhaps comment at mass. Bob would mention in his opening remarks that the St. Bridget Community was keeping the members of The First Congregational in their prayers.
During our two presentations that seemed to be very well received. As we drove to the church I really didn't know what to expect with this being our real first non-Catholic presentation and we felt a bit concerned with the initial reaction to our presentation as some of the members of this church attended our presentation in New haven during the weeklong ride.
Our presentation was revised to exclude reference to "Catholic" where necessary. For instance we removed the slides pertaining to CCHD and OUA. Plus we only had a limited timeframe in which to speak, that being 45 minutes between services.
We arrived at the church without incident and waited for Cindy to greet us. She did and suggested we greet folks as they came to the service and also advised we could set up in the chapel. A couple of us went to the entrances to the church while Mark and I went to set up in the chapel. We were practically set up when we were advised that the children had a service in the chapel during the regular service and we had to take down and keep the aisle free. We did so. In fact, we were advised that between services we would have to take down an re-set up. Not ideal but we made it work.
Bob, Pam, and Mark went to the 9:00 service while Jeanette and I waited until the chapel cleared out at 9:30 and we cold set up. As we waited, there was a group of Liturgical Dancers from the National Liturgical Dance Network who were going to dance at the end of the church service. I engaged them in conversation asking if they were nervous and all. This was the first time they were at this church. They were a bit nervous but anxious to perform. I asked what kind of reception do they normally receive when they dance at churches. Fro the most part it is all positive but they admitted that sometimes this is so new to people that there is a bit of hesitation. I was anxious to see what was going to happen.
They dancers asked me why we were there and what was Brake the Cycle. That's all I needed. So I did my thing and we talked for a while. During the conversation I mentioned how we meet people on the street and when they ask us what we are doing we almost always get the response, "then you are doing this for me". As I said that one dancer in particular kind of shied away with a half smile half embarrassed look. I did not think that much of it at that time and continued talking until it was time to set up in the chapel.
We were also approached by others in the church who asked us about our mission. It was great to get those opportunities.
Jeanette and I had some difficulty get the presentation to come up and had to cal John Ryan to get his password and also to find out that two steps in the set-up instructions had been changed. Whew! Panic was beginning to set in as time was getting close.
Jeanette and I caught some of the liturgical dancing and thought it was pretty cool. The dancers were there as part of the community celebration for "World Communion Sunday".
After the service I would have to say around 25 to 30 folks attended. We had to start as peopled wandered in and really only had 30 minutes to do the presentation. We announced beforehand that we normally do a 53 minute presentation and would have to act quickly to get through this before the next service.
You know, we pulled it off and had quite a good response to our discussion. I found the whole thing quite pleasant fulfilling.
When done, Cindy thanked us and the members of the community who came and especially folks from their Outreach program.
We took everything down quickly and cleared out for the next group of children.
Jeanette and I went to the 11:00 service but cut out at 11:30 to set up again. The part of the service were there for was quite impressive and spiritual.
We did not know what to expected regarding numbers of attendees to this next presentation. We got a few members of the community but all 8 liturgical dancers attended. We presented similarly keeping their initial timeframe in mind although we did speak for a bit longer this time. All went well.
We had a couple of tweaks to the slides for these presentation one being Matthew 25. I had worked it so the words come in line by line and it really seemed to go over quite well.
Also with the elimination of the "Do we meet Jesus?" slide, the story of Lou meeting Matthew seemed to flow in much more smoothly and powerfully. I would work quite well with Rob's story about his friend Don.
After Cindy did here thing again at the end of our presentation, she focused on the dancers and asked them where each was from. As they conveyed , Stratford, Meriden, New Haven she mentioned that these could be possible cities that BTC could connect with. I took the opportunity to pass out my business cards.
While doing that the dancer that I saw was a bit embarrassed when I spoke about us riding for poverty awareness spoke out and said to me, 'you are doing this for me". I got chills when she said that. She told me she had just lost her job and was a bit nervous about her future. She said that she realized she was there for a reason, that the Holy Spirit obviously wanted her to be there to here what we had to say. She thanked me. We talked about how it felt to loose your job and I shared that feeling with her. I think that helped some. She said she was going to trust in the Lord and that she believed in her heart things would work out.
I asked her to keep in touch. I hope she does. Her name was Annette.
So we were done with our first non-Catholic presentation and we looked forward to the next.
Soon after, around 1:30 Bob, Mark and I set out on our bikes to begin the 40 mile ride to Manchester. Jeanette had another engagement so we saw her off separately. Pam was our sag support.
We were not much into the ride, about 2.5 miles, and Mark got a flat tire. He decide he would try to fix the tire himself and didn’t want Bob or I to stop biking. He rode with Pam, stopped and bought some universal tool he felt would help him fix his flat. He so wanted to do this on his own and not slow either of us down. He was being overly concerned about that.
After about 20 miles into the ride and Bob almost getting nailed by a careless driver who was a bit too anxious to get into some convenience store and cut him off, we stopped at a MacDonald's in Middletown/Cromwell area. I tried to help Mark fix his flat. Then it dawned on me. This was the tire from hell! Rob, you may remember trying to fix this flat. Either the tire was too small for the rim or the rim was too big for the tire. We had a heck of a time getting the tire off initially and then for the life of us could not, I mean, could not get the tire back on. Mark felt a bit guilty feeling he was slowing Bob and I down and decided he would just ride in the van with Pam and listen to the Patriot game.
I felt bad that Mark could not enjoy the ride.
Bob and I continued until we got to Hartford where the Silas Deane continues and the entrance to the highway was. We decided 30 miles was enough and luckily Pam had not gotten on the highway yet. We packed up the bikes and drove to St. Bridget. We were done for the day.
All in all we had a great day. Beautiful weather. A good presentation. Thanks to Kathy King for those sandwiches and cookies. Thanks so much for Pam doing support and sacrificing biking.
I look forward to the next ride.
Peace,
Lou

