What was once a Days Inn motel in New Haven, where the rooms were once rented by the night, now has a bit more stability. It opened on Saturday as home to several people who were living without one.
“We’ve been here since Saturday, and if I can compare it to the other shelter we were referred to, this is 100 times better. It’s very accommodating,” said Debra Jimenez.
She became homeless in February, and she and her partner and pets were all turned away from a previous shelter. The Albertus Magnus College graduate student was living in a shed.
“This is what one paycheck away from homelessness would look like. Homelessness today isn’t the same as it was in the 80s. You have people with full-time jobs, they have a vehicle,” said Jimenez said.
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The 55 rooms are being turned over into non-congregate shelter spaces for up to 110 people. Couples and families often run into gender and pet restrictions at other shelters. The city purchased the motel this fall as an alternative, offering individual spaces for couples and families.
Jimenez is among eight people living here now. And more will find a home here as rooms are finished.
“So, we as a community feel that it’s important for us to step up and do as much as we possibly can to help people get on their feet,” said New Haven Mayor Justin Elicker. “Get some housing first, but in the long term, have a long-term, sustainable path to permanent housing,”
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The center will be run by Continuum, an organization that specializes in mental health, substance use treatment and housing support.
They will offer several community resources while people have a place to stay.
“We’re going to have an onsite clinician here, access to nursing services, and we’ll be utilizing our expertise in crisis services to meet the needs to all of those coming through those doors,” said John Labieniec of Continuum. “Our decades of service has taught us something that’s not really rocket science. When you treat people with respect, kindness and dignity and provide an environment that promotes their wellbeing, they’re more likely to accept and receive help.”
The new space was called a creative solution Wednesday by local officials, hours after state lawmakers and housing advocates gathered in Hartford and called for $20 million in the next session to help house 1,000 people across the state.
“With families facing skyrocketing rent and seniors being forced out of their housing,” described Sarah Fox, of the Connecticut Coalition to End Homelessness.
They say it will take $300 million to truly make a difference in communities across the state.
“Buildings were offered to us, we’ve talked about many buildings, they’ve fallen through because we didn’t have the money to put the deposit on it,” said Rep. Jay Case.
Back in New Haven, there is a waiting list for shelter beds across the city, including at the new center. And while there was a celebration Wednesday, city and state leaders say the answer is more affordable housing.
Because of the housing market, many people who find themselves in homeless shelters have housing vouchers that go unused because they can’t find a home that falls within the voucher’s price range.
“We have $45.8 million or the system. But what we really are working on is producing more housing because housing is the answer. We need more housing,” Connecticut Department of Housing Commissioner Seila Mosquera-Bruno said at the unveiling who said there are 4,000 affordable housing units under construction statewide.
“There’s a lot of different things that I think we all need to be doing to expand access to affordable housing,” Elicker said. “I think the state and the city, and our suburban friends all need to do a lot more in this area.”
