Date: Fri 10-May-1996

By KAAREN VALENTA

Published: Aug 11, 1999 12:00 am

Publication: Bee

Author: KAAREN

Quick Words:

AmeriCares-HomeFront-

Full Text:

A Labor Of Love On The Home Front

B Y K AAREN V ALENTA

Martha Porubanik stood in her backyard watching the dozens of volunteers who

clambered over her house, ripping off shingles, scraping window frames and

carefully removing the gutters for painting.

The workers, wearing T-shirts imprinted with "AmeriCare's HomeFront" and "A

Labor of Love," had begun arriving at 6 am on Saturday, and within a few hours

had removed two layers of roofing, throwing the debris into a huge dumpster

parked in front of the house.

"I am so grateful," Mrs Porubanik said. "I'm a widow, and I'm just financially

not able to do these kind of repairs."

Volunteers from Trinity Church, the Congregational Church and St Rose of Lima

Church were among more than 8,000 volunteers who assembled on Saturday to

repair 160 homes in Connecticut and New York under the auspices of AmeriCares

HomeFront, a one-day home repair program that rehabilitates the homes of

elderly, low-income or disabled persons.

Thirteen of the houses were in Bethel, Brookfield, Danbury, Ridgefield,

Newtown and New Fairfield. Knights of Columbus members from St Rose went to

New Fairfield to work on their second house in a week; the previous Saturday,

April 27, the Knights did a major renovation of a house in Sandy Hook.

Mrs Porubanik, who has lived in the house on Lantern Lane since 1957, said she

learned about the program through a friend three years ago.

"Then I went to the Senior Center because they were saying that anyone who

wants to look into it should come by to qualify," Mrs Porubanik said. "I

didn't hear anything last year so what a nice surprise it was when I learned

recently that I was chosen. I consider myself very lucky."

AmeriCares HomeFront identifies homeowners in need, procures donated supplies,

obtains financial support and recruits the teams of volunteers to undertaken

renovation work on HomeFront Day. The goal of the program, now in its ninth

year, is to render each home warm, safe and dry.

Through the program, civic groups, churches and individuals sponsor a home for

$1,500, and corporate sponsors donate $2,500 a site. Building products

corporations also make large contributions so that for every $2,580 of cash

invested, HomeFront is able to add $12,850 value to the home. On the average,

each house is allocated between $2,100 and $2,300 worth of materials and

several thousand dollars worth of free labor.

To qualify for this assistance, homeowners must have an annual household

salary of $20,000 or less. Most of the people helped through this project are

elderly, disabled or people with no savings or those burdened with large

medical bills.

At Mrs Porubanik's house, the volunteers re-glazed windows, painted the frames

and gutters, did landscaping and replaced the roof. Some projects, like the

one the Knights worked on the previous week, were much more extensive,

requiring new electrical systems, plumbing and heating.

Many volunteers worked all day, others took shifts. By the time the job at Mrs

Porubanik's house was done, about 30 volunteers had participated including

members of the Trinity Youth Group, who were getting ready for their annual

work camp during which they spend a week on projects in Appalachia.

Businesses including Mayers Bagels, Stop & Shop and Cadbury Beverages kept the

volunteers well fed. Mrs Porubanik pitched in, too.

"I made my special potato salad," she said. "I do hope they like it."

Founded in 1982 in New Canaan, AmeriCares is a private, nonprofit disaster

relief and humanitarian aid organization that provides immediate response to

emergency medical needs and supports long-term health care programs for people

in more than 90 countries around the world. With an operating overhead of only

1.2 percent, it has been rated by Money magazine as the most cost-effective

charity in the United States.

Among its programs are AmeriCares Free Clinics, which provides free primary

health care to the uninsured and underinsured. The first clinic was

established in Norwalk in 1994; another is being constructed in Danbury.

The organization also operates Camp AmeriKids, a program that provides summer

camp experience for chronically ill and disadvantaged children. AmeriCares

hosted the first Camp AmeriKids session this summer in Fishkill, New York.

For more information about AmeriCares and its programs, call (203) 972-5535.