BTC –Day 6 Journal – West Hartford, Holy Family to New Britain, Corbin Heights Public Housing Project

2009-07-03T05:06:00.001-07:00

BTC –Day 6 Journal – West Hartford, Holy Family to New Britain, Corbin Heights Public Housing Project

Lou, Fr. Stephen, and Johnnie F left around 6:30 in the morning heading for WDRC station to talk on the air with Brad Davis. They would meet Charlie there. Charlie was biking from Vernon. All were prepared to stay on talk and speak to our mission.
The discussion with Brad went perfectly well and was totally focused on the mission. Brad seemed into it and welcomed us back next year. The four left feeling pretty good.
They headed for Senator Dodd’s office on Lewis Street in downtown Hartford.
The rest of the team went to mass and had their breakfast. They would meet the other bikers at the state capital for a visit with Deb Polun, Legislative Director of the Connecticut Commission on Aging.

The meeting with Mark Stephanou at Senator Dodd’s office went quite well and we discussed the Measurement of Poverty Bill currently before the House of Representatives and hopefully to be put before the Senate by Dodd. It would redefine how poverty is measured. The old measurement is dated form the 1960’s and does not take into consideration housing, child care, and health costs among other things and can have a startling affect on the actual number of people in poverty in the United States. We are looking forward to the redefinition as we use these facts and numbers in our presentations. We believe rather than only 37 million Americans in poverty based on the current definition, there are more like 90 million working poor in America, 1/3 of the population of the United States. Shameful!

The three of us left Senator Dodd’s office and met the rest of the team at the capital. We had lunch right there on the Capital ground and then proceeded upstairs to meet with Deb Polun.
We had met her when she was an aid for Don Williams. She is now in a far more influential position and actually called Charlie as she felt our group could benefit in a discussion with her office. She advocates for the elderly and we now have an agency we can point to in this regard. The discussion was informative as well as enlightening. Pam added the below regarding the visit.

We met with Deb Polun (Legislative Director) and Robert Norton (Communication Director) of Connecticut Commission on Aging. This visit was very educational to all members of our group. This agency works on research and public policy of issues that affect our senior population. They work with both sides of the aisle within the state government to educate representatives and senators on what is right for our seniors.
Some facts that we learned:
Ø The senior population will triple by 2030
Ø Connecticut is the 7th oldest age population
Ø 50% of senior women live on their social security payments alone
Ø New Initiative-State Elder Economic Security Initiative
v Research being done to see what it really costs for a senior to live.
v They will take into account where seniors live, what kind of housing they live in and different economic status.
Ø Seniors need to be given the choice and independence to stay at home rather than going to a nursing home. Services need to be provided so this can happen. This is expensive at first but will be cost saving in the long run.
Ø Biggest challenge of moving seniors out of nursing homes is affordable housing. Initial setup and services need to be in place before any of this can happen.
Ø A program that has been started in Connecticut is called “Money follows the Person”. This program lets seniors stay in their homes and provides services while in the home. It is about choice and independence. This program has been established in Oregon saving 6 million dollars a year. This program needs our support.
Ø Some of their allies are Jonathon Harris (West Hartford), Mary Ann Handley (Manchester) and Peter Vallano (Hamden)
Ø Call the Governor not to cut the Commission on Aging or any services that affect this population.

We then walked over to the Legislative Office building and actually popped in on our state representatives and Senators. None were present but we were able to leave pertinent notes to them. This was all done on the spur of the moment as a response to the suggestion by Deb Polun. Worked out quite nicely.

Some of us next ventured over to Congressman John Larson’s office to speak with John Rossi, Representative Larson’s aid. We have met with Mr. Rossi a number of times and the discussion centered on the devastation in Wethersfield as a result of the tornado that hit the other day. We did also discuss poverty issues and he was right on top of things.

He gave us an overview of what has been happening at the federal level. Healthcare is one of the biggest issues that will have to be decided at the federal level. A middle ground will have to be found for healthcare. The Congressman does not want anyone to go into poverty because of lack of healthcare or inadequate healthcare. The SCHIP money for children’s healthcare is up. The Recovery Act has supplied 11 million dollars for homeless prevention and 25 million for public housing. What people need to understand is that this money really is not for stimulus but for stability. Over the past 8 years, these programs have been under funded so now we just have to catch up. Money for education from the Recovery Act has begun to come into the state. It is sitting until the state budget is passed. One important bill that the Congressman is passionate about is the Youth Promise Act. It is an investment for our future. Councils in high-risk cities will develop a comprehensive plan for implementing evidence-based prevention and intervention strategies. These strategies will be targeted at young people who are at-risk of becoming involved, or involved in, gangs or the criminal justice system to redirect them toward productive and law-abiding alternatives. This bill will be reintroduced on July 15th. Congressman Larson is now the 4th ranking democrat in the House. He has decided not to co-sponsor bills but work very hard within the leadership to get his point across. He was having a public forum on health care that evening at Manchester Community College.

We had to cut the discussion short because we had to be over in New Britain by 3:00.

