By LISA BACKUS
Herald staff

NEW BRITAIN — City police Sgt. Tracy Baden is part of a small army of volunteers providing a traditional Thanksgiving meal to families who have recently moved out of a shelter and into their own apartments.

“I started doing it myself and thought why not see if everyone at the police department wanted to do it,” Baden said Monday as she prepared to drop off the all the fixings for 10 holiday meals. “It makes me feel good, any little bit you can do if you see people in need always makes you feel good.”

For the past few years Baden has personally adopted a family or two from the Friendship Service Center’s “Beyond Shelter” Program, which provides transitional services to families who have moved out of the shelter.

She also has enlisted the help of New Britain Police Department’s police union to provide meals for eight families in addition to the two she does on her own. The union donated $250 along with everything from vegetables to stuffing to snacks and a $20 gift certificate for families to buy their own turkey.

“We put out the message to all the cops and they responded,” Baden said. “One officer gave $100, another gave $60. In all we wound up with $280 to buy groceries, a $25 gift card and bags of food on top of the $250 donated by the union. It was great.”

Baden personally shopped for the food items and loaded all the meals in 18-gallon containers to bring to South Church Monday afternoon for the 10 families she had adopted. But she wasn’t alone. As Baden and a few other officers were bringing in the goods, members of the community from all walks of life were bringing the meals they had prepared.

“We have businesses, agencies, and individuals that graciously agree to adopt a family or two who have moved out of the shelter and are living on their own,” said Friendship Service Center outreach coordinator Rachael Davis. “This is a wonderful gift that they provide for families in our community. I know we’re experiencing difficult times, but they are helping to ease the burden.”

The Thanksgiv-ing “adopt-a-family” program will deliver meals to 52 families and individuals over the next few days. All the recipients are either part of the Beyond Shelter program or have transitioned to permanent supportive households, said Davis, who noted that 28 organizations, businesses or private citizens adopted families for holiday meals this year.

Rocky the Rock Cat will help deliver the items today with Davis, outreach coordinators Martha Valencia and Zsa Zsa Booze and their supervisor, Suzy Rivera, who organized the effort.

Baden will also adopt four families with the help of the police department for the Center’s holiday gift program. The union has already agreed to kick in another $250.

“During Christmas we receive wish lists from the kids and I think people would be surprised about what they ask for,” Baden said. “The kids are asking for basic things like socks and T-shirts — no electronics — they need the ordinary items and it’s kind of sad that that’s all they are asking for. So we try to help them out.”

Davis said businesses, groups or private citizens can still sign up to adopt a family or individual for the Christmas season.

“Just things like a coffee maker or an iron, any type of household item will help,” Davis said. “Cleaning supplies are also needed. Sometimes we’ll have people drop off a laundry basket full of them and that’s just great. We try to see to the children first, but it’s nice to be able to have something for the people who are living alone as well.”

Anyone who would like to help the New Britain Police Department with the families they adopt can contact Baden at (860) 826-3008. To adopt a family by providing holiday gifts and a meal, call the Friendship Service Center at (860) 612-0220.