October 2004
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Our First Home
Habitat for Humanity built a home
for the Pentecosts.
Now they help build homes for others.
By Cate Preston | Photography by James
Luning
Scott and Nora Pentecost lived in a tiny rented house with
their four children. It was uninsulated and had two bedrooms;
those were for the children. Scott and Nora slept in an attic room
so that “in case of fire, at least the kids would be safe.”
The Pentecost family dreamed of a home of their own – the
Lansing area Habitat for Humanity shared that dream and made it
reality.
St. Gerard parishioners Scott and Nora Pentecost now live –
with their four children Ricky, 12; Anthony, 10; Leandro, 5; and
Scotty, 2 – in a home built by Habitat.
These proud homeowners are pleased they no longer rent because
of the stability a permanent home offers their children.
“Habitat has given us stability. We’ve always had our
kids be a part of the community, mostly through sports. But now,
they feel secure, knowing they have a home. Their own bedroom, which
they’ve never had before. We’re not going to move. We’ll
be here. Friends will be forever,” shares Nora.
This idea of stability is Habitat’s goal, explains Denise
Paquette, the executive director of Habitat for Humanity, Lansing.
“Our mission is to eliminate substandard housing. People should
have a decent place to live.”
Prior to moving to their new home, the Pentecosts’
living situation was less than ideal. “We were renting
a house in the Colonial Village subdivision,” explains Scott.
“When we first moved in, the landlord was interested in selling
the house. I was looking to buy my own home within the next year
or so; I offered to buy it. But, as time went on, the landlord told
me he didn’t want to sell.”
It was in the spring of 2001 when Nora first contacted Habitat.
“I was reading the Lansing State Journal, and saw that Habitat
for Humanity was accepting applications,” says Nora. “The
application process takes some time. It was a year before we were
even considered. They asked us to come in for an interview. Shortly
after, they accepted us.”
The Pentecosts’ substandard housing was one of the
factors Habitat considered when looking at their application. “They
met all of our basic criteria to qualify,” Paquette shares.
“They met the economic criteria and they had a really good
credit history. As we got to work with them, they were very dedicated
and eager to help Habitat.”
The family moved into the new home on Feb. 1, 2004. The finished
house is 1250 square feet, with three bedrooms, full baths upstairs
and downstairs and a full basement. Appliances were also included.
Habitat homes are built on donated property using donated
materials, and constructed by volunteers. “Homes
are sold to the families at the cost of construction, at zero percent
interest,” says Paquette. “The zero percent interest
keeps payments affordable. Generally, they’ll pay less or
equal in mortgage what they would have paid in rent. The only thing
we give away is the opportunity to own their own home.”
 Previous
experience working in construction has provided Scott with extra
skills useful in adding those personal touches to his own home.
“I’m building two bedrooms downstairs for the boys,”
says Scott, planning ahead to future home improvement projects,
which include finishing the basement and putting up a fence.
Paquette is so pleased to see a sense of ownership in the children
of Habitat families. “Whole lives are changed when
families move into a home. It’s a stable environment. They
are proud of their home. Kids will say, ‘This is my bedroom.
This is mine.’ It’s really so cool to hear,” she
says.
A sense of ownership comes not just from having a bedroom,
but from actually working on the future home. One condition
in being considered for a Habitat home is that applicants do 500
hours of community service – 250 on their home and 250 on
another family’s home. “We completed it pretty much
before we moved in,” Scott says of his and Nora’s community
service requirement.
Volunteers and new home owners had much to do on site. Nora helped
with painting, caulking and picking up nails. “Blisters, calluses,
they show you’re a hard worker,” she says, holding out
her hands. “I feel good about helping other people. We work
on houses together, with people from all different cultures...”
Volunteers need to be 16 years old to participate with the building.
But, wanting to do what they could, the Pentecost children contributed
in other ways. “They couldn’t be on site because of
age restrictions, but the kids helped with mailings and folding
fliers,” Nora shares. “My son and I handed out water
at the 10K race that Habitat put on this spring.”
