“It’s a beautiful thing,” Paul Nu√ɬ±ez said as he ate some great pancakes at the Amistad Catholic Worker House in the Hill. Nunez was talking about the unusual way the family-run home feeds and opens its doors to the needy. (Click here to listen.) An uptick in demand for food there lately may portend a rise in hunger around town.
Those who run the house on Rosette Street recently sent out an email plea for help, saying more people in need are coming to get food, clothing and other assistance, but the house’s resources are running low. Pictured is house member Rene Benoit whipping up pancakes for the breakfast crowd.
Mark Colville, who runs the house on Rosette Street with his wife, Luz, wishes there were more such houses of hospitality in New Haven —” houses whose residents open their homes to all comers, providing food, clothing, sometimes shelter, and friendship. That way more people in need could be helped. “It would be easy,” Colville says. If you wonder what planet he’s living on, that he could see such open-handed generosity as “easy,” well, he’s been doing it for the past dozen years and it just comes naturally.
Some of the people who sat around the big breakfast table the other morning said they stay at Columbus House or other shelters, but they much prefer the homey atmosphere at the Amistad house, and the food is great. As Benoit passed out round after round of pancakes, some of the guests shared why they were there.
A friend brought Paul Nu√ɬ±ez by for breakfast a few months ago, and he’s been a steady customer ever since. “You can’t beat home-cooked food. Rene makes great pancakes.” Nu√ɬ±ez stays at the overflow homeless shelter and said he’s busy during the day dealing with his (unspecified) issues.
Click here to listen to Paul as he nails the concept of a house of hospitality, with a funny analogy that involves chickens.
Before heading off to pre-school, Isaiah —” the youngest of the Colvilles’ five children —” sat down with the guests and devoured his own plate of pancakes. It was his fourth birthday, he happily told everyone several times.
The long table stayed full for the breakfast hour, as people left in ones and twos and other hungry people sat down. Guests ate pancakes and oatmeal, drank their coffee, and carried on quiet conversations. The scene was like any other large family breakfast scene —” only maybe less hectic, as many people did not have to rush off to work or school.
Andrea McGuire (pictured on the left) just started coming to Amistad for meals. She’s been staying at the Columbus House homeless shelter, but said, “It’s too crazy for me to have meals there —” too many people, and they’re loud, so I can’t handle that. This is very homey. They’re very down to earth, and this is more relaxing.”
McGuire said her problems stem not from drug abuse or mental health issues, but from a series of physical ailments that caused her to lose her job. She stayed with friends for awhile, but felt she was in the way, so she’s been staying at the shelter while she tries to get her life back together. She’s got a hearing in early November to appeal being turned down for SSI (supplemental Social Security).
In the quiet living room next to the kitchen, Colville explained that his home is not a soup kitchen or any kind of non-profit agency. It’s just his home. Adherents to the Catholic Worker Movement try to live as Jesus commanded —” feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, visiting the sick and the imprisoned. Colville said the house is not eligible for food from places like the Connecticut Food Bank, which requires paperwork that the residents of the house are unwilling to fill out. It goes against their philosophy of providing personal help and not depending on the government or other institutions as an intermediary.
Colville said he doesn’t know why more people are coming to the house of late. (Maybe the word’s getting out about Rene’s pancakes.) Julie Rio, development director at the Connecticut Food Bank, which serves six of the eight counties in Connecticut, and 120 feeding operations just in New Haven, said she has no information about a specific rise in the needy population, but added, “We have been seeing increases —” that’s a general trend over the last couple of years. In general wages are stagnant, and the price of living is going up.”
In his email message seeking help, Colville wrote, “We’re consistently welcoming 15 to 25 people or more at most meals, aside from those who live here, and the food supply is running low. Specifically, we could use things like rice and beans, potatoes, pasta sauce, cheese, any kind of meat, tuna, soups, pancake mix, coffee, sugar, etc. Also, if you’re attending a function at which food is served and they want to get rid of the leftovers, we could certainly put them to good use. And finally, the annual winter coat give-away here will be on Saturday, Nov. 3rd. We need coats, hats and gloves. Thanks for doing what you can to spread the word.”
Those who wish to help can contact him at this email address.