Month: July 2012

Worcester panhandling: outreach program begins

According to the Telegram & Gazette, today a full-time outreach worker will begin talking to Worcester’s panhandlers, as part of the city’s plan to reduce their numbers.

The only other part of this plan is “public education.” I haven’t noticed an ad campaign yet.

The manager said the outreach worker will document the needs of each person encountered and the types of intervention employed, and will have to give a report to the city’s transitional housing manager.

Discussion Series: Catholic Social Teaching

7-9pm, five consecutive Wednesdays starting September 12, 2012. At SS. Francis & Therese Catholic Worker, 52 Mason St, Worcester, Massachusetts.

This fall, the Worcester Catholic Worker community is offering a series of weekly round-table discussions on the rich and evolving tradition of Catholic social teaching. Catholic Worker academics Michael Boover and Marc Tumeinski will give an introductory presentation.

Schedule of Presentations

  • Sept. 12: General introduction to the social teachings, their origin and themes
  • Sept. 19: Dignity and the Common Good
  • Sept. 26: Family Life, Property ownership
  • October 3: (The Feast of the Transitus) Sr. Rena Mae Gagnon of the Little Franciscans of Mary will present on St. Francis as an example of a preferential option for the poor.
  • October 10: Colonialism/Economic Development/Disarmament

For more than 120 years, Catholic popes, bishops, and Church Councils have issued documents on the social and political challenges of our time, including economic justice, nuclear disarmament, and the right relationships between individuals, communities, and their governments. But these critiques, seldom preached from the pulpit, are unknown to many Catholics and non-Catholics alike.

For example, did you know that in 1967 a papal encyclical warned about the problems of multi-nationals, free trade, and the growing divide between rich and poor? Or that way back in 1891 a pope advocated a living wage for workers?

We will look at the major themes and principles of Catholic social teaching and their expression in social movements and the lives of the saints. There will be ample time for discussion following each presentation, and of course refreshments. All are invited.

So if you are feeling discouraged by election rhetoric and the silence of many church leaders on social justice, then join us in the upstairs kitchen of 52 Mason Street as we consider life-giving concepts like the common good, solidarity, subsidiarity, and the dignity of the human person.

For updates, call 508-753-3588.

Worcester panhandling report/plan, 2012

The City Manager’s response to the City Council’s request that something be done about panhandling is now online. The agenda item is: “Transmitting Informational Communication Relative to a Reponse to Reduce the Incidence of Panhandling in the City”. PDF link

There’s 57 pages of stuff here. Glancing through the 4-page letter from the City Manager that opens the document, we see these highlights:

  • Social Service/Treatment Response: A social worker from SMOC will do outreach to panhandlers, connecting them with services, providing general reports on panhandling to the city, and working with police if the occasion arises. There will be a phone number people can call to complain about panhandling, and these reports will make it to the social worker. I don’t think this was part of the previous anti-panhandling campaign. (PDF of previous plan)
  • Enforcement: “Peaceful panhandling is constitutionally protected speech.” From Jan 2011-Jan 2012 the WPD estimate they received 181 reports of non-peaceful panhandling, which led to 5 arrests.
  • Public Education: AKA, telling people not to give to panhandlers. This was pretty much the only part of the previous anti-panhandling campaign that was implemented, and was an embarrassment and a failure. The City Manager notes that “Several social agencies, including the United Way” have agreed to work with the city on a public education campaign.

In a nutshell: We’re hiring a social worker to deal with the problem.

Many more details, especially as regards the media campaign, are yet to come.


Photo: The showcase billboard from Worcester’s 2005 anti-panhandling campaign, defaced.

508 #196: Ska and Photography

508 is a show about Worcester. This week we talk about ska and the WPS photo studio with Matt Caranci, Mike Hendrickson, and Manda Rose.

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508 #195: Bees

508 is a show about Worcester. This week’s panel is Brendan Melican and Jen Burt. Jen opens a bee hive, Mike rants about panhandling/John Lurie/Occupy, and Brendan demonstrates patience.

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Carl Paulson, RIP

Carl Paulson, legendary stained glass artist and Catholic Worker, has died.

Carl Paulson
Carl Paulson and Worcester Bishop Robert J. McManus at the 2008 Catholic Worker National Gathering in Worcester. Carl was recognized at the event as “the oldest Catholic Worker.”

The obituary below was sent in by Ken Paulson.
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