Parishes joining in effort to aid poor in four counties

According to Maria Kuhsel, a parishioner at Our Lady of the Angels Church in Albany, more than a thousand people from civic, community and religious organizations attended the organization's annual meeting last week. Among them were delegates from nine Catholic parishes.

At the meeting, Arise -- which covers Albany, Schenectady, Rensselaer and Saratoga counties -- announced a $250,000 grant to aid Carver Community Center in Schenectady with the creation of services for inner-city children and teenagers. Additionally, Arise is assisting the Boys and Girls Club in Albany to construct a new site.

"They're a great program, but they can only serve 100 kids," explained the Rev. Sam Trumble of First Unitarian Church in Albany, who is president of Arise. "We want them to grow to serve 300 kids. There's a tremendous need for that."

Focus on youth

"After-school programs are a basic need in this area," she explained. "Kids have nothing to do, and the parents don't have the time or expertise to help with their homework. When they come home from school, many of these children just hang out on the streets. They don't have the equipment or advantages that kids in the suburbs have. After-school programs will help them get a better start in life."

Rev. Trumble agrees, noting that Arise wishes to level the field between city and suburb. "We're looking for a way to lift the people who are discouraged," he said. "One of the things they don't have is a vision of hope -- of being able to rise out of these areas."

Opportunity

"The vast majority of the jobs that will come from the development of Sematech will not be Ph.D.'s. They'll be for workers with associate-level degrees," he said.

"These jobs are realistic, exciting hopes for people to go to school, get the degree and climb the ladder of success. We're interested in making sure that the development that those jobs will bring benefits the cities as well as the suburbs."

Building community

"We see our task is to get to know each other, to build community and to honor each other's traditions," she said.

With the churches expanding to welcome African-American, East Indian, Pakistani and Hispanic members, each parish must put aside factionalism in favor of regionalism.

In an area composed of what Rev. Trumble calls "little fiefdoms" that "don't always work well together," many of the problems -- such as gangs -- are "regional. A number of the problems require solutions that are bigger than one community."

Schenectady effort

Ms. Kuhsel came to Arise because of its message that "we all have something to contribute; that we have power; and that when we come together, we can increase our influence in what we're doing."

"There is unrealized mutual self-interest between the suburbs and cities; and if they work together, they'll both get the things that they want," said Rev. Trumble. "When they compete, nobody gets what they want."

(Other Catholic parishes involved with Arise are Christ the King in Westmere; St. John the Baptist and St. Joseph's in Schenectady; Sacred Heart and St. William's in Troy; and St. Joseph's in Greenfield Center.)

(11-28-02) [[In-content Ad]]