Champions of region's homeless to receive Chamber award
[naviga:img class="img-responsive" alt="Zall" src="/Assets/news2015/NEWZall082615.JPG"/]
The Rev. Catherine Zall
Waterford — If you see something, it might not be enough to say something. You might better take action.
"We just saw a problem — and we did something,” the Rev. Catherine Zall said Tuesday, describing the way she and the Rev. Michel Belt responded to the region’s homeless problem, their efforts culminating in the New London Homeless Hospitality Center.
Zall, pastor of the First Congregational Church of New London and the homeless center’s executive director, and Belt, former rector of St. James Episcopal Church in New London, will be honored in November with the Chamber of Commerce of Eastern Connecticut’s prestigious William Crawford Distinguished Service Award.
Chamber officials and a few past Crawford award honorees gathered at the Chamber’s offices here to announce the latest selections.
“We could just as easily have called this the Profiles in Courage Award,” said Bill Stanley, the Lawrence + Memorial Hospital executive who chaired the award selection committee. He credited Zall and Belt with tackling an issue that would have been easier to pretend didn’t exist.
“But people were dying,” Stanley said, referring to the homeless. “Michel courageously opened his church hall, and he and Catherine have worked collaboratively … providing for the homeless in a clean, safe, dignified setting that gives them hope for the future. You couldn’t find two people more deserving of this award.”
Len Wolman, the Waterford Group chairman and a past Crawford honoree, noted that the award has been given to many business people over the last several decades.
“This,” he said, “is the acknowledgment of two individuals who have done something selflessly to help people.”
And they did it despite at times encountering some resistance, Wolman added.
Belt, who recently retired, recalled turning space at St. James into a shelter eight years ago. Later, he and Zall joined forces to raise funds to purchase and convert the former Sts. Peter and Paul Polish National Catholic Church into the New London Homeless Hospitality Center, which provides its residents with a mailing address and help finding a job and a permanent home.
[naviga:img class="img-responsive" alt="Belt" src="/Assets/news2015/NEWBelt082615.JPG"/]
The Rev. Michel Belt
“These two individuals represent the ideals of the Crawford award,” said Tony Sheridan, the Chamber’s president and chief executive officer. “They have gone above and beyond the call of duty in taking care of those less fortunate than themselves.”
The award, presented periodically to individuals who have helped improve the quality of life in eastern Connecticut, is named for William Crawford, a general manager of the southeastern Connecticut Broadcast Corp. Other past recipients on hand at Tuesday’s announcement were Mary Ellen Jukoski, the Three Rivers Community College president honored during her tenure as Mitchell College president, and Steve and Jeanne Sigel of New London’s Garde Arts Center.
Stephen Coan, president and CEO of the Sea Research Foundation, which operates Mystic Aquarium, received the award last year.
For information about this year’s Crawford award dinner, Nov. 12 at Foxwoods Resort Casino, visit the Chamber’s website or call (860) 701-9113.
Twitter: @bjhallenbeck
Comment threads are monitored for 48 hours after publication and then closed.
