We gather together: A homeless family’s story

Cristina and Kayla Garcia shared their story with The Lakeville Journal Nov. 19.
Jennifer Almquist
Cristina and Kayla Garcia shared their story with The Lakeville Journal Nov. 19.
Here in the Northwest Corner of Connecticut, where the first frost comes early, and black bears hibernate, the woods are inhabited by hundreds of people sleeping rough.
There has been a 14% rise in homelessness in Connecticut since 2022. There are now 482 “people in need of homeless response systems”, according to Connecticut Coordinated Access Network (CAN), many of them senior citizens.
Cristina and Ricardo Garcia asked a simple question, “Why is there no place in the world for us?”
The Garcias, with their 22-year-old daughter Kayla, are a family who spend each night sleeping in a tent city in Waterbury. They take a bus in the morning to the Gathering Place in Torrington for warmth and showers, then eat their meals together at the Community Soup Kitchen in town. Their fierce desire to stay together as a family has its genesis in years of suffering, deprivation, substance abuse, prison, and escape.
Family is all that matters to them. It is all they have.
“My daughter is shy, so speak quietly to her,” Cristina whispered, explaining further that Kayla and her sister Jessica, who is 18, are on the autism spectrum. Cristina and her girls escaped years ago from her abusive husband. Her girls were then taken from her when they were 12 and 14. Cristina, who has been clean for two years, suffered from substance use disorder. It has been six years since Cristina has seen Jessica.
Her daughter Kayla, her long braids tucked under a watch cap, was wearing headphones to mask out loud shouts of men heatedly discussing the mistreatment of criminals. Kayla’s expressive brown eyes gave away her discomfort. The homeless resource center was packed with women and men in from the November cold; some on cellphones, some waiting with their towels for a warm shower, others quietly sipping hot coffee.
The Gathering Place in Torrington is a daytime drop-in center for the 482 homeless neighbors who live in Litchfield County, Connecticut. The food pantry at Friends in Service to Humanity (FISH) in Torrington serves more than 2,000 people.
There are currently 51 shelter beds in Northwest Connecticut: 16 in Winsted and 35 in Torrington with 5 restricted to veterans. As of today, there will be 30 overflow shelter beds for the winter season.
Cristina Garcia, left, working at the Community Soup Kitchen in Torrington.Jennifer Almquist
At the Community Soup Kitchen in Torrington’s Trinity Episcopal Church Nov. 19, Cristina folded her family’s laundry on the table she had just cleared from the breakfast crowd. She paused to talk and reflect on her difficult journey.
Cristina Garcia: My husband Ricky just started working. He’ll be coming home with literally $72. a week. Sometimes I feel like no one cares. We’ve been clean for two years. We’ve had our ups and downs with our kids. My adoptive mom passed away and my dad passed away in a housefire. So, I don’t have any family. I had an abusive relationship basically, which I escaped with my daughters because it was very bad. My new husband Ricky and I met here, and we’ve been together for almost four years. Because of my earlier situation, my kids were taken from me.
Jennifer Almquist: How old were they when they were taken from you?
CG: They were taken away for six years when Kayla was 14.
JA: During that time were you allowed to have any communication, or hear how the girls were doing?
CG: Like I said, I was in an abusive relationship, and he was in charge. Kayla came back to me last January. It was rough. It is hard when you have no family, nothing to fall back on. Family is just me, my husband and my kids. Now there’s the Gathering Place, and the soup kitchen people that I consider family. They open their arms to us and have been very good, very kind to us.
JA: Did you have housing at some point?
CG: I did, but I lost my housing voucher because I was out of the household for over 20 days. I was incarcerated due to charges from five years ago. I was legally married, but they wouldn’t take in consideration the impact on the girls. The rent was still being paid - it was still being paid the whole time but they took the voucher away. So now it’s like, “do you have a lawyer - somebody to step forward?” Nobody comes forward. We didn’t appeal. We lost everything, so altogether we’ve been out on the street since I got out, so in and out, trying to keep the apartment, but we got notice from the city to quit the apartment, so now we’re on the streets.
JA: Do the charges on your record mean you have to start all over again to get a housing voucher?
CG: We’re just hoping for another voucher.