Scott works full-time in the radiology department at Ingham Regional
Medical Center and part-time at Hemacare. “I work seven days
a week, but try to help Habitat once a week, if not twice,”
he says.
 Willingness
to devote such time to the organization is one way in which the
Pentecost family stood out among other applicants. Paquette
explains that in getting to know the family, the Pentecosts proved
themselves to be dedicated – “We see families come in
all the time, but what says a lot about this particular family is
that they are working so hard to improve their situation and outlook.
We were so impressed with them that we submitted Nora’s name
for the Junior League Scholarship, which she did then receive.”
The scholarship helps with tuition payments for Nora, who is pursuing
a criminal justice degree at Lansing Community College.
Volunteer work is important to Scott, and Habitat is not the only
organization with which he has participated. “I’ve done
community service my whole life. My dad was good friends with Larry
Johnson, Magic’s brother, and we often helped him with service
projects. I was looking for something new to start.”
In the spirit of showing the value of human labor, Habitat
is a source for other organizations to share what talents they have
to offer. The cabinets and the wooden frames of the walls
were built by inmates at the Jackson prison. “The people working
on the driveway, now, are part of a General Motors crew. They’re
laid off. GM pays their salaries, but donates their time to Habitat,”
says Scott.
Nora describes the Habitat for Humanity staff and volunteers as
part of her extended family. “They’re a second family.
... They don’t put you aside. They’re there for you.
They are angels in disguise. Without them, my kids would not have
any of this,” she says.
Grateful for Habitat’s continued support, Nora and Scott take
advantage of the services Habitat offers, such as budget classes
for applicants and home owners, as well as a maintenance class.
 “Habitat
offers classes for free – about how to fix screens, fertilize
your lawn. They teach people how to fix things on their
own and become a stable part of the community,” shares Nora.
She adds, “We’re taking a three-week management class,
which is free to home owners, about money management, how to pay
bills, clean up your clutter. There’s also the Restore, where
you can buy new materials at discounted prices – tools, lamps,
sockets, counters, fixtures and doors.”
“You can also borrow supplies from their office, things
that you only use once in a while, like pruners,” says Scott.
“Whenever a church is sponsoring a build, they’ll
have volunteers provide food – usually women from the
parish. The women will say, ‘You need to stop. You need something
to eat.’ But you’re so busy working, you don’t
want to stop. It’s just another way Habitat looks out for
you.”
Together, Scott and Nora explain some of the “above and beyond”
ways Habitat for Humanity has helped their family, even after the
home was constructed. “The driveway had to be repoured,”
explains Scott. “The original company who put it in was going
out of business, and used bad concrete. Habitat ate the cost, and
put in the new drive at no cost for us. Most of the supplies they
get as donations, but the cement, they paid for.”
Habitat also provides assistance when minor incidents around
the home arise. “We’re in contact with the
Habitat office almost daily,” says Nora. “They just
called to tell us that the city offers a $10,000 grant to build
a home in Lansing. That will be taken off the price of our mortgage.
When my husband had to change a light fixture, we had to reset the
sump pump to turn it back on. It was the day of a big storm, and
we called Heather (from Habitat) on her cell phone. It turns out
she was on vacation, but she still helped me ... it didn’t
matter that she was out of town, on vacation. If you need to get
help, they’re there.”
The Pentecosts are so thankful for this opportunity to own
their own home. Scott shares, “They’ve done
us a great service, providing us with a home that we wouldn’t
have been able to afford otherwise. When this happens in your life,
you learn from the good and the bad. When good things happen, it
brings you back to the core – that God is working in
you and is there for you. No matter what happens, He’s looking
out for you.”
---
Habitat for Humanity
• international organization
• in each of the 50 United States, Washington DC., Guam, Puerto
Rico, and 91 additional countries
• over 175,000 houses built
Applications to live in Habitat-built homes are accepted annually
in August. For more information, contact the Lansing office at 1137
Haco Drive, Lansing, MI 48912 or call (517) 374-1313.
