[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 2 (Friday, January 4, 2013)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E16-E17]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 HONORING THE LIFE OF CAROL WALTER, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF CONNECTICUT 
                     COALITION TO END HOMELESSNESS

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. JOHN B. LARSON

                             of connecticut

                    in the house of representatives

                        Friday, January 4, 2013

  Mr. LARSON of Connecticut. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the 
life of Carol Walter, a fierce advocate for the homeless in 
Connecticut, who passed away on December 27, 2012. Carol served as the 
Executive Director of the Connecticut Coalition to End Homelessness and 
dedicated her life's work to fighting homelessness and its contributing 
causes.
  Her passion, energy, and persistent focus on finding solutions helped 
countless individuals and families across our State. For all those who 
knew her, worked with her, and benefited from her good works--we are 
saddened by this loss and offer our deepest condolences to her family.
  While many in the community will pay tribute to Carol Walter, I would 
like to submit the following article from The Hartford Courant that 
captures her dynamic spirit:

      Vibrant Advocate for the Homeless, Carol Walter, Dies at 53

                          (By Jenna Carlesso)

               [From the Hartford Courant, Dec. 28, 2012]

       Carol Walter, the executive director of Connecticut 
     Coalition to End Homelessness,

[[Page E17]]

     was remembered by her friends Friday as a quick-witted, 
     energetic leader and unwavering advocate for the homeless.
       Walter, 53, died Thursday after a short battle with lung 
     cancer, friends said.
       When Walter became executive director in 2006, friends 
     said, she had landed her dream job. Walter was passionate 
     about creating long-term solutions to homelessness, including 
     permanent housing and supportive services.
       ``Beyond shelters and short-gap solutions, she was very 
     interested in finding longer-term solutions, particularly in 
     reducing chronic homelessness,'' said Mercedes Soto, who 
     served on CCEH's board of directors from 2009 to 2012. ``She 
     was able to rally an entire spectrum of people to work toward 
     these goals, and worked to get people housed as quickly as 
     possible.
       ``She was a dynamo. She made a big impact on me and 
     everyone who knew her.''
       Colleagues at CCEH said Walter presided over ``a sea 
     change'' in the organization's approach to homelessness, 
     including greater coordination of services among other 
     nonprofits and oversight of the coalition's statewide ``point 
     in time'' homeless consensus. She also led efforts in rapid 
     re-housing and shelter diversion strategies, they said.
       ``People often tell me how energetic I am,'' said Shawn 
     Lang, a longtime friend of Walter. ``I tell them, `go hang 
     around with Carol for a while, she'll make me look like a 
     slug.' She had great passion for her work. Her enthusiasm and 
     her energy and smarts opened a lot of doors.''
       Prior to her position at CCEH, Walter worked at homeless 
     shelters in New Haven, Hartford and Stamford, friends said. 
     She also worked at the Connecticut AIDS Resource Coalition as 
     a membership services coordinator, where she helped people 
     with AIDS find employment.
       Walter was active in her work, sometimes to the point that 
     she couldn't sit still.
       ``She had more energy than 10 of us,'' said Dave Martineau, 
     vice president of CCEH's board of directors and a friend of 
     Walter. ``She always used to say, `I have no time. I'm trying 
     to end homelessness.' She gave her whole life to it.''
       ``She was a woman who could never stand still,'' added Jose 
     Vega, program manager for the McKinney homeless shelter in 
     Hartford, who had worked with Walter. ``She was a fighter, 
     and such a strong advocate for this community. She touched so 
     many lives.''
       Howard Rifkin, executive director of Partnership for Strong 
     Communities, an organization that seeks to end homelessness 
     and create affordable housing opportunities, recalled Walter 
     as ``maddening and endearing at the same time.'' Rifkin 
     collaborated with Walter on several initiatives, including a 
     plan to end chronic homelessness and homelessness among 
     veterans and families with children in Connecticut.
       ``We're both opinionated people,'' he said. ``She and I 
     would sometimes go at it, but we would always end our 
     meetings with a hug and a laugh.''
       Rifkin said Walter had ``a sense of urgency'' about her 
     work.
       ``She had a deep, deep commitment to [creating] a more 
     equitable and socially just society, and I'm sure that her 
     passion for this work was informed by that,'' he said.
       Outside of work, Walter was an avid theater-goer, friends 
     said. She loved the outdoors, traveling and being near the 
     ocean.
       She was also a devoted Mets fan.
       ``Carol would put a Yankees cap in her freezer to give the 
     Mets good luck,'' Lang said. ``If that didn't work, we'd 
     change the places we were sitting. There were a lot of crazy 
     rituals around baseball games.''
       Lang said Walter's friends and colleagues would miss the 
     woman who had ``a real zest for life.''
       ``Connecticut is a little smaller and a little darker 
     today,'' she said.
       Walter is survived by her wife, Debra Walsh, of West 
     Hartford.

                          ____________________