BY KRISTINE LIPTROT

During his first trip to Bolivia as part of the Catholic Construction Corps, Karl Huebner got a first hand look at the true meaning of poverty. He commented to a nurse traveling with him that people in the United States don’t really know “poverty” and its devastating effects as seen in Bolivia, one of the world’s poorest countries. The nurse responded by asking him if he had ever been to Hopkins Park.
 

“It’s ironic that I had to go all the way to Bolivia to find something in our own diocese where there are needs, too,” Huebner said.                                                                     “There’s lots of people who want to help. To give back, to thank God for their blessings,” Huebner explained. “But they aren’t aware of the needs in the diocese or the organizations that work to help people.” The Catholic Construction Corps is one such organization.                               “The Catholic Construction Corps is assisting people living in one of the most impoverished areas of the United States, within the boundaries of the Joliet Diocese,” Huebner stated. “I am convinced that many people in the diocese want to do something but they need to be aware of what the needs are.”                                  “If someone has a chance to do it, I think they should—even one day, go and see, to feel that you helped someone out (who) appreciates the little things you do. (The CCC) is worth a try.”

“I was told,‘If you ever want to see poverty in the United States, go to Pembrook (Township),’” Huebner recalled.  Once back in the states in June 1999, Huebner accepted the nurse’s challenge and, with CCC members Deacon Bruce Carlson, Vern Whitte and Art Sheridan, he went to visit the area that Huebner compares to pictures of Appalachia. “It’s ironic that I had to go all the way to Bolivia to find something in our own diocese where there are needs, too,” Huebner said.  In the 1930s and 1940s people migrated to Hopkins Park to find inexpensive land. When industry didn’t follow them “they kind of got stuck out there,” Huebner said. While many of the younger residents moved from the area to find jobs, the elderly remained. As many homes fell into disrepair, some of the elderly were being taken advantage of, he explained. People with low incomes were being advised to pay large repair bills for what turned out to be temporary solutions, he said.   “There’s lots of people who want to help. To give back, to thank God for their blessings,” Huebner explained. “But they aren’t aware of the needs in the diocese or the organizations that work to help people.” The Catholic Construction Corps is one such organization.  The CCC was created in the Joliet Diocese as an extension of the medical partnership to Sucre, Bolivia, through the diocese’s Peace and Social Justice Office, Huebner explained. The doctors and nurses who were donating their time and talents in Bolivia believed improving the living conditions of the residents would translate into improved health conditions.  While attending a Mass in Joliet three years ago, Huebner read a notice in the bulletin asking for volunteers to join the CCC on their next mission to Bolivia. “It looked like a great adventure,” Huebner said. “That’s how God hooked me.”   Huebner, a building and grounds maintenance worker for the state, began his travels with a mission group to Bolivia later that year and last April he completed his third trip to the region. “I enjoyed what I did so much,” he said. Along with a core group of four families—Huebner, Whitte, Bruce and Karen Carlson and Art and Jeanne Sheridan—the efforts of the CCC have expanded to reach those closer to home.   While the core group has remained active in their international trips to Bolivia, they have also volunteered on behalf of the CCC to help the Mennonite Disaster Service, which does similar work nationally in areas ravaged by natural disasters. Huebner said he hopes by working with the organized and successful group, the CCC can learn how to improve its own services on a local level.  In this diocese, the greatest need has been found in Pembrook Township.   “The Catholic Construction Corps is assisting people living in one of the most impoverished areas of the United States, within the boundaries of the Joliet Diocese,” Huebner stated. “I am convinced that many people in the diocese want to do something but they need to be aware of what the needs are.”   For the CCC, Huebner said volunteers are requested for immediate needs as well as for monthly retreat work weekends in Hopkins Park—especially skilled workers with supervising capabilities. Huebner said he hopes others in the diocese will notice the CCC call for volunteers in their own parish bulletins and, as Huebner did three years ago, donate their services.  “It is frustrating because it has taken us so long to really get something started down there,” Huebner said. The core members first met in Pembrook Township last September to begin a project to replace a roof on a resident’s home. The project was completed this May.  “We need unskilled people but what we learned from (working with) the Mennonites is that you need to have the skilled persons. They teach you the things to do,” Huebner explained. “Somewhere in the diocese there has to be people willing to volunteer who are actually in the construction trade.” He said the CCC is especially interested in volunteers who have a background as an electrician, plumber or roofer, as well as a carpenter.   The CCC’s current core members are all unskilled laborers “and that’s where the problem is,” Huebner said. “We have the heart, but we don’t have the skill.”  Skilled laborers would be asked to tour homes specifically targeted for repair, assess the home’s needs and make a materials list, estimate material costs “and then be there to supervise,” Huebner explained.  A work weekend begins at Sacred Heart Mission in Hopkins Park, Pembroke Township in Kankakee County, with a Friday evening prayer service. Saturday is a work day ending with an evening spiritual program. On Sunday, the group meets for a morning Mass and breakfast with the parish community.  Huebner said the local CCC program is perfect for someone with the desire to help others but who has time constraints. Volunteers can stay for the entire weekend program or opt to attend only the Saturday work portion. Workers from any faith are welcome to participate, there are no fees and housing and meals are included. Also, the Sacred Heart Mission is relatively close—only a one-hour drive from Joliet but worlds apart from the lifestyle to which most can relate.  The CCC asks for volunteers to handle such projects as minor home repairs, painting, assistance in planting gardens and even lawn mowing. Retreat work weekends have been scheduled once a month. They began in June and will continue through October. The last scheduled retreat was canceled since volunteers could not be found to work the July 14-16 weekend. The group is planning to reorganize for the Aug. 18-20 weekend.   Ron and Kim Weber, parishioners at St. Mary Immaculate Parish in Plainfield, said they saw the call to join CCC in their church bulletin and decided to volunteer together. “We had no clue what we were going to do the first time,” Kim Weber said. “It was just one of those curiosity things. We thought, ‘We have the time; let’s try it out and see what it is.’”   According to Huebner, approximately 35 percent of the CCC volunteers in the area are women, many teaming up with their husbands to offer their time and talents.  Kim Weber, a preschool teacher at St. Mary Immaculate School, said she wondered how the couple could help since they are not skilled laborers. Even on the CCC sign-up sheet, Weber’s husband, a sales engineer, listed his skills as simply “doing as told,” Huebner said.  The couple decided to give the May retreat a try and were happy with their decision. Weber said the day was a good experience for them and they learned to remove house siding and replace tar paper. She added that there was definitely a need for unskilled workers who could handle the clean-up work or make trips to the hardware store.   Learning the new handyman skills was beneficial during the next month’s retreat when they were put in charge of the program because the core members could not attend. “It was kinda’ scary,” Weber admitted. “We were working with all new people to complete the project.” The weekend, however, did not discourage the couple. Weber said she plans to attend as many monthly work retreats as her schedule allows.  “It was fun. We met new people in new (areas),” said Weber. She called her experience “rewarding” and said seeing the poverty in the area helped her put her own life in perspective.  Weber said she had the opportunity to meet with the woman whose house they were repairing and her granddaughter—both of whom she said were very appreciative of their work. “In general it was self-rewarding that we could help someone else,” Weber said. “If someone has a chance to do it, I think they should—even one day, go and see, to feel that you helped someone out (who) appreciates the little things you do. (The CCC) is worth a try.”  For the remainder of the year, CCC’s upcoming events include working retreats Aug. 18-20, Sept. 15-17 and Oct. 13-15. From Oct. 28-Nov. 11, volunteers are scheduled for a trip to Sucre, Bolivia.

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