Reduced Shelter Capacity Presents Concern For New London Homeless Hospitality Center

A reduced capacity at the new site of the New London Homeless Hospitality Center could lead to difficulties in housing the homeless during the winter, the center’s director warned on Monday.

Cathy Zall, executive director of the HHC, said she wanted to bring up the issue with the City Council to allow time to prepare contingency plans to address the problem. HHC is currently working to move into the St. Peter and Paul Polish National Catholic Church on State Pier Road. Renovations are underway and the site is set to open in November.

Zall said the plan calls for the HHC’s daytime operations, currently located on Jay Street, to be combined with an overnight shelter housed in the St. James Episcopal Church. The HHC offices will move into the rectory at the St. Peter and Paul Polish National Catholic Church, with a chapel there continuing to serve the small congregation. The new site will also include an outreach program of the Community Health Center and an eight to 10 bed respite area for residents who are both homeless and sick.

However, Zall said the 25-bed capacity at the new site is only half of what is currently offered at St. James. She said demand for the shelter has not gone down, and that there is a short waiting list even in the warmer months.

“We’re going to have to say, ‘Stay in your car. Stay in your garage,’” said Zall. “We have a huge influx every month, not just from out of the area but New London County.”

The HHC unsuccessfully tried relocating its services to Jefferson Ave. and Federal Street before the Planning and Zoning Commission approved the move to State Pier Road in August of 2011. The goals of the move include concentrating HHC services to avoid duplication and moving services away from the central business district.

The commission did not address the reduction in bed capacity, saying the City Council would have to issue an emergency ordinance on how HHC might exceed capacity to meet its “no freeze” policy. From Nov. 1 to April 1, the shelter does not turn down anyone seeking respite in order to prevent deaths or health issues related to cold weather.

Zall said options to meet the no freeze policy include opening the police station lobby or other municipal buildings to take in the homeless, retaining some beds at St. James, or temporarily increasing the capacity at the new site. Zall said these measures would only be in place during the winter months. She also said she thinks the new site can hold 50 people if bunk beds are used.

Councilor Anthony Nolan asked how the HHC works to provide services without drawing a large homeless population to New London.

“It seems like it’s going to encourage people to come, now that they know there’s this homeless place where they can get these services,” he said.

Zall said people sometimes get stranded in the city and that the center gives priority to people from New London County, buying tickets to bring others back to their hometowns. She said priority is also given to the homeless who are considered more at risk, such as young people and those who are homeless for the first time.

“People are really generally grateful for this,” she said. “We make it sound a little more draconian than it really is.”

Council President Pro Tempore Wade Hyslop thanked Zall for her work with the HHC.

“I encounter many people who are homeless on a daily basis, and I think you’re doing a great service,” he said.

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