Lansing St. Casimir Parish has recently donated two lots to Habitat.
Construction for the Casimir Twins Build began Aug. 1, 2004 with
over 20 parishes participating. “People in the Catholic community
will have the opportunity to help build,” said Frank DeRose,
a Habitat volunteer and St. Thomas Aquinas parishioner. Call the
Habitat office for more volunteer information.
Genesee County The House of Abraham is offering an interfaith opportunity
for Jews, Christians and Muslims to build a Habitat for Humanity
home. Contact Joseph Richard Preville, at (810) 238-1366 or by e-mail
at jpreville@geneseehabitat.org.
the fight for the family farm
and why city people should care:
meet the Debackers
By Bob Horning | Photography by Christine
Jones
 Forty-two
years ago, Frank and Dolores Debacker did what a lot of people say
they are going to do some day – they sold their grocery store,
said good-bye to the big city and headed for the farm.
It was their goal to be able to work together as a couple and have
a place where they could instill a work ethic and Christian values
in their eight children.
Though it was tough for the Debackers – from securing a loan
from the bank to being forced out of poultry farming – it
worked. They accomplished what they set out to do.
Would they encourage young couples today to go into farming?
“You mean to do the same stupid thing we did?”
Frank asked, half seriously, half joking. He would like to encourage
them, but said it is almost impossible now to get a loan from a
bank to begin small farming, because so many little farms are going
bankrupt or are being bought out by the big corporations.
The small farm is slowly disappearing. In Michigan,
according to the U.S. Department of Commerce Census of Agriculture,
there was a 66 percent decline in the number of farms from 1950
to 2002, and a 41 percent drop in farmed acreage.
To the Debackers, that is not just a small town, rural problem.
It’s a problem that affects all of America and its culture,
and is a trend that is contrary to Catholic social teaching. They
tried to explain to me why, as I sat at the dining-room table of
their White Oaks Dairy Farm in Jonesville. A city boy from Ann Arbor,
I live only 70 miles away to the northeast, but it feels like a
world away. “What do you consider to be the most negative
effect of large companies owning so much of the available farmland
now?” I asked. I had read that in 2001, 10 percent of U.S.
farms accounted for nearly 70 percent of agricultural production.
The short answer they gave was that it does not align with Catholic
social teaching, which says that any farming or land policy must
always be based on the common good of the people.
“That isn’t happening,” Frank said. “It’s
only good for the large corporations. They pretty much
control farming from the seed to the shelf. They tell us what to
plant, how to grow it, and what we will be paid. We are one generation
away from corporate farming.”
“And why is that bad?”
 Frank
and Dolores explained first in terms of an economic domino effect.
Once small farmers are taken over by large corporations,
there are fewer individual farms. Big farms tend to do business
directly with suppliers, rather than with local entrepreneurs, because
they can get a better price. The result is that small-town businesses,
which are based on a rural economy, suffer and fail. People move
away, usually to an urban area. Churches lose members. Schools lose
students. The tax base erodes, and services can’t be maintained.
This scenario has impacted the Debackers. When they first came to
Jonesville, they had 28,000 laying hens. Eventually, the egg buyer
told them he could no longer afford to pick up for only 28,000 hens,
forcing the Debackers out of the egg business. They had their dairy
cattle to fall back on, but not all small farmers have other options.
Nor are they all aware they have God to help them, as He
has often helped Frank and Dolores, through other people. They
recalled an extension agent who taught them how to plant alfalfa,
and “a Belgian guy” (like Frank), who offered them land
to rent, a perfect solution for their dilemma at the time.
“Besides economics, there are other consequences,” Dolores
added. “We have 570 acres, and a good portion of that is grazing
land for the cattle. All summer, our stock are grazing. That is
better for the animals and for the land, and healthier for the consumer
who doesn’t have to eat and drink from cows that have been
fed chemical-laced feed, which big corporations tend to do.”
