Msgr Jamie is joined by Msgr Cassato in Hope’s Kitchen to prepare a delicious meal for people in need.
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Futures in Education Creates Relief Fund for Diocesan Families Facing Financial Strife Amid Pandemic
By Emily Drooby
The pandemic is causing so much pain and putting dreams at risk.
Some parents who want their children to get a great Catholic education are worried, and that’s why Futures in Education for Brooklyn and Queens is stepping up big time.
They’ve created a COVID-19 emergency relief fund to help with tuition for children across the Brooklyn Diocese.
Rosanna Guzman’s daughter Lianna and son Marcos are students at Divine Mercy Catholic Academy in Ozone Park, Queens, and Rosanna wants them to stay there.
But she’s out of work after 22 years with the same travel company, and money is tight.
“As of right now, I am unemployed. And it would financially help me a lot,” she said of the relief fund.
“This is the first time where I have experienced being laid off, so this is something new,” she added. “It’s emotionally and financially a struggle.”
“If it means putting food on the table or paying tuition, we all know tuition is going to be the first thing to go,” Monsignor Jamie Gigantiello, Vicar for Development in the Brooklyn Diocese, told Currents News.
Futures in Education has always been there for the Brooklyn Diocese. but now the need is even greater. The emergency fund already has 1,000 applications, asking for 1.5 million dollars in scholarships.
“We have over 20,000 students in our grammar schools. Most of them are in financial straits right now, so I know that number is going to grow dramatically,” Msgr. Jamie added.
No emergency fund money has been given out yet.
When it comes to testing, Catholic school students generally outperform New York City public school students in every category.
Rosanna enrolled her children at Divine Mercy because she loves so much about the school — a welcoming atmosphere with an emphasis on faith, plus smaller class sizes.
“And I see a big difference in learning. Seeing him come back at the end of the school day, and coming back with that smile and happy…just knowing the fact that the teacher has that attention with each student, it just makes a big difference,” she said of the impact of a Catholic education on her son, Marcos.
He is an “angel student,” as part of a Futures in Education program that already provides him with scholarships and a mentor.
Rosanna is looking to get $400 from the COVID-19 emergency relief fund enough to cover the rest of her children’s tuition. “It’s a great help for many families,” she said.
Last year, Futures in Education provided $7.4 million in scholarships to 5,000 students.
Currents News full broadcast for Fri, 4/24/20
On the newscast: As the pandemic crushes jobs, Catholic families confront the unemployment crisis; The Mother Cabrini Health Foundation is donating millions of dollars to help New York get through the coronavirus crisis; A special report on the undetected killer that swept the globe one hundred years ago and how the Church came to the rescue; The doctor is in! And he’s answering the questions you have about the coronavirus.
Watch weeknights at 7:00 pm EST on NET-TV in the New York City on Spectrum, Optimum, and Fios. Subscribe to our YouTube channel to receive notifications about new content.
New York City’s Undocumented Population Faces Exposure to COVID-19 and Food Insecurity
By Jessica Easthope
People across the world are struggling in the midst of a global health crisis. They’re dealing with obvious medical concerns, plus unemployment and food insecurity.
But here in New York City, one community is suffering at an alarming rate.
Coronavirus has been ravaging the hispanic community, and those who are undocumented are uniquely disadvantaged. Father Manuel de Jesus Rodriguez has seen it first hand as pastor of Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Jamaica, Queens.
“It’s been an experience of death and loss, we’ve been hit very hard,” he explained.”It’s been a very difficult few months.”
According to the most recent data from the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs, New York City is home to around 738,000 undocumented people. Over a third are considered low income.
A new Pew Research Center survey found 52 percent of low income adults say someone in their household has experienced job or wage loss.
Of New York City’s one million essential workers, half are immigrants.
“For many of our people, staying home is impossible,” Fr. Manuel told Currents News. Many workers don’t have the luxury.