JA: Is that a lot of pressure when you are trying to stay straight?
CG: It is great to keep my mind straight by volunteering at the Soup Kitchen. When we first started coming here, my husband and I kept telling the boss DJ, if you guys need help, just let us know. You’re helping us out by giving us breakfast, giving us lunch. Suddenly one day the foundation that helps them provide the food wanted to interview somebody that was coming here. Someone that could explain to them the impacts, and how welcoming it is here. They interviewed me, and since that day I’ve been volunteering here. I basically go to the Gathering Place in the morning, take the shower and do laundry, come straight here by 9:30. From that time until around 2:30 I work in the kitchen and prep and serve food. I like it because it’s community. I love being here just because they are so kind to us. My daughter has a hard time talking to new people or getting to know new people. She has a close relationship with someone here now.
JA: What was her living situation when you weren’t with her?
CG: Kayla and Jessica were in foster care. I had no access to anything. Now it’s like starting all new, trying to apply for Social Security, Kayla’s been denied numerous times, and getting a copy of her birth certificate is expensive. That’s what I’m going through right now. She needs help. They say “we can’t help” because they don’t think she has that many issues because she doesn’t hear voices, and she’s not, in their minds, crazy like other people. Kayla does have mental health issues. Jessica didn’t start talking until she was six. It’s just sad that people don’t take in consideration what the impact of situations like being in foster care, or being homeless, are on kids. Especially if you’re a sensitive kid. Kayla is 22 but her mentality sometimes isn’t like her age.
JA: How does Kayla do with the sleeping arrangements and the cold?
CG: No, it’s horrible. All you just have is a tent in the world. People take your stuff; you can’t trust anybody -that’s just how it is. We have a small U-Haul as a storage unit that is expensive. We had to get rid of most of our stuff. It’s just hard, really hard especially with the holidays coming up.
JA: How do you three get warm in your tent?
CG: We layer up with four blankets on, then jackets and sleeping bags. Ricky puts a wooden pallet under the tent, but it’s like sleeping on the floor.
JA: What are you doing for Thanksgiving?
CG: The soup kitchen is not open on Thanksgiving. When you’re homeless you don’t get a break, you don’t get time, the days are endless. Holidays are just another day, not like anything special. We can’t plan anything. We have no way to cook anything. Every day in the woods, it’s just eating out of cans. We may not be able to have a Thanksgiving feast this year, but for Christmas, for my kids and my step kids, there’s no hope of getting them something special. Sometimes I just feel like I’m screwed. I just feel like as much as I try, it’s like I’m trying for what is not possible. It’s hard to keep hoping. These holiday times hurt the most. This is our first holiday back together in six years now that she’s back with us. I want am waiting until my youngest is 21 and graduates this June. For her to be allowed to come home, I must have housing. I feel like it might be a lot to ask, but I just want my family back together.
JA: What are you grateful for?
CG: Kayla loves her stepdad, and he’s very good to us. He walks up the mountain to work at Target. He walks because he can’t drive. We want to get him a bike. Hopefully by December the warming center will reopen. Lori at the Gathering Place helps us so much. She’s an amazing person. I had open heart surgery. They put in a pacemaker that needs replacing, but they can’t do the surgery and then discharge me to the street, so my surgery is being put off. I have seizures, so I need a calm setting. I’m grateful for Lori because she watches out for us. I have met amazing people through her, like the people in this kitchen, for DJ and Bill, and the opportunity to give back, you know. It’s important because I want to make sure I stay on track with my sobriety. Being around positive people helps me. I am trying not to cry. I want to have everyone together for Thanksgiving.
Ruth Franklin and Ileene Smith in conversation at Congregation Beth David in Amenia.
Congregation Beth David in Amenia hosted a conversation on the enduring legacy of Anne Frank, one of the 20th century’s most iconic figures. Ruth Franklin, award-winning biographer and critic, shared insights from her highly acclaimed book “The Many Lives of Anne Frank” with thought-provoking questions from Ileene Smith, Editorial Director of the Jewish Lives series. This event, held on July 23 — the date Anne Frank would have turned 96 — invited the large audience to reconsider Anne Frank not just as the young writer of a world-famous diary, but as a cultural symbol shaped by decades of representation and misrepresentation.
