Archbishop Blair Blesses New Cathedral Community Center in Hartford

Story by Shelley Wolf

HARTFORD – As part of a grand opening ceremony, Archbishop Leonard P. Blair on Sept. 20 blessed the new Cathedral Community Center, which is now providing expanded primary health care services and food pantry services to low-income residents in the neighborhood surrounding the Cathedral of St. Joseph.

Located at 136 Farmington Avenue, in the former Bishop’s Hall adjacent to the cathedral, the Cathedral Community Center houses the Malta House of Care Clinic, the first brick-and-mortar clinic site for the popular Malta House of Care. Malta has been providing free primary care medical services to uninsured adults since 2006 through its large white mobile van, which travels to churches and neighborhoods in Hartford and East Hartford.

The new Cathedral Community Center also houses an expanded Cathedral Food Pantry, responding to a growing need in the Asylum Hill neighborhood.

“This enhanced commitment is not simply an institutional plan realized, but is rooted in a vision – the vision of the inherent dignity of every person who crosses its threshold,” Archbishop Blair told the crowd in attendance at the grand opening. Acknowledging the many people locally and statewide who supported the project, he added, “I stand with the benefactors and friends, who seek to alleviate human suffering in its many forms.”

Not missing a day of work, the Malta House of Care staff and volunteers opened the doors of their new clinic to patients earlier that day, participating in the opening ceremonies afterhours, after all patients were served. The pantry opened two days later.

The Malta House of Care has provided compassionate, free primary health care to the uninsured and underinsured in Hartford and East Hartford, with more than 71,000 patient visits since its founding. “An astounding number,” Archbishop Blair said. “This new facility will make it possible to more than double the service hours provided to the community at large.”

According to the archbishop, Malta House of Care services include vaccinations, free examinations, medications, lab testing, radiology, referrals to specialists and health coaching,  “often providing life or death support to men, women and children who have nowhere else to turn.”

He hailed the Cathedral Food Pantry as another lifesaver. In the first eight months of this year, the pantry served over 11,000 people, more than in all of last year.

“As so many struggle to survive the painful reality that was imposed on our society,” the archbishop said, “first by the COVID pandemic and now by escalating inflation and unforeseen financial challenges, the food pantry is indeed a lifeline for our sisters and brothers in need.”

Community Partnerships

The Cathedral Community Center initiative was the work of the Archdiocese of Hartford and its staff, with cooperation from the Hartford Bishops’ Foundation, the Malta House of Care, and the City of Hartford.

Totaling $6.8 million, the Cathedral Community Center construction project was financed with $5.5 million from the Archdiocese of Hartford and its private benefactors, combined with $1.5 million from the Hartford Bishops’ Foundation. No federal, state or local government funds were used for the Cathedral Community Center project.

“Because of the collaboration of the local Church of Hartford, the Hartford Bishops’ Foundation and the Knights and Dames of the Order of Malta,” Archbishop Blair said, “this center, which now houses the Malta House of Care Clinic and the St. Joseph Cathedral Food Pantry, will provide additional support to so many in the Asylum Hill neighborhood and beyond.”

James Smith, outgoing general chair of the Hartford Bishop’s Foundation, Inc., said, “The Malta House project really gets to the heart of our mission, our very essence, which is working collaboratively by joining in projects that make life better for the poor, the needy, and the vulnerable.”

Smith noted that he and his wife Cathy were happy to lead the Hartford Bishops’ Foundation’s portion of the fundraising effort for a stationary Malta clinic because they had witnessed the Malta vans out in the community and were inspired by the selfless dedication of the medical volunteers. “We were so very impressed,” Smith said, “with all of those health care volunteers who gave of themselves freely in order to provide an opportunity for the people who have so little.”

Malta serves low-income clients, many of whom hail from 50 different countries of origin and speak over 30 languages. “All come to our doors because they know they will be treated with dignity and respect,” said Brian Sheehan, chair of the Malta House of Care, Inc.

The new primary care facility will help Malta achieve two important goals, Sheehan pointed out, expanding its reach and enhancing the quality of its care.

Luke Bronin, the mayor of Hartford, was pleased to have the new Cathedral Community Center serving the people of Hartford.

“I know that there are many more stages of development and reimagining of this cathedral and the cathedral campus in the years ahead,” Bronin said. “But I think it speaks volumes that the first significant project that was done is this one here, to open up a food pantry and a health care clinic that will be a part of our community, open to our community, and a daily symbol of the spirit both of the Church and, thankfully, now of the community that I am so proud to serve.”

Tour of the Facility

Those in attendance at the opening ceremonies were treated to a tour of the Cathedral Community Center.

The Malta House of Care Clinic is located on the second floor and accessible by elevator and stairs. The new state-of-the-art stationary outpatient clinic includes a waiting area, reception area, five examination rooms, a vitals station, lab, two consult rooms, and a conference room. A room designated for educational purposes will be used for stress management and dietary management.

The Cathedral Food Pantry, located on the first floor, was relocated from the cathedral. Patrons now navigate a pathway through its rooms to stock up on cereals, peanut butter and jelly, canned goods and diapers.

“It’s bigger and now we can offer more wrap-around services and expanded hours,” said Renee Santos, coordinator of the food pantry. “I’d like to bring in a nutritionist and do blood pressure screenings, and find someone to answer questions about Medicare and Medicaid.”

The pantry is also looking into the possibility of delivering pantry items to the homebound. Many of its supplies are provided by Foodshare, as well as by generous parishioners of the Cathedral of St. Joseph.

No longer needed at the cathedral, the Malta mobile clinic can now travel to a new neighborhood. Malta’s hope is to designate a new site for the van, in addition to the current sites at St. Augustine Church in Hartford and St. Rose Church in East Hartford. The new site has yet to be determined.

“We’ll begin work on a strategic plan this fall to plan the path forward,” said Vicki Veltri, executive director of development for the Malta House of Care. “We need a solid plan and steps to figure out where we are going to go and how many new volunteers we need.” The grand opening of the stationary clinic, she noted, drew two newly retired medical doctors who volunteered their services that day.

Dr. Pauline Olson, a dame of the Order of Malta and one of the co-founders of the Malta House of Care, was thrilled to attend the opening to see the latest development in the medical ministry’s service to those in need. “It is wonderful. Our future is so positive now,” Dr. Olson said. “It’s an honor to be a part of the Malta family.”

Locations and Hours

The Malta House of Care Clinic, located within the Cathedral Community Center at 136 Farmington Avenue, is open Tuesdays and Wednesdays, from 11:45 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

The Malta House of Care Mobile Clinic will continue to serve clients at St. Rose Church, 33 Church Street, East Hartford, on Mondays from 8:45 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. and from 12:45 to 3:30 p.m. The mobile clinic also visits St. Augustine Church, 10 Campfield Avenue, Hartford, on Thursdays from 11:45 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

The Malta House of Care’s administrative offices have relocated from Woodland Street to 136 Farmington Avenue. For more information, visit maltahouseofcare.org.

The Cathedral Food Pantry, now located in the Cathedral Community Center, will be open for food on Thursdays from 9 to 11:45 a.m., and for clothing on Fridays from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.