The following is adapted from the Annual Address of DESK’s Executive Director, Steve Werlin, delivered at the Breaking Bread Inaugural Dinner on March 24, 2017. Accepting the Executive Director position at DESK has been a bit of a homecoming for me, and a step toward fulfilling a larger dream. When I moved to New Haven in 2011, DESK was my …
Our Summer Appeal
Dear Friends, Your contributions have helped DESK provide a steady source of food for those suffering from hunger since our inception in 1987, but as an organization, we recognize that we cannot say that we have fulfilled our mission. Whether it is because guests’ work schedules are incompatible with our own, because guests do not have transportation to get to …
My Own Hunger Story, From the President of the Board
As a child, my father was ill and could not work and despite the two or three jobs my mother worked, we never seemed to have enough money. There were holidays where neighbors brought clothes, other times when folks from church brought us boxes of food and even a time when our landlord forgave the rent because we didn’t have …
DESK is There When Tragedy Strikes: Frank’s Story
As you walk through Downtown New Haven, it’s likely that you’ll cross paths with people who are living on the streets, in parks and in various nooks and crannies around our city. It may not be your first thought to ponder what caused some these people to become homeless, but we see many of them each and every day. Some share their stories …
Debbie, Her Story & The Life She Once Had
DESK sees people from many walks of life. The stories that touch my life the most are from our guests who live on the street – those who have their only possessions with them in a single plastic bag. One of these people is “Debbie”. When asked about her story, Debbie says that she has three children – she hasn’t seen them …
My Own DESK Story, From the Executive Director
Pictured above is a group of wonderful volunteers, my husband and myself. In asking our guests their “story”, I am always one that wants to provide mine so they know a bit about me also – how I came to be a part of DESK. Working for Yale dining, I found myself being asked to volunteer one year at holiday …