The Debackers were able to express Catholic social teaching on this
subject in their own words, based on their experience.
Dolores asked rhetorically, “Don’t you think
that people should have the right to enjoy a farm life?
Don’t you think that our land should be in the hands of a
large number of people rather than just a few?”
Her answer was almost word-for-word what Bishop William Skylstad,
chairman of the Domestic Policy Committee at the U.S. Catholic Conference
wrote:
“There is genuine social and economic value in maintaining
a wide distribution in the ownership of productive property. The
democratization of decision-making and control of the land resulting
from wide distribution of farm ownership are protections against
concentration of power and a consequent possible loss of responsiveness
to public need in this crucial sector of the economy … ownership
provides incentives for diligence ... ”
As the Debackers were telling me of their efforts toward making
family farms more attractive to young people, their 21-year-old
grandson, Greg, walked into the kitchen for lunch. He will be a
senior at the University of Georgia, but is spending the summer
experiencing farm life. His comments after two weeks offered an
interesting perspective, “I enjoy working hard, but I have
been working harder than I expected to, anywhere from 10-16 hours
per day. And some of the chores, like cleaning up after the animals,
are gross. I like most of the work, and respect small farmers, but
it wouldn’t be much pay for the amount of work. Then, too,
the large debt required to begin farming would scare me...”
For small farmers like the Debackers, that may mean the end of a
way of life.
 Find
out more online:
National Catholic Rural Life Conference
ncrlc.com
Michigan Catholic Rural Life Coalition
michigancatholicrurallife.org
Michigan Interfaith Power and Light
sbam.org/resource/energystar/Mipl/
Michigan Land Use Institute
mlui.org
how God uses
Sr. Marlene
to open doors
for people in need
By Nancy Schertzing | Photography by Tom
Gennara
 Meet
Sr. Marlene J. Taylor, AD. She is a member of the Servants of the
Lamb of God religious order, Outreach Coordinator of the Lansing
Diocese for Persons with DisAbilities and the engine behind the
creation of Rainbow Homes. And, most recently, she is a
2004 recipient of the Dr. Albert A. Wheeler Seeker of Justice Award.
Her résumé is filled with projects established in
service of others. Each entry represents hundreds of people served
and thousands of lives touched by her work.
Yet, it wasn’t her résumé that arrested me the
day I met her. When I arrived at the Diocesan Center, I could see
a woman standing with a walker just on the other side of the glass
door. We smiled at each other, and I was getting ready to dial the
numbers for Sr. Marlene’s office when the woman on the inside
asked, “Are you Nancy?” Surprised, I replied, “Yes,”
before it dawned on me that I was looking through the door at Sr.
Marlene Taylor.
Her reputation and accomplishments had me expecting a dynamo,
buzzing about her diocesan office, deftly juggling calls, mail and
personal appeals. Before me stood a slight, gray-haired
woman, supporting herself on the arms of a wheeled walker. She was
leaning slightly forward and her neck was held rigidly straight
but at a forward angle which forced her to look out the top half
of her glasses. She opened the door and I walked through smiling,
still trying to reconcile my mental image of Sr. Marlene with the
person standing before me.
I fell into my usual pace walking down the hallway toward her office,
but immediately realized I was outpacing my host. I slowed down
and fell into step beside her, continuing our conversation. Yet,
as I talked, I noticed that her neck wouldn’t permit her head
to turn toward me, but seemed locked in place, allowing only a forward
gaze. By the time we reached the end of the hallway, we were finally
in synch and had established a comfortable pattern for conversation.
She led me to her office, and took a minute to arrange the chairs
and her walker so we could face each other comfortably for our interview.
“I was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis at age
four,” she explains. “Like most people who
have a disability from birth, I have always thought I can do anything
I want. The problem comes when other people get in the way and tell
you, ‘No you can’t.’”
