Harold Gordon, “Hal”, President, CEO and founder of the Holy Comforter- St Cyprian Community Action Group (CAG) died last month from an accidental drowning while working on his yacht in James Creek Marina in Washington, DC. He was getting the “Sassy Too” ready to go out with friends visiting from Kuwait.

That he should die so suddenly seemed unbelievable. He had so many plans for the future, and so involved with so many people, not only his family and friends, but his CAG family of men, women and children whose lives he literally saved.

The enormity of his impact on the Washington D.C. community was evident at his memorial service last month at Holy Comforter- St. Cyprian Church on East Capitol Street, SE. The huge Catholic Church was filled to capacity. Seven priests including four Monsignors presided at the Mass. Former Mayor Marion Barry, DC Council Chairman Vincent Gray and Barbara Wells, wife of Ward 6 Councilman Tommy Wells all spoke at the service. Two gospel choirs sang, and Marcia Holton, Hal’s close friend, touched each of us deeply with a solo of Hal’s favorite hymn “God Is.”

I was not prepared for the testimony given to him that day. As I gazed around the Church, I saw hundreds of people who wept for a man who personally touched their lives. I saw people from my past, I reconnected with old friends and was flooded with memories of the good times I had in the company of a friend of 22 years.  I remembered how he brought out the best in me, how he made me laugh, how he teased me and how he always made time for me, and I, too, wept.

I first met Hal when he was dating my friend Janice Dessaso, who became his wife. I was skeptical about this “smooth operator” who swept her off her feet. But when I witnessed how he dug in his heels and declared his love for Janice to anyone who would listen all doubts dissipated. Hal was introduced to Catholicism through Janice. He loved the fellowship, the deeply spiritual preaching and the toe-tapping and uplifting gospel choir Mass every Sunday at Holy Comforter- St Cyprian (HCSC) Catholic Church.

During the spring of 1988 during Lent, 12 parishioners came together under the direction of pastor Reverend Raymond Kemp to study the teachings of the Bible. We met in Hal and Janice’s basement. When Lent and the classes ended, Hal said, “What do we do now?” The group decided to take religion to the streets through volunteer work in the Capitol Hill community. We established a non-profit organization called CAG. Our outreach program first provided cultural enrichment activities to youth in low-income projects on the Hill. Then, one snowy evening while Hal was walking his dog he noticed the Carriage House at 901 Pennsylvania Ave., SE, which had been abandoned by the District government for years. While trying to clear a path to the door Hal kicked a pile a snow. It moved. He woke up Sam, a homeless man who was sleeping in “blissful inebriation.” “The spirit spoke to me,” said Hal. “If you’re looking for something to do, do it with this man.”

CAG’s mission was significantly broadened because of Hal and his vision to provide a safe haven for the city’s forgotten population by launching a substance abuse prevention and education program. The lack of money in the early days of CAG did not stop Hal Gordon. He used his own money from his job at the Department of Commerce to finance the initial CAG operations, and when he retired in 1990 after 31 years, he used his retirement income to help fund the realization of the CAG dream.

He talked, he witnessed, he listened and he helped people that the community tried to ignore. As former Mayor Marion Barry said, “Hal helped the least, the last and the lost.” Hal did things he didn’t have to do and he did them with passion.

Hal shifted into high gear, raised money and made the Carriage House happen. He also landed in jail trying to help a homeless man. When Janice and his friend Regina bailed him out at 2 AM, he said, “Why did you get me out? I can’t make a statement from the street!” When the Buchanan School on Capitol Hill came up for sale, Hal, not only bid on the building, but also pitched a tent and camped out in front of the school for his cause. He picketed and protested the demolition of the Ellen Wilson low cost housing on Capitol Hill because several of his clients were losing their homes.

Hal could bring stability and balance into other people’s lives because he lived what he preached. “Hal took religion and replaced it with relationship,” said Father Eddie Tolentino, Hal’s friend and former HCSC pastor. Hal knew how to have fun and enjoy life. Perhaps that is the most lasting legacy he could leave for us. Over the years he and Janice hosted the best parties with James Brown tunes shaking the rafters of his basement. Many a friendship was made and romances blossomed on their dance floor.

Hal always made time for his beloved golf and regular poker games with the guys and shared relaxing cruises up the Potomac with his friends on his boat.

CAG has grown from that first group of parishioners with a desire to help the community into an organization with 65 treatment beds for men, 60 for single women, 17 for court referred mothers with 25 more beds for their children and 34 transitional living beds for men. Under Hal’s direction, CAG now employs a staff of 90 psychologists, program managers, licensed clinical social workers, drug counselors, case managers, a nurse, nutritionist, cooks, drivers and monitors.        

While the physical Hal Gordon we knew and loved is gone, his spirit and legacy lives on in CAG, his wife Janice, and all his family and friends.