We all headed over. While biking there, Lou received a couple of calls that the vehicle that Fred was driving had a dead battery. Problem. No jumper cables. Bought a new battery. Still problems. Dave and Fred went and got a part to fix the battery cable. They got to Corbin Heights in time for the presentation.
Lou was greeted by Kim McLaughlin and the other folks from PHRN. Mayor Tim Stewart arrived. The Archbishop arrived. We were good to go. Lou acted as master of ceremonies and did a good job of keeping the flow and getting everyone to speak and say what they had to say in a timely period. Other dignitaries included State Representative Tim O’Brien, PHRN President James White, and Alderman Ray Centano. It was declared PHRN Day as Mayor Stewart delivered the proclamation to resident Addie Keith. Lou brought this little kid, Jaoun, to the mike and had him turn around so we could se what was written on the back of his tee shirt. It read something about God and being with him was an adventure. Don’t remember the exact words.
Also, Archbishop Mansell awarded PHRN a $35,000 CCHD grant which just solidified the entire afternoon. The sun shined brightly and the wind blew a bit but everything went perfectly well.
The culmination of a great week long ride.

We all left for St. Bridget’s. Before anyone left we said a final prayer and hugged each other goodbye and looked forward to next year.

Lou rode home to help wind down. He made it home safely. No crashes this year.

Lou received a phone call from Fr. Jeffries a short time after he was home. Fr. Jeffries just wanted to know how the remainder of the ride went and how we made out at the Finale. Lou told him he helped make this year’s ride special. Great conclusion to the weeklong.

See you again next year. Pedal On!!!!!

Lou

BTC –Day 5 Journal – West Hartford, Holy Family to New Haven, St. Aedan’s

2009-07-03T05:04:00.000-07:00

BTC –Day 5 Journal – West Hartford, Holy Family to New Haven, St. Aedan’s

We all attended 7:00 am mass at Holy Family. Fr. John served mass. We also engaged in a special breakfast. Fr. Terry has been such a great supporter of Brake the Cycle and our mission. Thank you Fr. Terry!!
After breakfast we continued a group discussion about the incident that occurred Saturday afternoon. Many feelings were expressed but it appeared more discussion has to occur.
We headed out around 8:15 Charlie and Wayne were not riding this day so Lou rode in the sweep position. The ride went smoothly except for the number of traffic lights and stops because on the number of bikers. It was difficult for the entire team to get through the green light.
The ride was made more fun because Johnnie F kept getting flat tires, three in fact! But that helped Lou get out of the funk he appeared to be in after the discussion this morning. He was able to discuss with Johnnie and get his feeling out there.
During the ride around the Southington area we came across some men picketing their place of business and we stopped to engage in conversation. They were not on strike but were picketing in favor of establishing a Union and to secure their contracts through negotiation.
As a result of Johnnie F’s third flat tire, he and Lou were late for lunch at St. Ann’s Soup Kitchen and did not get a chance to finish their meal. Luckily the Support crew had made lunches provided by Holy Familiy.
While at St. Ann’s Lou did get a chance to talk to one of the clients there. This individual told Lou that he really didn’t have to come to the soup kitchen that he was retired, had a place to live and only came to meet his friends. He did share that he collected empty bottles and cans for extra income. He told Lou how it takes so many bottles and cans to really add up to any significant amount of money. He shared that many of his fellow clients come because they have to, that they lost their jobs. He seemed happy. We saw him picking through the trash container while we gathered before leaving. We assume he was searching for bottles or cans.
We listened to Luke who runs the St. Ann’s Soup Kitchen and he advised us as to the number of folks they feed each day, anywhere from 100-150. The soup kitchen has been around since 1989.
After Luke gave us his little talk, he shared with us that he would be going over to CT Foodbank to pick up food for the soup kitchen and food pantry.
We left At. Ann’s and departed to either Rosa DeLauro office or to CT Foodbank. We split up into two groups of six and went our separate ways.
The CT Foodbank was excellent and we were provided with a lot of information that we compared to Foodshare in Bloomfield. Between these two, they serve 850 “programs”. CT Foodbank serves 220. The rest are served by Foodshare. We were again amazed on how they make the process work and also had to bid for certain produce.
We were again impressed by the fact they sometimes had to bid on shipments of various commodities. But apparently it all works out fine.
As we were there, different “clients’ came in to collect food for their respective agency. We met Luke there as he had said he would be there.
St. Ann’s is not only a Soup Kitchen but is also a Food Pantry where folks come to get specific foods only appropriate for Food Pantry, i.e. can goods, non-perishables.

Those of us who attended Rosa DeLauro’s office, met with Lou Mangini her congressional aide. We thanked Rosa for all her help in speaking for the poor. Lou stated that there has definitely been a change in thinking towards social services with the new administration. Money from the Recovery Act has begun to come into the state, but due to no budget being passed, the money may be sitting around. He said that it is very important for the budget to be passes because some of the funds have dates on them to be allocated. New Haven has started a program for affordable housing. Apartment buildings are being constructed and 80% will be rented at market value and 20% will be affordable housing. They are hoping this model will help all people renting take pride in where they live. We asked what we could tell people in New Haven during our presentation. He said you can have people write, e-mail or call Rosa’s office, but know she will always fight for the people in her district. He suggested people really getting involved in working with the youth in New Haven. He stated that the more these youth can see people care about them and are positive role models the better off we will be.