This dichotomy was most poignant when, at age 11, she felt called
to the religious life, but all doors were closed to women with disabilities.
She and her brother – a priest who supported her life
vision – researched her options. In 1958, they learned
about the Servants of the Lamb of God, a French religious community
formed the same year young Marlene had been diagnosed with arthritis.
Unlike its counterparts, this community welcomed physically challenged
women who had a religious calling. The Servants of the Lamb of God
were known for creating L’Arch Communities, secular groups
where able-bodied people lived as equals alongside those with physical
and mental limitations. This order represented the door Marlene
had sought. She began working and praying her way toward joining
the order, though she had little money, no travel experience and
spoke no French. In 1962, she walked through the convent doors in
France to begin her formation process. A year later, she entered
the novitiate and began a life of service within the Church.
 Twenty
years later, Sr. Marlene returned to her home town of Lansing to
serve the diocese in its Ministry to Persons with DisAbilities.
Just as she had in her discernment process, Marlene would once again
find God opening doors in unlikely places.
It began when parents of mentally disabled children called
her, seeking Christian housing for their adult children.
Finding no such housing, Sr. Marlene began to research options for
creating supported-living communities in the Lansing area. “When
the parents came to me, I thought and prayed about it,” she
explains. “There was something in me that said ‘this
is doable,’ although I had no experience in the development
business.” As the first step, she started a prayer network
and offered the following petition, “Lord, if this is to be,
please continue to open doors. If it isn’t, please shut them
quick.” Doors began to fly open.
The first door took the form of a phone call from Hope Network of
neighboring Grand Rapids. They had received one of Sr. Marlene’s
early research letters and offered administrative help in establishing
and opening the housing facility she envisioned. With Hope Network’s
guidance and financial support, combined with an overwhelming response
from parents of mentally disabled children, Sr. Marlene forged ahead.
“I kept saying to myself, ‘Why do I think this is doable,
even if I don’t have a clue about how it will work?’”
she laughs. “But there was this constant nudge within me,
so I continued to listen to the Spirit of God telling me it would
work.”
The planning continued. By the time they were ready to purchase
the housing facility, God opened another door in a rather dramatic
fashion. Over lunch, Sr. Marlene was discussing the project with
a board member when he said, “Now what we really need is a
realtor.” As if on cue, a woman at the neighboring table identified
herself as a realtor and offered to help. She joined the board and
led the search for the current Rainbow Homes facility.
 Finally,
in 1999, the doors of Rainbow Homes opened wide as the first residents
moved into their supported-living community. Rainbow Homes
residents share two-bedroom apartments and enjoy independent living
with the support of a live-in manager. While the manager makes sure
they are up and ready in the mornings to get to their jobs or day
programs, residents handle their own cooking, cleaning, gardening
and more. Their monthly rent and service-fee payments keep Rainbow
Homes open, along with contributions from individuals and organizations
like the Lansing-area Knights of Columbus.
“People still tell me they don’t know how we ever opened
our doors, or how we stay open,” says Sr. Marlene. Meeting
her gaze through the top of her glasses, I could only smile back,
thinking of my reaction when I first saw her through the glass door.
Before I walked with her, I would have said the same thing. Now,
however, I can see that God and Sr. Marlene specialize in opening
doors. And I don’t see how they could ever close again.
---
meet a teacher
whose mission is better treatment for Latinos
By Nancy Schertzing | Photography by Tom
Gennara
 Friends
describe him in many ways: “the little General,”
“so charismatic,” “a giver, that’s for sure,”
full of “boundless energy,” and a“joy for living.”
He describes himself simply as a teacher. “I
am a teacher,” writes Dr. Saturnino Rodriguez. “I have
wanted to teach since I was a child.” For more than 43 years,
Dr. Rodriguez has taught adolescents and adults in a variety of
ways. His work in the Lansing School District and at Michigan State
University over the past 33 years has earned him countless awards
and accolades. His most recent honor is the 2004 Dr. Albert A. Wheeler
Seeker of Justice Award from the Diocese of Lansing Catholic Campaign
for Human Development.