“Many of them, if they don’t work, their families don’t get to eat too much. And many have family members who rely on them back in their countries of origin.”
Of his more than 3,000 parishioners, Fr. Manuel says at least 60 percent are undocumented.
“So far we’ve lost, out of our known parishioners, 12 have died,” he said. “And that we know of, 50 or 60 parishioners are infected so far.”
Fr. Manuel has also seen how drastic food insecurity has become in the growing need at the soup kitchen and food pantry his parish holds.
“Two weeks ago you came, and I told you the numbers were maybe 150. Yesterday, we had 278 people show up for the food pantry,” he explained. “That alone tells you the situation we’re living in.”
According to Fr. Manuel, only three soup kitchens in Jamaica, Queens are continuing to offer services. Before the pandemic there were more than 30.
9/11 First Responder Advocate, John Feal, Donated His Plasma After His Own Battle With Coronavirus
Currents News Staff
After the 9/11 attack, John Feal was a demolition supervisor at Ground Zero and was injured. First responders and people who were on site during 9/11 are frequently monitored for their health, and could be at greater risk of contracting the coronavirus.
Feal is dedicated to helping New York’s heroes in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic. He knows the risks they’re facing: he contracted the disease himself.
He has called on politicians from both parties to put politics aside and join together to defeat a common enemy – the virus.
At the same time, Feal’s organization the FealGood foundation is stepping up in a big way to make sure the men and women on the front lines are cared for.
John Feal joins Currents News to share how this crisis compares to 9/11, his own experience with COVID-19 and how his foundation is supporting first responders.
Currents News full broadcast for Thu, 4/23/20
On the newscast: Unemployment is skyrocketing with millions more out of work. Catholic families in the Diocese of Brooklyn are dealing with the crisis; A Catholic NYPD family is forced to live apart in a sacrifice for others; Antibody testing could be key to getting America back to work; A Franciscan University is making a major move so students can afford classes; A man is blessed after a tornado rips through his hometown.
Watch weeknights at 7:00 pm EST on NET-TV in the New York City on Spectrum, Optimum, and Fios. Subscribe to our YouTube channel to receive notifications about new content.
Queens Parishioners Among Millions of Americans Facing Unemployment
By Emily Drooby
During the coronavirus pandemic, unemployment is a crisis within a crisis.
Millions of Americans are out of work as the virus crushes the U.S. economy.
Last week an additional 4.4 million people filed unemployment claims, bringing the five-week total to over 26 million.
Forty-three percent of all American adults say they or someone in their home has either lost a job or taken a pay cut because of the pandemic.
Regina Santoro is one of them. She’s a real estate agent, and her industry is basically shut down.
“Since the pandemic started, I have not had one offer, on one property,” she told Currents News.
“It slows down, it peaks, it goes up and down,” she explained. “I never thought it would be closed. Yeah, so we are closed. People are bleeding because I can’t even put people in apartments, we are not allowed to show.”
Regina is a parishioner of Holy Child Jesus Church in Richmond Hill, Queens.
Like many, she says she has been trying to file for unemployment for over a week, but keeps hitting roadblocks. However, her family is still in better shape than most.
“I’m a little frustrated about it. I’m more frustrated for some of my co-workers, my husband is still working,” she said.
Teddy and Rachel Aviles also attend Holy Child Jesus Church. Teddy is still getting a paycheck from his sports job while Rachel, who’s a flight attendant, is now on unemployment.
They’re safe for the time being, but like millions of other families across the country, they fear what’s next. These concerns are sharpened because they’re parents to a toddler, and new homeowners.
“We don’t know what’s going to happen in the future, how long it’s going to take for flying to get resumed, or for Teddy to get back to work,” said Rachel. “We really have no clue. It feels really unsettling because you don’t really know how to prepare for the future.”
New York State has paid out $2.2 billion in unemployment to 1.1 million people so far.
Governor Andrew Cuomo said thousands of staffers are working to get through the overload of backlogged unemployment claims.