The Way We Were

Malcolm Andrew 'Andy' Bryant

Top Of The Mountain

Garden Club Spring Plant Sale Saturday

Full Slate Of May Programs Planned By Flagpole Photographers

The editorial took no position on the budget going up or down so you're reading things into the editorial that simply aren't there. The turnout is tied to the lack of passage, in that people who came out to vote last time did not this time, indicating a lack of support on their part. Perhaps it wasn't spelled out clearly enough, but that's what the editorial was driving at, people showing lack of support by not casting a vote. The editorial did address likely concerns among voters that may have led to lack of support and lack of turnout. This lower turnout also follows increasing turnout over the past four referendums in three years (meaning it is an aberration from that), and increased turnout is something that I do push for regularly in editorials. Any disappointment you might be seeing is at the break in that trend, not at whether the budget passed or not. I'd rather see more people come out and vote "no" then not vote at all.

Lower Turnout Results In Two Budget Defeats

Clearly, property owners no longer want to bear the burden of expenses while the state does not meet it’s responsibilities. Rising costs must be addressed by actions that do not include yearly increases of property owners’ taxes. The state of CT must meet its share of the educational costs, and other costs.

Town And School Budgets Fail At Referendum

This feels like an oddly misleading headline and narrative, particularly coming from the Editorial Board. The headline "Lower Turnout Results in Two Budget Defeats" pushes a misleading narrative regarding voter turnout, and then seeks to tie the outcome of the referendum to that misleading narrative. Sure, voter turn out for this year's referendum, 18%, was lower than last year's. However, last year's turnout, 25.4%, represented the highest turnout in the most recent 10 budget referendums. If you take the time to examine turnout percentages between 2017 and 2026 (2017: 19.9, 2018: 15.7, 2019: 17, 2020: 0, 2021: 8.98, 2022: 7.7, 2023: 8.8, 2024: 15.1/17.49, 2025: 25.4, 2026: 18), this year's turnout was actually the third highest in the past 10 cycles. Perhaps the headline of this article should say "Lower Voter Turnout Than Last Year", which is more accurate, rather than creating an impression that this year's turnout is some type of aberration - a narrative that the turnout numbers, in all their binary glory, simply do not support. Further, the headline of this article appears to tie the "lower turnout" to the defeated budgets. Sure, that could be true. But, perhaps, its more likely that Newtown residents are feeling the squeeze of multiple economic influences. In Newtown, we've experienced property revaluations and increased municipal spending. Eversource continues to raise rates. The state legislature gives PURA the authority to impose Public Benefit charges that benefit a tiny percentage of the public (and subsequently burdening the rest of us). At the national level, inflation has run rampant for years and many of those costs remain high to this day. In short, the data tells a far less dramatic—and far more honest—story than the headline suggests. This wasn’t an electorate vanishing in apathy; it was a fairly typical turnout delivering an verdict that, perhaps, some at the Editorial Board didn't like. At some point, it’s worth considering that residents aren’t confused, disengaged, or misled by turnout; they’re simply doing math at their kitchen tables and concluding that “no” is the only responsible answer left.

Enjoyed the forum which only confirmed my support for Brandon Moore as the Democratic candidate to run for the state representative position. Brandon Moore did not waiver about his duty to all the people, if elected, when an issue presents itself that requires that he voice a difference of opinion for the wellbeing of Newtown residents. If Michelle Ku’s 16 years have led to her loyalty being to other elected officials, as she implied, then Newtown is going to continue to witness actions that do not protect its residents. She could not unseat republican, Mitch Bolinsky, during a Blue Wave, and once again, will not do it now. Winning that seat is critical for all. That explains why her previous campaign committee now campaigns for Brandon Moore. It explains all the endorsements he has received from local elected democratic officials. It’s why we need Brandon Moore to be the democratic candidate to run for state representative.

Second Newtown DTC, League Of Women Voters Candidates Event Planned

Appreciated the opportunity to hear from both candidates as we were present for the College Dems forum but only heard from Brandon Moore. It was an opportunity to see who can unseat the Republican incumbent and there is no doubt that Brandon Moore should be the Democratic candidate. One concerned parent posed a question about discrimination unaddressed by the school district and interestingly enough, Michelle Ku, who proudly speaks of her Board membership years, said little, while Brandon Moore passionately addressed the issue along with his experience as an Apache Helicopter Commander. This family is supporting Brandon Moore. We need change and someone who is not afraid to disagree, especially about the rising costs of living in Newtown.

Log In

Date: Fri 10-May-1996

Leave a Reply Cancel reply