Those of us coming back from Ct Foodbank met the rest of the team at the Office of Urban Affairs building. We had a mini tour and talked to Lynn Campbell a bit.
The team left together to ride to St. Aedan’s. we got there shortly before Lina Alpert who organized our visit to St. Aedan’s. Loaded most of our bikes on the support vehicles at this time.
We set up for our presentation and suppered on sandwiches donated by Subway. Desserts were donated by Stop and Shop and Dunkin Donuts.
A nice crowd turned out, even New Haven Mayor John Destefano attended for a while anyway. We filled the small room. Our presentation went smoothly and last slightly more than an hour. We had some nice dialogue form some non-Catholic attendees and their perspective on our presentation. We actually had a godd interchange of dialogue.
Made some good contacts for the future. Possible interaction with the Deacon Group.
Talked to Lina afterwards and listened to her plea for assistance in getting more support for what she is trying to do at St. Aedan’s. She is a committee of one and needs help.. suggested she follow up with OUA. They should assist in this regard.
Lina was very pleased with our presentation and the number of people who showed up.
We left St. Aedan’s all in a good mood for a job well done.
When we arrived at Holy Family and congregated on the third floor for refreshments, we decided who would get up early to bike over to WDRC and tlak with Brad Davis and then proceed over to Senator Dodd’s office. Lou, Fr. Stephen, and Johnnie F would meet Charlie there at 7:30.
The rest of the crew would breakfast again at Holy Family after attending 7:00 mass. They would depart for the Capital and meet the others there.

Lou

BTC –Day 4 Journal – Manchester, St. Bridget’s to St. Timothy’s, West Hartford to Holy Family, West Hartford

2009-07-03T05:01:00.000-07:00

BTC –Day 4 Journal – Manchester, St. Bridget’s to St. Timothy’s, West Hartford to Holy Family, West Hartford

We gathered at St. Bridget at 7:30. This was kind of reminiscent of our first day. We had 13 bikers riding his day. Kelley O’Shea from Court House, one of Lou’s spin teachers, joined us after being invited by Charlie and Lou. She borrowed Kelly’s riding jersey so she fit in perfectly. We also had John Rowe with us for the first time and this Patty’s first day this year as well.

Bill Shea was there again to take photos. It was so great getting ready to start again. Fr. Stephen couldn’t ride with us this morning. He had to work. He gave us a nice blessing to start the day. John Ryan also offered up a wonderful social justice prayer before we mounted up. It put all of us in the perfect mood. We were on our bikes rolling away around 8:15.

The ride to St. Timothy’s was relatively flat and everyone enjoyed it. We all stayed close together. Kelley seemed to really enjoy herself and we believe she is now hooked as part of this team. She’s got it and knows it is not about the bike.

We got to St. Timothy’s earlier than we expected, around 9:30. Bill Shea had just got there so he was able to take photos of us arriving. Timing is everything. We rested some and had bagels and juice before we greeted parishioners for the 10:30 mass. We were actually early enough to greet the 9:00 ma parishioners as they were leaving. We either handed them a slip of paper inviting them to the presentation after mass or verbally engaged them. Many were already aware of our visit. Good prior advertising thanks to Lou and Pat Piano’s efforts.

We were all actually surprised at the turnout thinking who would come around 12:00 to a presentation. We were pleasantly surprised. We all tried to speed things up and completed the presentation right at 53 minutes. Remember, every 53 minutes a child in the United States dies as a result of the causes of poverty.

We were engaged and totally into it. Our audience was also engaged. Pat Piano, the Pastoral Associate at St. Timothy’s has already agreed to have us back. We connected with Patty Moran’s husband’s cousin, Bobbi Moran, their Confirmation leaser to set a date in October. The cool thing is that Pat Piano wants to bike with us. I hope she does. She has real enthusiasm and a love for what she is doing. Pat was impressed with our presentation. I guess everyone was since we received our first standing ovation. Fr. Cody also was impressed. He thought our enthusiasm was exceptional and catching as Christianity should be.

We had a larger crowd than for any other presentation. We performed well and timely. It was ironic that the second reading today was so appropriate. “Whoever has much should not have more, whoever has little should not have less”.
We left St. Timothy’s with joyful hearts.

We decided to bike through Hartford on the streets you would not bike alone, Albany Ave., Park Street, etc. We all noticed the conditions of the streets. A fire cracker went off and some of us thought it was a gun shot. We did our best to engage with people. We got some waves, some thumbs up, some looks like why are you guys here. But it is always and eye opening ride.
We brainstormed as we rode. Kelley was already thinking of ways to do things for the future like meeting right there with those less fortunate. Like we said, she is hooked.
After we arrived at Holy Family we got into our circle and we all reflected and shared our impression of riding through Hartford. Really a powerful way to end the ride.’

We had a wonderful supper and celebrated Fr. Stephen’s 43 birthday with a cake from Mozzicato’s bakery in Hartford. His dad came to celebrate with him.

We went to the auditorium for the presentation. Not many showed up and Fr. Terry was a bit disappointed. He tried his best to get folks there. Oh well, sometimes that’s the way it is. We still conducted our presentation as always.

One of the few attendees was a priest from West Africa who came with Fr. Dennis. Fr. Peter approached Lou and said to him he was moved by our presentation talking about poverty in the US. He said it was strange to him because people who really live in poverty look to the United States as a place for hope because of our wealth. We could see his point.

After the presentation we gathered on the third floor for some refreshment as Italian cookies from Mossicato’s. Yummy! Also a little fresh fruit and some wine. We faith shared and discussed the next day’s ride.

Lou

BTC –Day 3 Journal – Newington, St. Mary’s to Willimantic, St. Joseph’s

2009-07-03T05:00:00.000-07:00

BTC –Day 3 Journal – Newington, St. Mary’s to Willimantic, St. Joseph’s

After sleeping at our host families homes, we met at St. Mary’s at 8:30 to collect our bikes and get ready to start our ride to Willimantic and St. Joseph’s. We left around 9:00 and headed north toward Hartford.

