It wasn’t Lateef’s stated desire to become a firefighter that attracted Pat Egan’s attention. It was the answer Lateef, who’s living in a homeless shelter with his mom, gave when asked what he hopes the new year will bring. “Harder homework,” Lateef said.
“That resonated with me,” said Egan, president of of the New Haven firefighters’ union Local 825.
Egan came into Lateef’s life after reading an interview with him and his mom in the Independent, about homeless students in New Haven public schools.
“I thought, ‘Here’s a young man who perseveres in spite of all the challenges he faces and works hard to accomplish his goals.’”
Egan contacted Lateef’s mother, Verta Douglas, through New Haven Home Recovery, which runs the shelter in the Hill where the family is staying. Egan took them shopping for winter clothes and then out to dinner. When he heard that Lateef made the honor roll, he wanted to see him recognized.
After the first story appeared, a poster to the Independent website suggested Lateef’s mom look into the TAG (Talented and Gifted) program at Truman School. She did, and was told if an opening occurs, Lateef can get in the program. In the meantime he’s taking extra after-school classes. “Tuesday and Thursday it’s reading, and Wednesday it’s math. I really like math,” Lateef reported.
Is math important to a firefighter? You bet, Egan said. “You need it to read hydraulics charts and figure out pump pressures to compensate for friction loss in the hose.” Who knew?
The family’s shelter is just a block from the firehouse on Howard Avenue. Friday afternoon Egan gave Lateef a personal tour.
A fire truck was just backing in when they arrived. Lateef asked what the big hose was on the side of the truck. Egan explained that it captures the truck’s emissions and vents them through the roof. Without those hoses, the air in the fire station would be dangerously unhealthy.
Lateef asked if he could climb into the cab on the back end of the tiller truck. Egan said New Haven is one of just two fire departments in the state that utilize the trucks that allow a firefighter to steer from the back as well as the front. He explained that the one in back steers opposite from the driver in front, in order to turn the long truck around tight corners. Just like Kramer in that Seinfeld episode.
Then the two discussed all the ladders on the truck and how high they could reach. Egan said the tallest one can reach to about the seventh floor of a building. The truck carries lots of additional 50-foot ladders that firefighters can lean against a burning building to fight the blaze or rescue people inside.
Egan introduced Lateef (who’s wearing a New Haven firefighters union jacket) to several other men at the firehouse. “We are a community,” Egan said, “and we should help each other out.” He said he would be happy in ten years to welcome Lateef to the New Haven force.
Verta Douglas was beaming as she recounted some of the turns her family’s life has taken since the Independent story appeared.
Someone contacted the shelter and offered to share her home with them. Unfortunately the home is in Naugatuck. “I was very thankful” for the offer, said Douglas (pictured.) But she decided it was impractical for several reasons, not the least of which was she didn’t want to take Lateef out of the school he just started in the fall.
Douglas has been going to meetings of the Family Engagement Committee of the New Haven Early Childhood Council. She got to meet and present an award to State Sen. Toni Harp. And she spoke at Quinnipiac University on “The Faces of Homelessness” at a dinner for students who volunteer at homeless shelters.
Douglas was asked how she feels serving as a public face of homelessness. “I feel it’s a great experience, because I would rather be seen and heard,” she responded. “Otherwise, you’re not going to get much out of it [being homeless]. I feel even though I’m in this situation, there’s going to be a good outcome.”