A bundle of energy scarcely over five feet tall, Nino Rodriguez
captivates and motivates every class he’s ever faced –
from middle school students to the highest levels of academia, from
migrant farm workers to government leaders. While he claims his
energy “is part of my missionary spirit and the education
I received from the Christian Brothers of La Salle,” others
call it pure, unabashed charisma and soul.
Whatever its source or the force that drives it, Nino Rodriguez’s
charisma has fueled a lifelong dedication to helping those he describes
as, “the people that need the most ... education of the poor
people – that was my original goal when I was very young.
My sincere interest in having everybody very well-educated is a
force that is inside of me.” While his career has taken him
from teacher to counselor, principal to deputy superintendent and
then to university professor, Nino has never lost his focus on educating
and helping “those who need the most.”
Born and raised in Spain, Nino speaks fluent Spanish and
moves comfortably in the Hispanic culture. This affinity,
coupled with his desire to help people most in need, led him to
Lansing in 1971, where he settled his family into the neighborhood
with the city’s highest concentration of Mexican families.
It was also one of the poorest areas of town. Guillermo Lopez, friend
and admirer of Dr. Rodriguez, observes, “He (Nino) lived among
this community. He cried with them, danced and laughed with them,
and he never stopped praying with and for them. They, in turn, adopted
him. He, in turn, never stopped advocating on behalf of all Latinos.”
Not satisfied to simply live among and advocate for this community,
however, Dr. Rodriguez worked diligently throughout his career to
improve the lives of Lansing’s Latino population. His accomplishments
clearly illustrate his dedication and energy.
Four years after he arrived in Lansing, for example, Nino Rodriguez
published A Study of Cultural Differences of Anglos and Chicanos
on the North Side of Lansing, which outlined the dramatic disparities
in access, opportunities and school drop-out rates between the two
communities.
 He
then set about addressing the issues that caused these disparities.
He organized the first Spanish Speaking Parents Association for
the Lansing Schools. He began, and still teaches, adult religious
education classes at Cristo Rey Church. He helped initiate the Lucero
Program at Lansing Community College (LCC) – a program designed
to help LCC enroll and retain greater numbers of Latino students.
In addition to building these education
initiatives, Dr. Rodriguez has worked tirelessly to break down barriers
of prejudice and discrimination that have plagued the Latino community.
Recognizing that a person’s basic needs must be met
before education can take hold, he took on an array of projects
to meet those needs. He organized the Lansing Latino Health Alliance
– a group of 19 community organizations and health-care providers
committed to improving the health of Lansing’s Latino population.
He also chairs the Capital Area Cesar E. Chavez Commission. He documented
the history of Latinos in Lansing in the form of a calendar of historical
events important to Latinos. As Associate Director of the Julian
Samora Research Institute at Michigan State University, he shares
his insights and programs with policymakers across Michigan to help
other communities address the needs of Latino populations state-wide.
His list of accomplishments might easily intimidate any
aspiring advocate. Clearly, they have helped improve the
lives of countless Latino men and women throughout Michigan. Yet
Nino Rodriguez has never limited his efforts to simply helping one
group. He follows his call to help those who need most, regardless
of their skin color or history. He writes, “It is a success
for me to be able to serve the diverse population of the (Lansing)
community. To be next to anybody with the same smiles, wishes and
hopes that I have for me.”
As an administrator for the Lansing School District (LSD) Dr. Rodriguez
lived this message every day on the job. “I dedicated my life
to this community,” he writes. “I want it to be the
best in the world, and in this regard I touched many lives. I am
responsible for all my students, the ones that are very successful
and the ones that still have a long way to go.”
