Letter to the Norwich Bulletin dated 10/17/12

There has been a lot of negative press surrounding the move of St. Vincent de Paul Place to Cliff St. in Norwich-- mere blocks from it's former location at 10 Railroad Place.  I recognize that there are arguments to be made on both sides, and there are legitimate concerns all around.  However, I believe that as a community, it is absolutely essential that we get past the accusations and negativity in order to come to a workable solution.  While there are some who accuse the city and the diocese of having dubious intentions, I think that the majority of Norwich residents recognize that everyone involved with St. Vincent de Paul Place has intentions that are compassionate, noble, and honest. A few days ago, an editorial in the Bulletin said that "the soup kitchen cannot simply be evicted from the school and forced to close its doors. There are residents of this city who rely upon those services. They have no place else to go."  This is true. All of us in Norwich have a responsibility to solve this problem, and we cannot in good conscience allow the soup kitchen to close and leave these needs unaddressed.  These are our brothers and sisters in Norwich, and we cannot forget that at the heart of this debate are real people with real needs.  No matter what happens, we cannot abandon them. 

St. Vincent de Paul Place deserves our utmost respect for working hard to make lives better every single day for the most vulnerable in our community.  Theirs is a thankless job, and they receive a lot of criticism without much public affirmation to go long with it.  I applaud them for their courage and hard work every day as they stand up for the powerless and give voice to the voiceless, and I know I am not alone in my support.  These kinds of issues ultimately show our true character and commitment as a community, so let's show our character and work together to ensure that the vital ministry of SVDPP is able to endure. The work that SVDPP does is not easy.  They face challenges every single day about how to meet rising demand with dwindling resources.  It's time for the rest of us to stand up and say thank you to SVDPP for the work they do, and get behind them as they seek a permanent solution to this unforeseen problem.  It's time to show who we really are, and I believe we are up for it.