New Homeless Hospitality Center Is A Model For The State

The long-awaited new facility for the Homeless Hospitality Center in New London opened yesterday in grand style.

State and local elected officials from New London and surrounding towns, New London Mayor Daryl Justin Finizio, State Sen. Andrea Stillman, and Connecticut Governor Dannel P. Malloy stood alongside members of the clergy from all denominations, Homeless Hospitality Center staff and volunteers, and the people they serve to mark the official opening of the new 30-bed facility. 

"There are about 4,500 homeless people in Connecticut on any given day," said Gov. Malloy. "I think we've done too little to address this issue for the past 20 years." 

Given the number of homeless people in the state, a 30-bed facility sounds like a fairly modest proposal. But the new Homeless Hospitality Center (HHC) is much more than an emergency shelter that offers a bed for the night. The new $1.2 million facility is being hailed as a model for the state because it offers a whole range of services, all aimed at helping people become self-sufficient so they can move from the shelter into homes of their own. 

"The goal is not just to provide services and relief but to set them on a path," said Mayor Finizio.

Most significantly, the new location has allowed HHC to partner with Community Health Center Inc. to provide onsite healthcare and a seven- to eight-bed respite center to give people who are released from hospital a place to recuperate in peace and under medical supervision.  

"This is so very important," said Sen. Stillman. "We know the trials and tribulations of trying to resolve this problem. We have so many vulnerable residents. There are homeless amongst all of us and now they will have a place to go [that will] hopefully lift them up."

Kasey Harding, Community Health Center's program director of integrated care for special populations said people who are homeless, or at risk of being homeless, will have access to health services on a regular basis at HHC, plus dental services twice a year. 

"It's like a one-stop shop," said Mary McGrattan, manager of the medical respite center. "It's a new idea." The goal is to provide health care to this medically vulnerable population so they don't have to keep returning to the emergency room.  

Eva is one of the guests served by HHC who has medical needs. "I've been on the streets for three years," she said. Disabled and unable to work, Eva depends on the services provided by HHC. 

In terms of beds provided, the new shelter is smaller than the current one at St. James Episcopal Church in New London—although the City Council has given it permission to expand to accommodate 50 beds in emergency situations. However, the new facilities, including new showers, far surpass what the center now offers. The shelter will open to guests in mid-November. 

"It's going to be tight but it's beautiful," said Eva. "It's going to be helpful for a lot of us." 

For Homeless Hospitality Center Executive Director Cathy Zall, this day has been a long time coming. HHC had tried to establish a new facility in two previous locations, both of which were rejected by New London Planning and Zoning. The Saints Peter & Paul Polish National Catholic Church at 730 State Pier Road was the third time that proved to be the charm. 

Transforming the church and rectory was a real community effort that involved a lot of fundraising. The state provided a $500,000 grant, $100,000 came from Frank Loomis Palmer Fund, $200,000 was provided by other foundations and from the estate of Father Emmett Jarrett, and the rest was raised through public donations. 

Being able to consolidate the shelter at St. James and the daytime services offered at All Souls Church in one location and establishing a community health center are the two big new developments, Zall said, that will enable HHC to better serve the population and help people find their way home.