I Met a Man

There are great stories to tell everywhere. There are people doing incredible things in service to each other. Telling stories about communities coming together to support each other, can help us overcome the cynicism and negativity that seems to have taken over our politics and is on display every minute of every day on social media. The three stories below highlight people who are doing what they can to overcome crushing poverty in the richest state in the US.

Profiles From Grace Church, Hartford

I met a man who lost everything after his service to our country. He became homeless. When he was finally able to move into his family's home it had been vandalized. All the wiring and all the pipes had been stripped out of the walls. There's no heat, no water and no power. He lives there in the warmer months. He lives in a shelter in the winter. He considers himself lucky because he has VA benefits and his neighbors take care of his dog and two cats in the winter.

I met a man who spent four months in jail because he tried to help a woman who was the victim of a car jacking. He stood by this woman as the police arrived and lent his support. Because the man nominally fit the description of the carjacker (black, male, slender) he was arrested and thrown in jail. He could not afford bail, so he waited four months for the legal system to finally ask the victim if he was the one who assaulted her. She said no and he was finally released. He is clinically depressed, but has hope because of his part time employment made possible by Grace Church.

I met a woman at Grace Church who volunteers her time cutting the hair of the homeless and others who attend their weekly meal. Three weeks ago her house burned down. She missed one week, but was back after settling into a hotel room. She hopes to be back in her home six months from now.

Grace Church is stepping in where so many have failed.

According to NBC Connecticut in a report released in 2012, at 31.2 percent, Hartford's poverty rate is four times the 7.8 percent poverty rate of the suburbs, which include all 57 towns in Hartford County plus Tolland County and Middlesex County. City Data.com puts the percentage of families in Hartford below the poverty line at 43.4%.