Firefighters Pitch In To Combat Covid

New Haven firefighters responded to help at a hotspot — a hotspot of Covid-19 in the Hill.

The crew wasn’t putting out a literal fire. Instead, Lt. Troy Frost, Capt. Miguel Rosado, Battalion Chief Daniel Coughlin, and Hill Alder Ron Hurt knocked on every door at Casa Otoñal on Sylvan Avenue, dropping off care packages for elderly residents.

Before heading to Casa Otoñal, through the grey and drizzly afternoon on Thursday, the group bounded up and down 14 floors giving out packages to residents at the Edith Johnson Towers Eldercare Clinic on Bristol Street with Dixwell Alder Jeanette Morrison.

For the past two weeks they collected donations from members of the New Haven Firebirds, NorthEast Squad Concepts and City of New Haven Firefighters Emerald Society. The firefighters chipped in to raise roughly $2,000 for the care packages.

In preparation for distributing the essentials to elderly residents in the Hill, Frost, Coughlin, and Rosado spent hours putting together packages on Tuesday afternoon. By the end of the day, they made 220 packages with 1,760 items total.

Each ziplock package held toothpastes, washcloths, tissues, Q‑tips, chapstick, soap, and ten N‑95 masks.

“The elderly planted the seeds in the Elm City, and they deserve to get something back for what they did for us,” Frost said. ​“It’s time to give back.”

Frost also said that with more focus from the city on other neighborhoods including Edgewood and Dixwell, residents in the Hill sometimes feel forgotten. ​“We want to let them know they’re not forgotten,” Frost said.

Hurt said they delivered packages to the Casa Otoñal because most of the residents have family in the Hill and have lived in the Hill section for a long time. ​“At the end of the day, they’re vital to the community here and active in the community, and shouldn’t have to worry about essentials,” he said.

Amajority of residents in the building are over age 65. Hurt emphasized the importance of trying to ​“safeguard” the most vulnerable population in one of the city’s two top Covid-19 hotspots.

In the midst of international protests against police brutality and racial injustice, Hurt said, he is also trying to help spread ​“active love” and ​“active kindness.”

After they received care packages, Casa Otoñal neighbors Francis Villa and Sonia Santiago went outside to sit on the front porch. Villa and Santiago said they were grateful for the deliveries. Before the delivery, Villa said, he had only one homemade cloth mask.“It is so great for all of us here,” Villa said.

According to Frost, Thursday’s deliveries are ​“only part one.” He said members of the Silver Shields, an African-American police organization, are scheduled to meet on June 18 to plan part two.

Additionally, to combat the spread of Covid-19, the Hill North Community Management Team is planning a large facemask delivery event on Saturday, June 20.