Franklin and Smith dove right in; Franklin reading a passage from the book that exemplified her approach to Anne’s life. She described her work as both a biography of Anne Frank and a cultural history of the diary itself, a document that has resonated across the world.
“The diary,”Franklin explained, “has been appropriated in ways that sometimes obscure the reality of who she was and the historical context of her life.” By weaving together different perspectives, including testimonies from those who knew Anne or whose lives were shaped by her, Franklin sought to rehumanize a figure who has, for better and worse, been turned into a symbol.
Franklin’s book examines the many faces of Anne Frank that have appeared in the public consciousness: the girl whose diary became a universal symbol of the Holocaust, the teenage diarist whose words offer an optimistic glimpse of humanity, and the historical figure whose Jewish identity has at times been obscured in favor of a broader, universal message. Franklin highlighted how Anne’s legacy was shaped by her father, Otto Frank. Many of Otto’s decisions have been viewed as controversial such as removing passages that could have alienated potential readers. While often criticized, Franklin suggested that his editorial work was driven by the desire to reach the broadest possible audience.
“I think we have to be so generous in thinking about Otto Frank and the choices that he made,” said Franklin. “He made the decision that he wanted the diary to be read by the greatest number of people possible. He wanted Anne’s message to go out into the world and work, as he said, against prejudice, understood in the widest possible sense. The Anne Frank House today in Amsterdam is carrying on his mission in making Anne’s story relatable and accessible and comparing it to many other different kinds of prejudice around the world. Not everybody agrees with this approach, but that’s what he decided to do.”
The conversation turned to a quote from author Cynthia Ozick, who argued that Anne’s story has been “vulgarized, distorted, and infantilized” in adaptations of the diary, particularly those created for mass consumption. While acknowledging the validity of Ozick’s concerns, Franklin pushed back. The desire to make Anne’s story accessible to a global audience, Franklin suggested, began with Anne herself, who rewrote her diary with an eye toward future readers who might not understand her specific historical context.
The conversation also delved into the profound grief and ambivalence Otto Frank must have felt as he worked to preserve his daughter’s legacy. Franklin’s expressed deep empathy for him, burdened with making Anne’s diary into something more than a personal testament. “He was working with a tragic loss, with an immense responsibility,” Franklin noted.
The evening’s discussion expanded to include the contentious debate over the graphic version of Anne Frank’s diary, which has been banned in several U.S. states. Critics of the graphic adaptation have condemned it for including depictions of Anne’s developing sexuality, citing them as “pornographic.” Franklin pointed out that this outrage stems from “the intersection of homophobia and anti-Semitism” in today’s political climate, highlighting how Anne’s legacy continues to be embroiled in ongoing cultural and political struggles. “The books that are most frequently banned in the country right now are those that have to do with LGBTQ content.This is a serious issue of the Republican Party persecuting gay people and trans people more generally,” said Franklin.
Smith pointedly asked Franklin about what is widely considered the most famous quote from the diary: “In spite of everything, I still believe that people are really good at heart.” Franklin responded, “In many ways, Anne Frank was an optimistic person and that quote is an accurate reflection of who she was. At the same time, that quote is incomplete. It actually comes in the middle of a much longer passage in which she describes feeling hopeless about the future of the world.” Franklin continued, “That quote is often dismissed by Holocaust scholars or other people who have said with a lot of confidence that if Anne Frank had survived the camps to write about it, she would no longer have believed that people are truly good at heart. My own position, which is the perspective I adopt in this book, is that none of us can know what a surviving Anne Frank would have thought about anything at all, and it is irresponsible to speculate about it.We simply can’t go there. “
As the conversation concluded, the room was filled with a sense of reflection and appreciation. The crowd was invited to continue the conversation in the Community Room, where Franklin signed copies of her book, which were available through Oblong Books. Her visit left attendees with much to ponder about how we interpret history, memory, and the cultural artifacts that endure.
Yuja Wang performs with the TMCO and Andris Nelsons.
