Sixth Annual Thomas Merton Black History Month Lecture

Rosanne Haggerty

"Merton: Then and Now"

February 29th,- 2012  7 pm

Frazier Hall, Bellarmine University

One of eight children, Rosanne grew up in West Hartford, Connecticut. Service was modeled in her home from her earliest years; after church each week, Rosanne’s family served food at a single room occupancy (SRO) hotel across the street from the church. The residents of that hotel became friends of the family, attending holiday dinners and in other ways becoming a regular part of her life. Financial aid made it possible for Rosanne to attend Amherst, which she could not otherwise have afforded. At Amherst, she had a series of experiences that helped shape her future career path. Rosanne went into her senior year assuming that she’d attend law school after college. But while researching her senior thesis—on writer, social critic and Trappist monk Thomas Merton—Rosanne began to think about ways she might use her abilities to more directly effect social change. At the same time she met one of the leaders of Covenant House, a large, privately funded agency that provides shelter and service to homeless and runaway youth. Inspired by these experiences, Rosanne realized that her Amherst education carried with it a sense of responsibility, an obligation to apply what she had learned for the benefit of others. She decided that she could afford to take some risks with her first job after graduation, so she worked at Covenant House for a year. She spent the next seven years developing housing for the poor and homeless with Brooklyn Catholic Charities.

In 1991, Rosanne established Common Ground Community, a nonprofit organization that has become the preeminent supportive housing provider in the country and an innovative developer of strategic solutions for the problem of homelessness. The organization’s work is imitated throughout the United States and worldwide. Common Ground has transformed derelict buildings in Times Square and other neighborhoods into supportive housing residences, where formerly homeless tenants are helped to rebuild their lives with links to employment, healthcare and the support of a community. The organization’s view that homeless is solvable rests on a strategy of moving long-term homeless people from the streets and shelters directly into housing, and on preventing homelessness by assisting vulnerable people to secure stable housing at moments of crisis. In 2011, Rosanne established a new not for profit Community Solutions, to expand her work nationally. In 2001, Rosanne received a John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation “genius award,” in recognition of her work.

In her presentation Rosanne will be reflecting on Merton's writings on race in the context of homelessness in America.

Co-sponsored by:
The Office of Multicultural Affairs, Bellarmine University;
Catholic Charities of Louisville;
The Center for Interfaith Relations;

 
The Coalition for the Homeless;
Compassionate Louisville;
Family Scholar House;
Interfaith Paths to Peace;
Metropolitan Housing Coalition;
University of Louisville's Anne Braden Institute for Social Justice Research.

Financial assistance is needed to assist with funding these special events at the Thomas Merton Center. If you would be interested in assisting with funding, or becoming a major sponsor for one of these events please contact:
Dr Paul Pearson on (502) 272 8177 or by e-mail: pmpearson@bellarmine.edu