On Stoddard Ave. we observed the destruction from yesterday’s storm. Downed trees and power lines were everywhere. We had to detour off our Cue Sheet but made it to the Foodshare Market by 9:50. At the Market we met with Don Scott who gave us a tour of the facility and explained the history and working of the market.
One of the most memorable things he mentioned was that they compete with other Foodshare operations through the Feeding America initiative to get desired goods. They actually have to bid using shares they are pre-awarded. It is sometimes very difficult to outbid areas like Chicago or New York because they have many more shares to bid with. However, Don mentioned there are ways to get around it. He also advised the the merchants at the Farmers market donate left over produce which is one of the ways they keep their facility stocked. They go through every produce shipment and discard any damaged goods. The damaged goods are saved and used for feeding pigs so nothing is wasted.

We left Foodshare around 10:30 and made our way to the MACC Soup Kitchen in Manchester. We had a very good lunch of chicken, pizza, egg noodles, and dessert. Lou and Joan had to leave for a family engagement but would join us later in Willimantic. They would be bringing the food (lasagna) for the Potluck dinner.

After lunch, Jackie Campion gave us a tour of the shelter and Self-Help Pantry. Jackie explained that the Shelter houses 40 residents, 30 men, 10 women. She further explained the merits of the self service pantry was to maintain the dignity of the clients. She proudly stated that MACC is able to provide service with only a staff of 14 and she is grateful for all the volunteers she has.

After the tour, we got back on our bikes and headed for Willimantic along route 6 through Bolton. As we got close to Bolton it started to rain and we again got wet on our ride. Still remembering that we will be dry and warm at the end of the day unlike those in poverty.

While biking on Route 6, we witnessed a tragic accident that had a grateful ending. As we rode past a house, a black dog ran across the street toward the lead bikers. The dog was hit a killed by oncoming traffic. One of the bikers drifted into the middle of the road wanting to be of aid to the dog, totally absorbed in the incident and unaware of the traffic. In the midst of this a tracker trailer truck was forced to jam on its breaks hard, smoke billowing from the brakes and fortunately stopped within a couple of feet of the biker. The skill of the driver of the truck prevented a multi-car, truck, bicycle accident.
We were all very much saddened by this experience. John Ryan and Jeanette crossed the road immediately to comfort the dog’s owner. When they returned we prayed together, some expressing their feelings, most were silent. We all believed God had a hand in driving the truck. We have mentally returned to the events and thanked God, prayed for the dog’s owner, the family, the people involved in the accident, the truck driver and ourselves.

When we arrived in Willimantic some of us visited the habitat for Humanity site that we had worked at.

When we entered St. Joseph’s, our first comments were what a beautiful church. After mass we offered a lasagna supper to those who were able to stay after mass. After supper we began our presentation basically to a family, the only ones who stayed. Our message was punctuated by loud claps of thunder and spectacular flashes of lightening.

We actually changed our presentation because of the wonderful interaction and dialogue of those participants. The father in attendance asked “what more can I do with my skills as a mechanic?” “How else can I help my neighbor who needs a ride to the grocery store?”
As we presented our PEDAL acronym we added some suggestions in the advocacy area. It is important to advocate for yourselves also. By contacting government representatives by phone, letter, or email, people can tell their stories. These stories provide real examples of people in need.

Although we only spoke with an extended family of 7 people, we learned much about their lives, their faith, and their hopes. It turned out to be another nice connection.

It was still raining and thunder storming out there when we finished our presentation. We had to load the bikes in the rain. There was a nice overhang at the door so we just cozied up the vehicles under the over hang and loaded the bikes. We also did the same for the family who stayed for the presentation.

Once everybody was loaded we headed back to Manchester to sleep and get ready for the next day.

Mike & Johnnie F

BTC –Day 2 Journal – Canaan, St. Joseph’s to Newington, St. Mary’s

2009-07-03T04:59:00.000-07:00

BTC –Day 2 Journal – Canaan, St. Joseph’s to Newington, St. Mary’s

We woke up at our respective host families’ homes and got ready to journey over to St. Joseph’s for 7:30 mass. Pam had to get up extra early as she had to get to her last day of school (1/2 day). She left round 5:30 in the morning and would join us later in the day around 12:00 noon to ride. She can’t wait.

Mass at St. Joseph’s was very nice. A small gathering of parishioners and the team. Fr. Stephen co-celebrated with Fr. Jeffries. After mass, we ventured downstairs to the church basement to a wonderful breakfast of bagels, quiche, banana bread, sticky buns, etc. It’s funny how good you eat on these rides. We have so much yet we speak of those who have so little. We are so fortunate that we get a warm bed, hot shower, and a roof over our heads with plenty of food. A contrast to those who do not have those luxuries, We thank God each day for what we have.

After breakfast we bid Fr. Jeffries goodbye and thanked him for all he did to make our visit so pleasant. We went to Immaculate conception to pick up our bikes, pump up our tires, filled up our water bottles with water and Gatorade.

We began our ride going up the hill we came down to get to Immaculate. A bit tough to star the day, an uphill climb. But those in poverty have an uphill climb everyday. We were only doing this for a short time.

Our route for today’s ride was changed but the result made the ride a lot easier. Much downhill with just a couple of cool uphills. We enjoyed the ride very much except when it began to rain. In fact, it poured. We were all cold and wet and had to be extra careful especially going downhill. Again we could relate to the poor who live in this kind of weather routinely with no roof over their heads, no warm showers, we knew we would be warm and comfortable by days end. About 30 miles into the ride the sun came out and the day became a scorcher. Everyone put on sunscreen, even Lou. Pam joined us after going the wrong way on route 10. She met us at the Subway in Farmington. We do happen to eat from Subway quite often. ‘

We all rode to Newington to St. Mary’s together. A nice ride but we did have a doosie of a hill before getting there. We actually arrived at St. Mary’s an hour and a half early. Lucky for us because a powerful thunderstorm, possible tornado, hit the area while we were setting up our presentation and getting ready for supper. Thunder, lightening, hail stones. Wow! We lost power. Trees and branches were down. We heard stories of big trees crushing a couple of houses in Wethersfield.

