Photo courtesy of phoos.choate.edu
Photo courtesy of @gochoate.edu on Instagram
By Deyi Meng ‘26, Copy Editor
This year, Choate held its annual Community Service Day on September 27. The theme, “Housing Justice,” aimed to generate awareness about housing affordability and homelessness. Choate students and faculty participated in various activities and listened to a panel discussion the prior afternoon. The panel included Mr. Ralph Gagliardo, Ms. Abigail Brone of Connecticut Public Radio, and both Ms. Kelly Dougherty and Ms. Stephanie Boyce from Hands on Hartford, a nonprofit organization based in Hartford, Connecticut, providing food, health, and housing services.
The panel started with the screening of Mr. Gagliardo’s music video, “Walk a Mile,” which highlighted the hardships that many homeless people face. Mr. Gagliardo then recounted his personal story of homelessness and addiction, which stemmed from a tragic vehicle accident. He shared that he initially had his own automotive business, but became addicted to drugs due to the painkillers he took while recovering from the accident, eventually losing the company and becoming homeless.
Mr. Gagliardo was then incarcerated, which in his words “saved his life” by shielding him from the fentanyl crisis and giving him motivation to stay sober. After leaving prison, Mr. Gagliardo worked at a Hartford street newspaper and attended Goodwin College, earning an Associate Degree in Human Services. “Not all homeless people have the same story,” Mr. Gagliardo said, emphasizing the importance of understanding each individual’s unique circumstances.
The discussion that followed was moderated by Kiran Makam ’25 and Arjun Pathy ’25. During the conversation, the panelists delved into the complexities of the housing system and the legal obstacles that perpetuate housing injustice.
Mr. Gagliardo addressed common misconceptions about homelessness: “Anybody can become homeless at any point in their life … It can be for any variety of reasons, but the number one reason is really a lack of affordable housing.”
t Supreme Court case, City of Grants Pass v. Johnson, which legalized the arrest and fining of homeless people camping in public spaces. Although this decision is not currently being enforced under Connecticut state law, law enforcement has become stricter against the homeless community. “Folks, especially within the city of Hartford, are getting ticketed for being in a park outdoors [and] are getting ticketed for panhandling. When that happens, that starts the cycle of criminalization of homelessness,” Ms. Boyce said.
The panelists emphasized the importance of addressing housing injustice through state-level action rather than solely through national efforts. “The focus should be a little bit on local elections because a lot of the movements that we’re trying to aim towards increasing affordable housing and housing accessibility start at the local level,” Ms. Brone said.
Reflecting on the conversation, Makam said, “I think there’s positive feedback from the audience, because this was an issue that we hadn’t previously known much about.”
The next day, Choate students got the opportunity to apply their learning by participating in various service activities focused on addressing housing justice.
Ada Tieanworn ’26 went to Healing by Growing, an organization dedicated to supporting trauma survivors through agricultural work. “This experience helped me learn that there are many forms of therapy … and opened me up to the possibility of receiving therapy through non-traditional forms,” Tieanworn said.
For Ernie Mok ’25, Service Day was both educational and eye-opening. “It made me realize how relevant and widespread this issue of housing injustice is, and partly because the services I worked in were in Connecticut, it makes you realize how prominent these problems are and how close you are to them,” he said.
Mok went to Elim Park, a senior living community in Cheshire, Connecticut, where he conversed and played games with elderly residents. Reflecting on his experience, Mok said, “People from different generations and different times have their own stories and struggles, and it is empowering for them to show yourself as a listener and to be present in their lives.”
Similarly, Camila Granda ’25 went to Oak View, another senior living community. Granda found the experience particularly touching, as she bonded with an 86-year-old woman over their shared interest in travel. “You have to be aware, you have to be empathetic, you have to be compassionate, so just try to understand the people around you,” Granda said. She plans to return for another visit.
Director of Community Service Ms. Melissa Koomson reflected on the interconnectedness of this year’s theme. “[The panel] really highlighted the intersectionality of all the issues at play, like security, affordability, [and] the people who are trying to get the housing,” she said. Moreover, Ms. Koomson sought to help students realize the severity of housing justice in today’s world through hands-on service. “Here at Choate, we can be in such a bubble and a privileged community that students don’t always get the opportunity to go off campus and see what is happening beyond,” she said. “It’s important for me that students have those experiences. That’s part of the value of experiential education.”
Community Service Day brought the widespread issue of housing injustice to the forefront of the Choate community’s attention. “A day like Community Service [Day] helps bring mindfulness to us and helps us realize what it really means to be a human, and [it] recenters our purpose here as students,” Tieanworn said.
