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Remembering Tina
Tina died today. Or maybe yesterday, or the day before. I don’t know Tina’s last name. I never really talked to her — once or twice, at the Y when it was downtown. You may not think you knew Tina. But...
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“I Should Be A Statistic”: Startling Insights Into Westport’s “Privilege”
The recent brouhaha over TEAM Westport’s “white privilege” essay contest got many folks thinking. Throughout town — and around the globe — they dissected the meaning of “privilege.” Amelia Suermann has...
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Nielsen Earns High Ratings From Gillespie Center
From old-timers like Gault and Mitchells to younger arrivals like JoyRide and Saugatuck Sweets, Westport is filled with local businesses that give back in countless ways to the town. But multinational...
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Staples, Farmers’ Market, Gillespie Center: Seed, Feed And Lead
The Westport Farmers’ Market opened for its 12th season last month. As usual, plenty of vendors offered everything from locally grown and raised produce and meat, to honey and bread. The crowd was...
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Jeff Wieser To Retire From Homes With Hope
Jeff Wieser — longtime president and CEO of Homes with Hope — will retire from the multi-purpose housing organization by the end of 2019. Board chair John Walsh announced the news today. Jeff Wieser In...
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Unsung Heroes #117
Alert “06880” reader — and Homes with Hope CEO — Jeff Wieser writes: I was at the Gillespie Center community kitchen the other night. I often go at 5 p.m. to thank the volunteers. This generous group...
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How To Help This Holiday Season
‘Tis the season to be jolly. And to help those whose holidays may otherwise be less than joyful. Eileen Daignault — director of Westport’s Department of Human Services — offers these ideas: You and...
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Helen McAlinden Takes Homes With Hope Helm
The other day, Helen McAlinden had dinner at Jesup Hall. Looking out the window of the handsome stone building, she saw the Gillespie Center next door. She marveled that one of Westport’s most popular...
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Unsung Heroes #137
Food Rescue US is one of those no-brainer, easy-to-do, why-didn’t-I-think-of-that ideas that dramatically impacts thousands of lives. Begun in 2011 in Norwalk, and now operating in 13 states, it...
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Homes With Hope News: Residents Move; Meal, Pantry Changes Set
It’s hard enough for those of us who own homes, and lead stable lives, to cope with the coronavirus pandemic. But what about our vulnerable neighbors, like the homeless and those in supportive housing?...
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Confirmation Class Meets Homelessness, Virtually
COVID-19 has moved more than school classes and church services online. Confirmation classes — a cross between the two — are now conducted virtually too. Traditionally, Greens Farms Congregational’s...
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Gillespie Center Guests Return Soon
When COVID roared through Westport in mid-March, residents hunkered down at home. Life was hard. For the area’s homeless population, staying home was not an option. Life was infinitely harder. For over...
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Photo Challenge #298
It’s clear: The Gillespie Center is an integral part of Westport life. The men’s shelter — across from police headquarters, behind the old Restoration Hardware (and before that, Fine Arts Theater) and,...
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Homes With Hope’s Holiday Message
It’s been a hard year for Homes with Hope. The Westport non-profit dedicated to ending homelessness in Fairfield County has seen demand for its services rise during COVID. Meanwhile, supporters are...
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Pics Of The Day #1481
Nature’s confetti, outside Don Memo … (Photo/Jenae Weinbrenner) … and nature’s canopy, a few yards away outside Gillespie Center. (Photo/June Rose Whittaker)
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Roundup: Renovations, Playhouse Comedy, Kids’ Fathers Day Cards …
====================================================== Two town-owned buildings with important tenants are getting upgrades. Tomorrow (Thursday, June 10, 5 p.m., livestream) the Public Site and...
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Instacart Delivers A Great Holiday Gift. Someone In Westport Is Not Pleased.
It was the day before Christmas (aka “Friday”). The Old Hill resident looked out at the surprise snowfall. He was even more surprised to find many large boxes and crates, all over his front steps. He...
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Roundup: TikTok Teen Arrests, Water Main Break, Wall That Heals …
Last Saturday night, the Westport Police Department received several calls from locations around town. All concerned a group of youths in a vehicle, shooting projectiles at pedestrians. One victim was...
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Jessica Bram’s Invocation
Each month, a different Westporter gives an invocation before the RTM meeting. Most are earnest, but unmemorable. (Trust me, I know: I’ve given one myself.) Last month, Jessica Bram departed from the...
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Antwayn’s Story
Westport Lifestyle magazine does a great job highlighting the beauty and benefits of Westport. But it does not neglect the more human, less talked-about, often unseen parts of life in our town. This...
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Roundup: Homes With Hope, Compo Movies, Finding Westport …
Homes with Hope announces that volunteers are again welcome inside the Gillespie Center community kitchen and food pantry. Volunteer guidelines have been modified, in accordance with the CDC’s COVID...
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There’s Nothing Funny About Homelessness. Except On October 15.
As Connecticut’s housing crisis worsens — buffeted by the perfect storm of an economic downturn, rising rents and decreased stocks of affordable units — Homes with Hope becomes more important than...
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Roundup: Pop-Up Rock Photos, Connecticut Movies, Thanksgiving Volunteers …
“Exposed: The Lost Negatives and Untold Stories of Michael Friedman” — the 1961 Staples High School graduate’s recently published book of intimate photos of the Rolling Stones. Janis Joplin. The Band....
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Volunteers Offer “Hope” At Christmas
All around town, families gathered for Christmas. It’s “the most wonderful time of the year.” Gifts spill out beneath full, fragrant trees. A roaring fire adds to the warmth. There is way too much...
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Homes With Hope: 40 Years Of Helping
For a place as contentious as Westport — some folks opposed building a playground at Compo, and half the town thought building a nuclear power plant on Cockenoe Island was just ducky — you’d think...
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