Dedication set for Saturday in memory of World Trade Center victim.
By: Jennifer Potash
An apartment on Mercer Street to provide temporary housing for homeless families will be dedicated Saturday to the memory of a local victim of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center.
Housing Initiatives of Princeton Inc. will hold a ceremony at 10 a.m. to dedicate the first apartment to be used by homeless families as transitional housing in Princeton.
Located at 11 Mercer St. in Princeton Borough, the apartment is to be dedicated in memory of Tu-Anh Pham, of Princeton Township. Ms. Pham worked for Fred Alger Management at the World Trade Center.
She emigrated from Vietnam as a young adult and received help during her resettlement in the United States from transitional housing assistance similar to that provided by Housing Initiatives of Princeton.
The ceremony, which is open to the public, will include remarks by The Rev. Leslie Smith, rector of Trinity Church, U.S. Rep. Rush Holt (D-12), HomeFront Executive Director Connie Mercer, Princeton Borough Mayor Joseph O’Neill, Mercer County Executive Brian Hughes and Thomas Knobel, widower of Ms. Pham.
Following the dedication and blessing of the apartment, there will be a ribbon cutting, hanging of a memorial plaque and a tour.
The apartment, owned by Trinity Episcopal Church, 33 Mercer St., will provide transitional housing for homeless families under a program administered by Housing Initiatives of Princeton, a coalition of Princeton faith congregations, social- service agencies and individuals.
Current congregation members include the Jewish Center of Princeton, Nassau Presbyterian Church, Princeton Friends Quaker Meeting, Trinity Episcopal Church, Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Princeton and the United Methodist Church of Princeton.
In addition, the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Princeton’s Endowment Committee recently awarded a $10,000 grant to Housing Initiatives of Princeton to assist in the renovation of a second apartment in the 11 Mercer St. property under the same program.
HomeFront, a private social-services agency in Lawrence Township that has 12 years’ experience working with homeless families, will help select eligible families and provide social-worker assistance.
A group of Central Jersey residents also honored Ms. Pham’s memory with their efforts to help renovate the apartment. The work of the group included interior painting, window cleaning and landscaping and was performed under the Unity and Spirit of America program (USA) that seeks to honor each victim of the Sept. 11 attacks with specific service projects across the country. The program is administered by the Points of Light Foundation. More information about the program and about Ms. Pham can be found at the foundation’s Web site, www.pointsoflight.org.
In addition, kitchen appliances were donated by Frigidaire and Mrs. G of Lawrence.