When we first got to St. Mary’s some of the team spotted this little biker coming up the driveway. He was struggling to get up the hill. Lou immediately recognized his Grandson, Noah, and got back on his bike, forgetting about his sore butt, and rode down to greet him. It was a bit adventurous as Noah kept coming right at Lou. Lou felt he had to turn off to avoid Noah but Noah turn off in the same direction. Lou had to hit his brakes, couldn’t get out of his clips and hit the deck. His shifters got bent a bit and his front tire didn’t roll smoothly. Noah wanted to ride his bike with Grandpa. “Come on Grandpa, let’s race!” Lou did his best to fix his front wheel and biked with Noah for the next ½ hour.

The team went to their respective host families homes to shower before coming back here for the presentation. Lou and Joan and Fr. Stephen stayed at the rectory. Lou and Joan got to sleep in the pastor’s bedroom.

Fr. Dennis got out boxes of votive candles to use for light. The parishioners prepared the supper using Sterno. We all ate by candle light. When it cam time for the presentation, we did it in the dark. No slides tonight. Everyone knew heir part and the presentation went smoothly. Almost perfect. I guess everyone stepped up a bit because of the situation. It was a bit special doing so by candle light and flashlight. Fr. Dennis brought it all together when he compared all the candles to the light of Christ. Seemed so true this evening.

The food was fantastic, more than we could eat. And desserts galore. Everyone was so pleasant and nice to us. It is so amazing how people open their homes and their hearts to complete strangers all for a good cause. Seems there is something biblical here. Thank you all!!!

Lou’s son came to the presentation tonight. Made it special for Lou. His son, Thad , was impressed with our presentation and actually was quite moved by it.

We did good tonight.

BTC 2009 - Day 1

2009-06-27T20:29:00.000-07:00

We rode from Manchester to Canaan. Stopped at Foodshare and gifts of Love and the bike shop. we then continued on Rt. 44 to Canaan.
As we were riding up one of the many long hills, I realized I was riding in the hot sun and I looked over to the other side of the road and realized it was shady. I began to think about the poor and their struggles and how life could be better if they could only ride on the "shady side of the road". Those thoughts helped propel me up that hill.

Mike

BTC 2009 - Day 1 - Manchester to Canaan

2009-06-27T19:29:00.000-07:00

We began to arrive at St. Bridget little by little. Our designated departure time was 8:00. We were all to arrive between 7:00 and 7:30 to pack support vehicles and get our bikes all set. Some of us rode our bikes to St. Bridget, some drove their cars with their bikes on their racks. As it got closer to 8:00 we realized we were not going to leave at that time as Jeanette forgot her helmet and bike shoes. Her sister was rushing them over. While we waited, we gathered around for our usual send-off prayer. Lou had one ready but Mike had read a prayer that morning and thought it was so appropriate he asked if we could use that prayer and asked his Dad, Jim, to read it. Th prayer was perfect for what we were about to begin again this year. So good that rob suggested we put it on the website.
We left St. Bridget around 8:15. Jeanette's sister made good time getting to St B's. Everyone was excited and eager to get going. We were on our way. As we ventured to Foodshare in Bloomfield we had a coupe of spills, John Ryan and Mark, a couple of flat tires, but in all it was a pleasant ride. We actually arrived at Foodshare earlier than expected. after fixing Mark's flat tire, we got an overview by Sarah Santora about the 21% increase in what foodshare has had to put out since last year. They now deliver 15 tons of food a day as compared to only 12 tons last year. One of the most remarkable statistics we heard was that West Hartford, Avon, and Simsbury has a 75% increase in services over last year. It was evident what the economy has done to these services.
Foodshare provided the BTC team with granola bars, water, gatorade and most importunately, restrooms. By the way, they have entirely "green" bathrooms. Our discussion, while brief was to the point and we all learned a bit more.
We left by 11:30 and headed to Avon. We had planned to again stop at Gifts of Love. Gifts of Love is a Food Pantry of sorts. They cater to people who are working but are going through a bad time.
They are working but incapable of making ends meet. Someone may have just lost their job, or more importantly, lost their home. Gifts too have had a significant increase in services, up 43%.
As we again rode Talcott mountain, it seemed this year it was not as difficult. We actually got to Gifts of Love a lot earlier than planned. And, it wasn't raining like last year.
We received a nice talk form Chris and Diana. They provided us with the new information we were looking for. They provide services for 300 families a month. they also are doing some great things for kids with their backpack program. It was nice touching base with then again this year.
We then rode just down the Rt. 44 to the Ski Market & Bike shop and met with David Neuman. he had heard about BTC form hearing bob King on the WTIC radio broadcast last year and called Bob and mentioned that since we were coming through Avon he would service any riders bike if they wanted then checked out. Last year he worked on four bikes. He extended his offer again this year and he actually worked on 9 bikes. He is a great guy. we could not believe how generous he was. We again bid him farewell and thanked him for his kindness.
We also ate our Subway lunch right there at the bike shop. We were stuffed after word.
Once lunch was completed we headed for Canaan. The ride there was a bit difficult but everyone hung in. The hills strung the group out quite a bit. Enough so that Rob and Lou pasted Immaculate conception parish and had to bike back uphill to get there. In time they got back to where they should have been. Ultimately Rob and Lou rode close to an extra 12 miles that day.
When we were ALL at Immaculate, Fr. Jeffries assigned us our rooms and where we would be staying. Pam also met us there at Immaculate. Good to see her there. We went to our respective host homes and showered up. We then proceded to a parishioner's home that was serving us all dinner at their house. Everyone ate well and enjoyed the company.
Still cannot believe how trusting and kind these folks were. It still amazes us.
We had a quick pot luck going and all went well.
The presentation went over smooth. Fr. Jeffries asked many meaningful guestions.
We are grateful for the kindness felt by all.

