Connecticut’s homeless population could have fewer options for places to go during the day, and there will likely be more people turned away for overnight shelter this winter, because of a drop in funding for cold weather shelters, nonprofit workers say.
Homelessness service providers predict that shelters will hit capacity across the state, meaning they’ll have to send more people to spend the night in the cold. Some shelters won’t open until later in the year, and there’s less money available for day shelters.
Nonprofit providers got $4.5 million from the state for cold weather services this year, about a 10% cut from last year’s $5 million. The cut to funding comes as the number of people experiencing homelessness has been increasing.
“It is really challenging when our numbers are increasing, and our resources are decreasing,” said Michele Conderino, executive director at nonprofit Open Doors in Norwalk. “We’re just trying to preserve life.”
Homelessness service providers have advocated for increased and annualized cold weather funding from the state for the past couple of legislative sessions, although their requests haven’t been met. Connecticut has used COVID relief money to fund additional shelter beds in the winter, and that money is running out soon.
The most recent census of the state’s homeless population showed that there were just over 3,000 people experiencing homelessness at the start of the year, a 13% increase from January 2023 to January 2024.
As rents are rising, many are facing eviction. Providers say they’ve seen an increase in senior citizens experiencing homelessness and that people are also staying in shelters longer before finding housing.
“The challenge is with the number of people outside. How do we bring them inside?” said Sarah Fox, chief executive officer at the Connecticut Coalition to End Homelessness. “And then, what does that look like? And so, there are not as many resources, and there’s also the fact that you know more people are becoming homeless, or estimated to be becoming homeless, across the state.”
In Fairfield County, this means that cold weather shelters won’t open until Dec. 1. Typically, Fairfield County opens shelters in November, Conderino said.
Matthew Morgan, executive director of Journey Home, said that based on turnaways last year, he expects that the most people turned away in a given night will be around 23 in the Hartford area alone.
He also said that the Greater Hartford region is prioritizing funding requests for overnight shelters rather than day shelters.
Many shelters that operate during the night have people leave in the morning and allow them to return in the evening. People experiencing homelessness have told The Connecticut Mirror that this makes it hard for them to find a place to go during the day.
Day shelters are typically funded through private donations, said Kara Capone, chief executive officer at Community Housing Advocates, which operates a Hartford day shelter.
People often access resources such as showers, laundry facilities and phone charging stations at their shelter, she said. The organization is trying to figure out a way to allow more people into the space, but they’ll need more staff, she said.
“We know there’s going to be an increase in the winter because there always is,” Capone said. “Can we afford to increase staffing to deal with the increased demand?”
When the governor activates a cold weather emergency in the state, there’s additional money available to put people in hotels. Kelly Gonzalez, deputy director at the South Park Inn, which operates an emergency shelter in Hartford, said without that additional money, they often have to turn people away.
She said of the 111 days of winter weather last year, they reached maximum capacity 79 days. It’s particularly difficult on days that aren’t classified as an emergency but have rainy or snowy weather.
“I’m really nervous about this winter,” Gonzalez said. “Because if it’s going to be a lot colder than last winter, there are going to be a lot of people outside.”
In Eastern Connecticut, providers are finalizing their plans for the winter, said Kat Hannah, chief executive officer of the Covenant Shelter in New London.
They’ve been seeking ways to expand the number of beds but struggling because of zoning and building code regulations, she said.
“It’s not the fact that we don’t have space or that community partners don’t want to help,” Hannah said. “It’s about having the space approved.”
Fox said an upcoming legislative agenda could include a request for more money.
“We need a strong system of care that is fully funded, that can support people, and it needs to be supported at all levels of our state,” Fox said. “And we also need to prevent everyone possible from coming into homelessness, if there’s any other way to avoid it.”
Last year, many lawmakers from both sides of the political aisle spoke up about the need for annualized and additional funding for the homelessness response system. But instead of changing the regular budget earlier this year, lawmakers adjusted COVID relief money.
Providers said they’re concerned about what will happen with cold weather funding next year, when the COVID relief money lawmakers have allocated to them for the past couple of years expires.
Steve DiLella, director of the Department of Housing’s Individual and Family Support Programs, said historically, cold weather funding has been provided by municipalities.
That changed during COVID, when the state used Federal Emergency Management Agency money to put people in hotels in an attempt to slow the spread of illness.
He said conversations about future funding will ramp up among lawmakers in the coming months.
“Once the last session ended, we got the money, and our focus has been really on getting that money out into the hands of the providers, which we’ve done,” DiLella said. “And now, as the next session ramps up, I believe those conversations will happen.”
Funding allocations are up to lawmakers, he said. He added that there’s been recognition in the past couple of years about the importance of cold-weather funding.
“Nobody wants to see anybody harmed or even possibly die as a result of this,” he said. “So we do believe in the importance of it, and that’s why we really want to get the funding out as quick as possible, so that we can have our providers do the necessary job that they can to keep people safe.”
Fox said not knowing whether or how much money they’ll have makes it hard for providers to plan year-to-year.
“It’s really hard for providers, year after year, to have these conversations when winter comes every year. The fact that we don’t have ongoing funding for weather emergencies or harsh weather or winter weather, or even really extremely hot weather, is really disconcerting.”
This story was originally published by the Connecticut Mirror.
