Before we went to the Habitat warehouse, we toured a few of the Habitat homes in Bridgeport. We heard the story of one of woman, an Iraq veteran, who became disabled while on tour. Habitat was able to provide a home for her family. It was actually the first time her family had ever fully lived together - because of economic issues before, her and her children had always been split up prior.
Eventually we went to the Habitat warehouse, where we'll be meeting each morning before we go to the build sites. There we met all the people that work with Habitat in Bridgeport, most notably, Tall Bob. Bob is denoted as Tall because at the warehouse, there is another Bob. To avoid confusion, his name is Suspenders Bob. Anyway, Tall Bob is 89 years old! It's so inspiring to see someone giving back at that age.
We also heard about the volunteers from Youth United and their work with Habitat. You have to be at least sixteen to volunteer at a Habitat work site - so kids from Youth United come in and build shelves for the homes. Not only that, the volunteer that collaborated with Habitat recently raised $150,000 for Habitat - enough to fully fund the building operations for a Habitat home! We all really want to meet them, so hopefully we'll be able to work with them by the end of the week.
We also went to the University of Bridgeport and met Jennifer, the coordinator for their Alternative Break Service Trips. She told us her story of getting involved in Bridgeport's community. She candidly spoke to us about what she believed to be the real causes of poverty - it was very eyeopening.
We also visited the Rescue Mission where Gail, a former Bridgeport-Habitat employee, enlightened us about what they offer to Bridgeport's community. The Rescue Mission is a non-profit organization that provides an incredible amount of meals to the impoverished. In 2012 alone, they gave out an incredible 556,000 individual meals to the people of Bridgeport. They're also a rehabilitation center - they take in homeless men and women who are willing to give up their former lifestyles for a clean and honest living. Some of the men who are in the program spoke to us very openly about their life experiences, how they ended up at the Rescue Mission, and how they're working to turn their life around.
After dinner (Tacos, thanks Tonia, Val, and Bryton!!!) we went to see the city of Greenwich. (I think some group members are planning to write to the Oxford dictionary to get the pronunciation changed to what they believe is the right way - Green-WITCH. It is pronounced Grenich, come on people!) We've had an incredible time getting to know each other, and the van ride over was probably indicative of that. It was just so much fun, and we're all becoming really comfortable with each other! Seeing Greenwich was interesting. The homes were extravagant - some of them 'MTV Cribs' level. It's incredible that these homes, these people of such a high socioeconomic status, are just 25 miles away from the incredibly impoverished area that we're working at in Bridgeport.
At Reflection, we talked about what we can do better to achieve the Catholic mission of social justice. There is a distinct difference between charity and social justice. Charity is simply the act of service - literally volunteering at shelters or food pantries. Social justice is more complex; it's the act of making real social change and not only solving the temporary problem of a single individual, but actually solving the problem so that people won't fall victim to social circumstances out of their control. We talked a lot about today's experiences, and discussed what we can hope to do, if not now, but in the future, to achieve real social justice. Ultimately, there is obviously no one answer to solve these large social issues. Yet, we all now understand that there is more to service than the literal act of charity. This week, we'll be able to look at the issues in Bridgeport through a lens that will ask us not only how we can help while we're here, but what we can learn from this experience in order to make our world a better place.
Seaside park, just a mile away from where we are staying in Bridgeport!
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