We have a lot to be thankful for.

Brake the Cycle Tour 2009 - June 25 thru June 30

2009-06-21T16:03:00.000-07:00

We will be adding our daily Journals to this blog beginning Thursday night, June 25. Follow along with us as we begin our sixth BTC Connecticut bike tour.

We head out to St. Joseph's parish in Canaan of Thursday. On Friday we will travel to St. Mary's parish in Newington. Saturday we head to Willimantic and St. Joseph's parish. We will be conducting presentations at each parish.

On Sunday we will be at St. Timothy's parish in West Hartford for 10:30 mass and a presentation. We will also be doing a presentation at Holy Family Retreat Center in West Hartford Sunday evening.

On Monday we head down to New Haven to St. Aedan's parish for a presentation and then head back to Holy Family for the night.

Tuesday, June 30, we head off to New Britain where we will attend out Finale at Corbin Heights housing project, part of PHRN, Public Housing Residents Network.

We intend to stop at Poverty Centers each day along our bike routes and visit legislative offices when we can to share the stories we hear during our ride, to bring a voice of those who do not have a voice to those who can help make a difference.

Join us where you can.

Peace,

Lou Terzo

Journal of Ride to St. John the Evangelist on 12/14/2008

2009-06-02T18:45:00.000-07:00

Here is a journal of our visit to St. John the Evangelist.

Johnnie F. Bob, and I left St. Bridget at around 9:00 am accompanied by Pam. We would be getting on our bikes in Bristol and Pam would be doing support for us.
Glad we decided not to try to bike from St. B's at 8:30 because it was real cold! Mike and Jeanette would hook up with John Ryan around 11:15 and pick up the equipment and leave for St. John's together. We would meet them there.
We got to Bristol around 10:00 ish and got on our bikes. First thing we hit was a pretty good hill. It really got our hearts pumping and sucking in the cool air.
The ride was pretty nice considering the cold and the ice patches we had to avoid.
Some of you who biked to Watertown form Holy Family in June during the weeklong will remember that wicked downhill entering Thomaston. Wow! I rode my brakes the whole way. Never know if you are going to hit gravel or an ice patch.
Then we had that long 2 mile gradual uphill as we approached Watertown. Pam was a perfect support person. Glad she was aboard.
We made it to St. John's around 11:30 and Pam and I actually attended their 12:00 mass.
Bob and Johnnie F waited for Mike and Jeanette and set us up downstairs and we were ready to go at 1:00.
We were greeted by Fr. John Cooney with a great big smile. he was pleased that we biked over and thanked us for returning to his parish.
There were between 50 and 55 9th graders who attended with their teachers. They had attended the 12:00 mass first.
After they had some cookies and juice they got organized and sat for our presentation. Teri Morgado, the DRE who invited us, runs quite a tight ship. She had those kids under full control and she was right on top of things with us as well.
We did our usual presentation but Teri and I had communicated earlier and I had provided her with an outline of our presentation and gave her some of the issues we would mention and speak to.
She formulated an outline from that and passed that out to the kids before we presented. They were instructed to take notes and that they would be required to write an essay based on what they heard. Required!
Believe me, they took notes even asking us not to move off of some of our slides so they could capture the information. They were really a good group of kids and seemed to really get into it. Of course like with any group of kids there were some who when asked a question just gave you that look. But, for the most part there were others that were quick to respond.
I think we did good and based on the feedback I received Teri Morgado agreed.
We handed out candy canes at the end of our presentation bringing the season we are in. Actually Bob started us off wearing a Santa's cap and mentioned how one of the first homeless families were actually Mary and Joseph. Nicely done.
While we were having the kids sign the banner I was approached by Teri and she handed me an envelope with a small stipend. Nice gesture.
As you can see below she wants to keep in touch with us. She thanked us and again mentioned how some of us biked over but emphasized that we had given up our time to come visit , especially at this busy time of the year. The kids and teachers were appreciative. Teri also mentioned to me that she has mentioned out group to all the DREs in the area and strongly suggested they asked us to their parishes. So hopefully we will get a few more invites out of that.
You know, this parish actually has BTC as a link on their own website. Cool!!

We gathered in the parking lot and hugged and drove home to St. B's feeling good about what we had accomplished for the day. God bless!

Peace,

Lou

BTC Visit to St. George Parish Guilford, CT 11/3 & 11/10/2008

2008-11-14T13:27:00.000-08:00

11/3/2008
Last night we had close to 100 9th graders attend our presentation. These kids were really on the ball and we never lacked for anyone to volunteer with an answer to our questions.
When we got to the part of our presentation where we went over the three questions and asked them what they learned about poverty that they hadn't know before, we received more responses, I believe, than we ever had before. A good group of kids.
Five of us presented. Me, Johnnie F, Mark, Jeanette, and Doug. Worked perfectly fine with the five of us. We talked for just over an hour and we al felt it went very well. It will be interesting to see the difference when we speak to 10 graders next Monday night.
St. George's parish seems to be a very active parish. Over 1300 families. I think we have to try and get them on our agenda to meet with the larger community. We will se how that plays out.
Looking forward to next week. So far we have expected to attend, Lou, Jeanette, Pam, Bob K, Doug (possible), Mark.