 Nino
has improved thousands of lives through his distinguished career
in education. As principal of Pattengill Middle School,
he established a tradition of greeting each day with a message delivered
over the speaker system. This message usually reminded students
to respect teachers and often ended with his message, “And
remember, all for one and one for all!” This simple effort
supported the teachers and reminded students that he was a very
real presence in the school and in their lives. Also at Pattengill,
he implemented the “Blue Book” system, requiring students
to carry a notebook in which teachers made notes about schoolwork
assignments. Years later, his former students remember the gravity
of having Dr. Rodriguez review their books any time they crossed
paths in the hallways or classrooms.
When he joined the LSD administration, Dr. Rodriguez led an effort
to align the local curriculum with state of Michigan standards.
This demanded that hundreds of teachers contribute thousands
of hours of hard work – an accomplishment Nino still views
with pride. “What teamwork!” he writes, “Congratulations
to them all.”
He created the New Beginnings program for students expelled from
the LSD to allow them to recover from their mistakes and continue
their education outside the classroom. After retiring from
the Lansing Schools, Dr. Rodriguez served briefly on the Lansing
City Council, completing the term of a council member who was appointed
mayor.
Each year, Dr. Rodriguez takes Michigan State University students
to Spain for an intensive Spanish course, dedicating his summers
to teaching college students about the beauty and mystery of his
native country and language.
“Citizen of the world,” “little General,”
“advocate,” “inspiration” – all of
these words describe Nino Rodriguez, yet none fully captures the
essence of this charismatic man. His former student, Richard
Pochert, said it best in a recent television interview, “(Nino)
told me he wanted to end his career doing what he loved best –
teaching,” said Pochert. “When he told me this, all
I could think was ‘That’s what you’ve been doing
all along. Teaching by example.’ Nino was the example that
hard work and dedication pay off the higher you go.”
Perhaps no other description captures Dr. Nino Rodriguez’s
essence quite as elegantly as his own words when he writes, “I
am a teacher.” May his lessons on life continue to inspire.
---
The Dr. Albert
Wheeler
Seeker of Justice award
 Sr.
Marlene and Dr. Nino Rodriguez are embodiments of Christ’s
hands and heart working in our world. Their extraordinary dedication
earned them the Dr. Albert Wheeler Seeker of Justice award from
the Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD).
The Seeker of Justice award was established in 1991to mark the international
celebration of 100 years of Catholic social teaching.
The award is named for Dr. Albert Wheeler, a founding member of
CCHD, and is awarded annually to individuals or organizations who
effect extraordinary changes toward a more just society through
living the gospel of peace and justice. Award winners are those
who:
Demonstrate a clear commitment to social justice
Work for institutional change, especially toward enabling and empowering
low-income people
Live in the Diocese of Lansing and do work that impacts the diocese
Award winners are not necessarily Catholic, but are living examples
of Christ’s ministry to the poor and disenfranchised.
Identity theft
By Marybeth Hicks
 Five
years ago, St. Mary Cathedral parishioner Dr. Judith Collins got
a phone call from a credit card company asking if she had opened
a new account. She hadn’t. But that call changed
her life forever, because it led her to the discovery that her identity
had been stolen.
According to the FBI and the Federal Trade Commission, identity
theft is the fastest growing crime in the nation. Last
year alone, an estimated 9.9 million Americans were victims of identity
theft, and the cost to victims and businesses each year is a staggering
$12 billion dollars.
But for Judith and others like her, the cost isn’t measured
in money or even in the grueling hours it takes to investigate the
crime’s impact and restore good credit.
“I’ve coined the phrase ‘identity rape,’”
Judith says, “because the emotional and psychological effects
are similar. Identity theft is a (very) personal violation against
a human being.”
“When I learned I was a victim, I was in a state of shock,”
Judith recalls. “Like most victims of identity theft, I felt
frustrated, helpless, fearful – even paranoid. You worry just
how far these criminals will go. Will they do physical harm? Will
they rob my home? You begin to have safety concerns about yourself
and your family,” she explains.
