Fishermen's Wives to close office after funding is cut State funds cut to Fishermen'
By Gail McCarthy
Staff Writer - Gloucester Daily Times
The Gloucester Fishermen's Wives Association is about to undergo major changes as it is forced to close its office doors on the Jodrey State Fish Pier after its state funding was cut in half.
The organization serves as a clearinghouse for multiple purposes, including providing resources or referrals for fishermen and giving moral support to families of fishermen lost at sea. They advocate for the fishing industry on both the state and national level.
Just this week, the Gloucester Fishermen's Wives Association served as a conduit for state funds and wrote checks to 177 fishermen who qualified for economic relief under a piece of legislation to mitigate the effects of fishing regulations.
But the Fishermen's Wives soon will need to start cleaning out the office unless the organization can come up with the $25,000 it lost in state funding. The organization is sending out about 1,000 fund-raising letters to its roughly 145 members, members of the fishing community and many others.
Angela Sanfilippo, president of the organization, said for the past three years, the Gloucester Fishermen's Wives Association received $50,000 from the state, with most of the money spent on rent, utilities, insurance and salaries.
"These are hard times and we don't know what to expect in the new year. The Fishermen's Wives will get $12,500 from the grant but the state talks of even more funding cuts," said Sanfilippo.
This time of year, the office is usually busy with calls from fishermen and their families seeking help. During a one-hour interview yesterday afternoon, Sanfilippo was handed three telephone messages from people needing assistance.
The Gloucester Fishermen's Wives Association has been housed at 11-15 Parker St. since 1994.
"This office is in a great place, near to the boats and centrally located," said Susan Pollack, a member and volunteer.
Pollack also noted that it was an idea of the Fishermen's Wives for a national health care program for fishermen that led to the formation of the Massachusetts Fishermen's Partnership.
"We've always worked to be there for the community but unfortunately we aren't going to be here," Sanfilippo said while sitting at a table stuffing envelopes. "But the organization won't die because we will carry on somehow. But we are heart broken by this."
The Gloucester Fishermen's Wives, which will celebrate 40 years of service next year, has helped thousands of fishermen, their wives and children, and widows. The organization also receives hundreds of referrals from other agencies who are trying to help residents in need.
"In our work we try to help before people fall off the edge," Sanfilippo said. "It's easier to help someone before the situation gets desperate because then it's very difficult to help when people's morale is very low and their problems are deeper. "
They may help a fishermen get trained or retrained for a new job, help them get an education, cheer them on when they pass their captain's test or hold the hand of a wife who may never see her husband again.
"If someone from Alaska calls who wants to come here and fish we help them, and vice versa, if someone here wants to go elsewhere to fish," Sanfilippo said.
The members of the Fishermen's Wives hope to find a new space at a low-cost rent. Many members volunteer and will continue to do so.
Nina Groppo, a member of the board of directors for decades, said not all is lost.
"We're not going to let the Gloucester Fishermen's Wives die. It may go back to a home, but that would be hard because we have so many archives now, and this is where people stop by. It's an icon that should remain. It's a part of Gloucester that should not disappear," Groppo said.
Sanfilippo recalled how the Fishermen's Wives ran its association out of kitchens for 25 years before it organized more formally. But returning to a house would be a difficult move in a more modern era. The group has an office equipped with computers and files of legal documents that need a new home, or else go into storage when the group moves out.
"If we don't find a place in a couple of weeks we need to make some decisions about how and where to store the legal files and other equipment," she said.