NYPD Catholic Cop Hasn’t Held His Baby In Almost Two Months
By Jessica Easthope
Healthcare workers and first responders are on the front lines of the coronavirus pandemic, risking their lives every day to help their communities.
Nearly two months ago, Dominique Ranola and her eight-month-old daughter GioiaMia made the heart-wrenching decision to live apart from her husband Joe, an NYPD police officer from Staten Island, in order to lower the risk of infecting each other.
“He’s going out and making sure he’s still able to protect people and fighting, now an invisible enemy, that can creep up on him at any time,” Dominique explained. “This life that he chose you choose as well, and it comes with sacrifices every single day.”
The Catholic couple who attends Our Lady Star of the Sea Church have been leaning on their faith to get them through. Instead of being together, for the Ranolas, this is the new normal.
While dealing with not seeing his family, part of Joe’s job is to enforce social distancing, all while trying to fight off a virus that has infected so many of his brothers and sisters in blue.
“Before getting into his patrol car he’s washing everything down, spraying everything, sanitizing wipes,” Dominique said. “If he has to come across a prisoner or make an arrest he’s constantly changing his gloves.”
According to the most recent NYPD’s daily coronavirus report, 4,549 uniformed members of the NYPD are currently out on sick leave, accounting for 12.6 percent of the department’s unformed workforce. Nearly 4,600 members have tested positive, and 31 members have been killed by coronavirus.
“He’s been helping out a lot with police officers who are getting sick, and precincts who have had a lot of people who have to stay home because of this,” said Dominique, “so he’s all over the island helping out.”
For now, it’s all part of the sacrifice of being a police officer and the commitment of being on the front lines.
How a Hospital Harpist and Volunteer Are Giving Each Other Hope During the Pandemic
Currents News Staff
Even if we’re still healthy and able bodied, we’ve all lost something: a routine, a sense of purpose.
Everyday routines have changed since the coronavirus pandemic, and trying to get back to a sense of normal will take time.
But one Boston man has figured out how to keep his routine going and found a friend in the process.
For many years, Bill Brennan, who will celebrate his 90th birthday in two weeks, has cheered up patients at Dana Farber Cancer Institute and the Brigham and Women’s Hospital with stickers and a smile.
Nancy Kleiman is the harpist at the Brigham, where she encountered Bill almost daily.
“Everybody loves her, everybody loves her,” Bill said of Nancy.
“He’s just pure love,” added Nancy, “we’re like buddies.”
And then suddenly, along with the music, those encounters stopped.
Now, “part of my life is gone,” explained Bill.
“Oh my goodness, it’s life,” Nancy agreed. “That’s why you can imagine how I feel being at home right now.”
“I was feeling so sad, and then I got an email,” she explained.
It read, “‘You don’t know me but my father loves your harp.’ And then it just happened, ‘Would you FaceTime him?’” the note asked.
One call became two, and then became an everyday occurrence.
“There’s this feeling of somebody’s going to call you at five, and somebody cares about you, somebody loves you,” said Nancy.
“She brings me back as soon as she starts to talk,” said Bill. “I come right back. That whole day of sitting around doing nothing, it’s all gone.”
What was lost has been found, and is once again in perfect harmony.
“That’s what Bill and I give each other every day, that little shot in the arm” said Nancy.
The friends say they will keep calling each other every day until the COVID-19 state of emergency is over in Massachusetts.
Currents News full broadcast for Wed, 4/22/20
On the newscast: A world renowned composer who is a priest has written a hymn of hope to help get through the Coronavirus pandemic; New fears that a second wave of the the deadly disease could be coming; Maryknoll missionaries in upstate New York are being hit hard by the outbreak; Caring for loved ones with Alzheimer’s is even harder these days. A doctor offers expert advice.
Watch weeknights at 7:00 pm EST on NET-TV in the New York City on Spectrum, Optimum, and Fios. Subscribe to our YouTube channel to receive notifications about new content.