“I experienced the whole range of emotions that victims
have,” Judith says. “In addition to being a
financial crime, identity theft is a form of psychological and emotional
abuse that is indescribable.” Judith says victims of identity
theft suffer as much, or more than, victims of other types of crimes,
including violent crimes. Reactions can become severe, such as the
victim who stopped using her first name out of fear and embarrassment,
or another victim who began screening all calls to her home rather
than answer a telephone. These responses reflect the vulnerability
and shame some people feel after learning their identities have
been used by thieves.
Why does this crime make such a personal impact and conjure
the strong sense of violation? Your identity as an individual
created uniquely by God is the one aspect of yourself that you “own”
by virtue of your existence. In the Bible, David describes God’s
intimate role in creating each of us: “You formed my inmost
being; you knit me in my mother's womb. I praise you, so wonderfully
you made me; wonderful are your works! My very self you knew; my
bones were not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret,
fashioned as in the depths of the earth.” (Ps 139:13-15) God’s
involvement in designing each person uniquely, yet in His image
and likeness, endows us with singularly distinctive souls. He made
us who we are, and we alone are entitled to represent ourselves
to the world.
Turning a crime into
a cause
 When
Judith realized she was a victim of identity theft, she applied
her considerable resources to learning just how far the thieves
had gone to sully her good name and credit. As a professor
of criminal justice at Michigan State University, Judith already
had invested 14 years studying the psychological make-up of so-called
“white-collar criminals.” Her professional background
allowed her to investigate the crime committed against her, and
busying herself in this way helped her take control of her identity
and her life.
Judith says a victim’s response depends, in part, on the person’s
general make-up. “My own recovery was both rational and spiritual,”
she says. After investigating her case and discovering its scope,
Judith applied what she learned to her academic research. “I
decided to use my experience to help others,” Judith says.
In her capacity as a professor and researcher, Judith created MSU’s
Identity Theft Lab in the school’s Criminal Justice Department,
collaborating with businesses and law enforcement professionals
to detect and prevent identity theft. To date, the ID Theft Lab
has trained more than 600 police officers to investigate and collect
evidence in identity theft cases. And while the legal and jurisdictional
issues surrounding identity theft remain complex, the ID Theft Lab
offers help and hope to victims, as well as a host of resources
for those seeking to stem the spread of this technology-based crime.
Judith credits God with the strength it took to turn this
negative episode into a positive outcome for herself and other victims.
In the end, she proved her identity was more than just
her good name and credit – it’s Judith, the person who
acted on her circumstances to serve the Lord by helping others.
---
Help for victims of identity
theft
The
ID Theft Lab at Michigan State University assists victims with information
and support. For more information on identity theft and resources
for victims, see the ID Theft Lab’s Web site at cj.msu.edu/~outreach/identity/,
or call (800) 892-9051.
---
Something’s Phishy!
Identity
thieves often prey on Internet users – in a maneuver known
as phishing. To avoid being phished, the FTC suggests the following:
• If you get an e-mail or pop-up message that asks for personal
or financial information, do not reply or click on the link in the
message.
• Don’t e-mail personal or financial information. E-mail
is not a secure method of transmitting personal information. No
website security indicator is foolproof; some phishers have forged
security icons.
• Review credit card and bank account statements as soon as
you receive them to determine whether there are any unauthorized
charges.
• Use anti-virus software and keep it up to date. Look for
anti-virus software that recognizes current viruses as well as older
ones; that can effectively reverse the damage; and that updates
automatically.
• Be cautious about opening any attachment or downloading
any files from e-mails you receive, regardless of who sent them.
• Report suspicious activity to the FTC. If you get spam that
is phishing for information, forward it to spam@uce.gov. If you
believe you’ve been scammed, file your complaint at www.ftc.gov,
and then visit the FTC’s Identity Theft Web site at www.consumer.gov/idtheft
to learn how to minimize your risk of damage from ID theft.
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