Sunday, July 20 was sunny and warm. Nic Mayorga, son of American concert pianist, the late Lincoln Mayorga, joined me at Tanglewood to hear Yuja Wang play Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No. 2 in G minor, Op. 16. I first saw Wang on July 8, 2022, when she filled in for Jean-Yves Thibaudet on the opening night of Tanglewood’s summer season. She virtually blew the shed down with her powerful and dynamic playing of Liszt’s Piano Concerto No. 1.
Nic was my guest last season on July 13, when Wang wowed us with her delicate interpretation of Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 4. We made plans on the spot to return for her next date in Lenox.
As we found our seats there was a buzz in the Shed. A huge crowd had gathered. Nic went for tall cans of cold mineral water — essential. The Tanglewood Music Center Orchestra was on stage. The door opened, and out stepped Wang in a brilliant shear and sparkling silvery light dress befitting the warm day. Conductor Andris Nelsons followed. They greeted concertmaster Nathan Cole, and settled in.
The first movement, an Andandtino -Allegretto - Andandtino, is one where a 22-year-old Prokofiev distinguishes himself as an entirely new breed of concerto composers. It is far from typical. There is no conventional drama between opposing forces of piano and orchestra — just a light, gentle phrase with intentionally muted strings (pizzicato) and clarinets, giving way to Chopin-like left-hand figures from the piano, and a lengthy, divine melody in the right. There is beauty in this.Wang is in charge.
She transitioned to a faster march section that evolved into an extended solo played with great precision and attention to detail. The soloist had the floor until a raucous return of the full orchestra, followed by a pianissimo recollection of the opening. The two great forces now united, everyone was on the edge of their seat.
The second movement is a Scherzo: Vivace. Here, Wang showed her mastery over one of the most challenging sections — a relentlessly demanding moto perpetuo where the soloist must play unbroken sixteenths, both hands, in octave unison. Nic agreed that one must see this type of playing live to fully appreciate the artist. The orchestra added wonderful, subtle color and counter moods to this virtuoso spotlight. Wang’s command of the minutest shifts in tempo was astounding. The piano, here, produces melodies but also becomes a percussion instrument of the highest order.
In the third movement, an Intermezzo: Allegro moderato, the soloist gets a breather from the speedy tempos — but not quite, as she must alternate between delicacy and great force in figures while the orchestra layers a backdrop of a heavy march. Wang displayed her versatility here, commanding the tone, volume and moods as dictated by Prokofiev’s adventuring. Tempos changed. Everything changed. Yet throughout, each mini stanza and bar stood out — authentic, independent, real. Likely exactly what Prokofiev had in mind, but likely to elude all but the finest musicians.
In the Finale: Allegro tempestoso, Prokofiev reverts to the more conventional opposition-of-forces theme — the piano trying to overwhelm the orchestra in a barrage of flittering bright passages offset by heavy-handed chords. Wang chose a more collegial approach here. She was firm but polite; it never felt like a struggle. This made the transition to the next idea — where clarinets and violas offer a contrasting tranquility — smooth as silk. The solo piano continued with elements of Russian folk music, joined by the orchestra, building intensity before another solo piano display, and then a traditional buildup to a sweeping conclusion.
I glanced over at Nic’s joy and bewilderment. A standing ovation was followed, with encore performances of selections from Sebelius’s 13 Pieces for Piano, Op. 76, No. 2: Etude; Schubert’s “Gretchen am Spinnrade,” D. 118, arranged by Liszt; and Horowitz’s Variations on a Theme from Carmen.
Prokofiev’s debut of this concerto in 1913 did not go over quite as well. Some in the audience expressed displeasure at his ideas, hissed and rushed out. But Prokofiev expressed his displeasure at their poor taste, played an encore nonetheless, and fanned the flames. Sometimes a genius from one generation is misunderstood in his time but vindicated generations later by audiences and musicians of a different era. Such is the case with Prokofiez, who had the last laugh. Yuja Wang has her place in this saga. That she performs with the young musicians of the Tanglewood Music Center Orchestra shows her generous nature and kind heart — she cares about the future of classical music.
If you are curious and like to travel, Wang will play Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No. 2 again several times this season: Nov. 13 at The Philharmonie de Paris; Dec. 4 and 5 at The Konzerthaus, Vienna; and Dec. 12 at The Concertgebouw in Amsterdam. I highly recommend it.