Lou Terzo

11/10/2008
Last night, 11/10, we met with close to 90 10th graders at St. George's. We had to overcome some technical difficulties to complete our presentation but overall it went quite well.
My computer, which I practiced with on Sunday to make sure it would "work" when we got there, seemed to be quite temperamental and locked me out. Lucking a teacher there let us use his computer and we got the presentation up and running, but we couldn't use the remote to change screens for some reason and he did not have his power cord so we ran out of battery power with about 10 minutes left in the presentation. We were right at the Two Feet of Social Justice. Oh well, sometimes you just have to improvise.
The kids were very good again last night. Seemed interested and when we addressed the Three Questions again they did respond very well. At least it proved they did listen. They were challenged as they had to meet the expectations set by the 9th graders from last week.
Claire Nichols has a great handle on both grades. She did not take any disrespectfulness from them and had total control. Nice to see.
Bob, Pam, Jeanette and I presented and aside from the computer problems all went very well. It looks like we may be able to get invited back to present to the general parish.
When we were done Claire Nicholls asked if they could donate to our cause. We mentioned how we really do not take donations and preferred they do an Action thing, like writer their legislators concerning one of the poverty issues like Healthcare. She asked for a form letter which I have requested through Doug.
Doug also suggested that in the future when we presented with an opportunity to accept a monetary donation that we suggest they make that contribution to such organizations like CCHD, CT Voices, End Hunger CT, Ct Association for Basic Needs, etc. I think that's a nice idea. We can discuss at out next meeting.
Peace,
Lou
PS: Next presentation is December 14 at St. John the Evangelist in Watertown. Please advise if you can attend. I will be sending out a more formal reminder and request.

Learn More...

2008-02-20T06:12:00.000-08:00

Here are few links that fellow BTC of Poverty team members recently found. Read on to learn more about the poverty situation in which our country is...

US | February 20, 2008
Higher Education Gap May Slow Economic Mobility
By ERIK ECKHOLM
The poor could have a harder time moving up the income ladder as the higher education gap widens, a report said. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/20/us/20mobility.html?ex=1204174800&en=6f66cac2a0185c45&ei=5070&emc=eta1

Posted on Tuesday, Feb. 19, 2008
Homeless men raise voices, lift themselves
By PETER BAILEY
http://www.miamiherald.com/top_stories/story/424038.html

US | February 15, 2008
Attacks on the Homeless Rise, With Youths Mostly to Blame
By AMY GREEN
Nationwide, violence against the homeless is soaring, and overwhelmingly the attackers are teenagers and young adults.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/15/us/15homeless.html?ex=1203742800&en=22fa6b13f0704b37&ei=5070&emc=eta1

Op-Ed Columnist
Poverty Is Poison
By PAUL KRUGMAN

Published: February 18, 2008

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/18/opinion/18krugman.html?ex=1204088400&en=94fa25ba8f688210&ei=5070&emc=eta1

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/18/opinion/18krugman.html?ex=1204088400&e
n=94fa25ba8f688210&ei=5070&emc=eta1

The New York Times

February 18, 2008
Op-Ed Columnist
Poverty Is Poison
By PAUL KRUGMAN

"Poverty in early childhood poisons the brain."

St. Elizabeth Seton Parish Presentation, 1/21/2008

2008-01-27T05:51:00.000-08:00

Journal, Monday January 21, 2008 - BTC at St. Elizabeth Seton Parish - Confirmation Group Presentation, 7:00 - 8:15 pm

Last evening, John Ryan, Johnnie F., Charlie, Kelly, Pam, and Jeanette presented to 35 Confirmation young adults at St. Elizabeth Seton Parish in Rocky Hill. It was a very cold evening as we arrived at the parish, It was even colder when we left. Temperatures that I for sure would not be wanting to be sleeping in a cardboard box outside. We talked about that some with the kids and among ourselves last night. We are so very lucky we just had to endure the cold in the car and were going home to a warm house.

These kids were rewarded with candy when they responded correctly or appropriately to our questions. It seems the candy does "excite" them and encourage participation. Although Charlie wasn't too excited about us rewarding them with sweets.

The Three Questions we present upfront again went over quite well and Johnnie F really got them involved. We again got many different answers so we at least know some of them "got it" or were attentive enough to come up with the right answers.

We had intended to have them compose a letter to Governor Rell about the State EITC but ran out of time. We left the material with Ann Marie Shattuck to work with them at a later time.
St. Elizabeth Seton is a very social justice involved parish so there were many things we were able to point these kids towards as far as Taking Action. Johnnie F actually assigned one of the participants, Stephen or Michael or Michael Stephen, to do some research about how does a child die from the causes of poverty every 53 minutes. I would have to say that this particular number stood out among this group more than any other.

The presentation lasted for about 75 minutes which was a little too long. I guess we were a little more wordy last night. Although in my earlier discussions with Ann Marie she indicated that we could take up as much time as needed and she requested we end by 8:15, which we did. Regardless, we have to continue to focus differently when speaking to a youth group or confirmation class.

We also had a new member to our team, Mark Chmielecki, visit with us last night to get a first hand peek at what we do. He is going to offer his comments and suggestions from a completely new eyes point of view. Thanks Mark and welcome aboard.

All in all it was a satisfying night. I have requested feedback form Ann Marie. I will share with you when I receive it.

Peace,

Lou Terzo