An ​“Extravagant” Day For The Homeless

Hundreds gathered on the New Haven Green Saturday afternoon for an ​“Extravagant Cookout for the Homeless” that gave adults, children, and families a space to sing and dance while enjoying free access to clothing and food donations.

“It’s really about the people — the forgotten ones,” said Jesse ​“J‑Hop Hardy,” the central organizer of the eighth annual event.

Participants danced in groups to the Harlem Shake, and children belted ballads. Attended perused tables of Goodwill donation clothes lining the perimeter of the Green and ordered from a food truck offering deep-fried fish, turkey legs, and pork chop barbecue.

Hardy said he times the event to give back to ​“the homeless and needy before winter hits.” Hardy spent a year of his life homeless. He lived on the Green, slept on benches, and rested near dumpsters. Every once in a while, he would sleep on the back steps of Trinity Church. Since then he has organized events like these to give back. Trinity Church on the Green’s James Thomas helped him put Saturday’s event together.

“It’s nice to see the community come together,” said event co-host Jessica Carl. Among the families attending the event were Lily Reyes and her young son Adonis. After suffering from a disease, Adonis had his leg amputated. Reyes and her son received financial support from one of the sponsors of the event. ​“This doesn’t even scratch the surface of the issues” she said, ​“but every little bit helps.”

Curtis Robinson Foundation and the Yale Hunger and Homelessness Action Project also supported the event.

“It gets tremendously bigger and bigger every year,” New Havener Lawrence Gore, an annual attendee, said of the event. ​“I just came to be a part of something good and have peace of mind.”

After suffering a forklift injury that left him in a state of disability, Leigh Busby spent seven years of his life traveling around the country from Skid Row to New Jersey, homeless, he said. He said he is grateful to have lived the last four years in New Haven and doesn’t see himself moving anytime soon.

“New Haven has so much opportunity,” he said. By virtue of his artwork and his story being picked up through social media, Busby picked up gigs as a freelance photographer. He worked at the event on Saturday. Homeless people would rather be [out on the Green] than in a bed-bug-infested shelter, Busby said.

Hardy has more plans on the horizon for projects to serve the homeless, including outfitting a bus with two showers, working with a laundromat, and enlisting a barber to travel around Connecticut to offer free haircuts.