SHARON — The turning of the dirt signaled the hope for four families to find their dream of affordable housing.
A groundbreaking ceremony took place on Sept. 29 at the former Community Center on Gay Street (Route 41) where the Sharon Housing Trust is planning to place four affordable units. Dignitaries, including Commissioner of Housing Selia Mosquera-Bruno, were in attendance, along with many Sharon residents and members of affordable housing organizations from around the region.
Richard Baumann, chairman of the trust, began by explaining the trust already owns three buildings contiguous to the center, each containing two affordable apartments.
“The former owner kept them affordable and we’re building on that,” he said, emphasizing the generosity of so many people. “He sold them to us below market value and then took the mortgage. We still had a shortfall of $100,000 and an anonymous person gave us a bridge loan that we were later able to pay back.” Several times Baumann talked about the remarkable way in which this is all coming together.
The building was the former Masonic temple, which is owned by the town. It has leased it to the trust for 99 years.
“The next remarkable thing was that the town applied for a $1 million grant from the state and didn’t get it,” he said. “We rolled the projects together (rehabbing the center and upgrading the six apartments) and the state doubled our money. We now have $2 million to do them.”
He then introduced Sharon resident Lyden Miller, a world-renowned landscape designer, who will donate her expertise in creating the look of the grounds.
First Selectman Casey Flanagan, looking up at the structure, said it has served the community for nearly 100 years and now will continue to do so in a different form.
“Sharon is a town that values its character, its history and most importantly its people,” he said. “We recognize that for our community to thrive, we must ensure that families, seniors and young professionals can afford to live here. Whether it’s through renovation of existing properties thoughtful development or creative use of town-owned land, we’re committed to solutions that preserve Sharon’s charm while making it more accessible to those who want to call it home.”
He said this project is a creative solution that reflects both fiscal responsibility and compassion.
State Rep. Maria Horn, D-64, said, “I get such pleasure out of the frequency of these groundbreakings.”
Mosquera-Bruno, after some ribbing from Baumann, promised she’d try to expedite the funding.
“Congratulations to this milestone and we thank the governor and legislature for their support of housing,” said Mosquero-Bruno. “The reality is we’re putting more shovels in the ground than ever before.”
Following the ceremony, the annual Housing Summit, sponsored by Litchfield County Center for Housing Opportunity was held next door at Sharon Center School. Affordable housing organizations manned booths on the school grounds, showcasing their projects in great detail.
Those attending the annual Housing Summit in Sharon view the displays of affordable housing organizations around the county. Ruth Epstien
The program then moved indoors where Jocelyn Ayer, director of LCCHO, addressed the crowd and said they are working on 18 projects in 12 towns. Water bottles with the slogan “Put US back in housing” were distributed.
Mosquera-Bruno gave statistics about all the affordable units that have, or are going up, around the state. Nandini Natarnjan, CEO of the Connecticut Housing Finance Authority, who works closely with the commissioner, said solutions to housing have to fit the size and scale of the people and towns here.
“Home ownership is a dream for so many,” she said. “Our purpose is not just about giving mortgages, but sustaining civic life. It’s about creating futures for the young and older populations.”
Horn spoke about housing on a personal level, saying “Some people we know and love are getting bounced out of their homes. They are intricate pieces of our community and it’s important to remember them.”
The dialogue than shifted to House Bill 5002with Horn expressing her disappointment that it was vetoed by Gov. Ned Lamont. The bill aimed to implement reforms to make it easier for affordable housing initiatives. Horn and others see this as a setback and she hopes there will be a special session of the legislature to address the matter.
An informal survey on the most engaging display by an affordable housing group and the most informative was held. Norfolk captured the first and Salisbury the second.
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John Carter
Carter arrived at his calling by a circuitous route. After graduating from Yale, he joined the Peace Corps, then returned to his hometown of Milton, Mass., where he founded and ran the Carter Tree Co. for seven years. After closing the business, he attended Virginia Theological Seminary, earning a Master of Divinity. During that time, he and his wife, Deborah, were involved in the hunger movement. Carter said every venture he undertook was made possible by Deborah, whom he described as his constant companion and indispensable partner in his pursuit of compassion and justice. Still, he questioned himself: “Who am I, and what should I be doing that I’m passionate about?”
John Carter and his wife DeborahPhoto by Deborah Carter
In the face of new challenges, volunteers joined the effort to revive the original program, VS1. The Rev. Heidi Truax, recently retired rector of Trinity Lime Rock, has been a strong supporter of Vecinos Seguros from its inception. Glenn Formica, an immigration attorney from New Haven, gave a presentation informing the community about the second Trump administration’s amended policies. Formica also generated written materials in English and Spanish, advising private citizens and employers how to prepare in the event of a visit from ICE (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement). William Tong, Connecticut’s attorney general, a proponent of many social justice issues, including the opioid crisis and fair pricing for generic drugs, has also provided support since the establishment of Vecinos Seguros.
The VS2 steering committee, which includes Carter, is led by Jill Drew, a local civic leader. Drew has worked with Judiciary Committee co-chairmen Gary Winfield and Steven Stafstrom in support of SB 91, a proposal by Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont to limit ICE actions in “protected areas,” including schools, hospitals and religious buildings. She has also supported HB 5499, which would place limits on the use of automated license plate readers, addressing concerns that the Trust Act is being circumvented through technology deployed for other purposes. Other committee members include Amy Lake and Lee and Sophia DeBoer.
VS2 has launches a range of initiatives, including distributing “know your rights” flyers; creating an online resource with local legal and social services for immigrants; hosting in-person events to educate neighbors and train volunteers; organizing a rapid response team to verify reported immigration enforcement activity and support those affected; providing financial assistance for legal expenses, rent and utilities; and advising employers — from farms and restaurants to stores and private homes — on how to protect workers if immigration agents arrive.
As the annual report states: “We are committed to building on the powerful work of Rev. Carter, who, in the first seven years of Vecinos Seguros, assisted a significant number of individuals and families. It is our mission to continue this important work.”
Few descriptions capture the moment more clearly than Carter’s own words:
“The human cost of current ICE practices is appallingly high. Evidence of the brutality and cruelty of these practices is everywhere. Minneapolis is a recent and egregious example. ICE enforcement is doing much more than deporting individuals. It is also the systematic destruction of families. According to some reports, 90% of deportees are male. They are husbands, partners and fathers, often the primary contributors to family finances. There is heartbreak, trauma and stress experienced by the families left behind. The humanitarian response to the violence and chaos in Minneapolis is inspirational and instructive. Both citizens and immigrants came to the aid of residents living in fear and peril. It should be noted that people of color, whether their status was legal or undocumented, were also deeply shaken by what they witnessed in their communities.”
Carter also described how communities responded. That out of devastation, he said, came something else:
“A new word was born out of the compassionate response in Minneapolis: ‘neighboring.’ In caring for each other, they were ‘neighboring.’ The mission of Vecinos Seguros 2 is to ‘neighbor’ members of the immigrant community whose lives have been turned upside down by current immigration policies.”
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