In 1996 St Pat’s parishioners Sue and Dennis Petruzzi and Maryann and Jim Hubert traveled to Port Au Prince Haiti to volunteer at what was then called Hospice St Joseph. It was a life changing experience for them to see the wonderful work being done in the areas of healthcare and education so when they returned home they began our parish Haiti Ministry.

Since then many fellow parishioners have accompanied them to Haiti to learn about the lives of our sisters and brothers in Haiti. After the devastating earthquake in 2010 Hospice St Joseph, which was a Catholic organization under the auspices of the Diocese of Norwich, Ct, joined with another Catholic ministry working in Haiti to become Outreach To Haiti in order to begin the process of rebuilding.

Our parish has faithfully supported those in Haiti financially and through collections of items for the medical and dental clinic, guest house and students. Many parishioners sponsor   students in the education program and CCD students who began donating  every year to one student while they were in early elementary school actually went to Haiti when they were about to finish high school to meet the student and see how their faithful generosity had changed her life. 

The St Patrick dental team was formed in 2006 to provide dental care to the children in the Outreach To Haiti School Sponsorship program and patients in the Outreach to Haiti Clinic.  It is led by 2 parishioners; Dr Ralph Bozza and Dr Dennis Gianoli. Every October we go to Haiti and conduct the clinic outside with portable dental equipment and chairs which were donated by parishioners.

Over the years we have built an inventory of dental instruments and we bring the necessary supplies when we go. The clinic is staffed by people from our parish and volunteers in Haiti.  Each day the patients arrive at the gate before dawn to secure a place in line. We treat as many patients as possible during the week and provide dental health education along with fluoride treatments to all the children.

We look forward to the rebuilding of the clinic at Outreach to Haiti so that we can begin to plan for a permanent dental clinic one day. 

MaryLou Bozza

For more information about the St. Patrick Dental Team or the Haiti Ministry, please contact Sue Petruzzi at s.petruzzi@comcast.net