New Haven Independent

Collazo, who’s 65, was among dozens of men who filed into the basement of 232 Cedar St. Wednesday, as Columbus House’s overflow shelter opened for the first day this season.

The city, along with a group called Inside at Night, traditionally paid to open the 75-bed facility each year on Oct. 1 for people for whom there was no room at the main Columbus House shelter. But this year city budget cuts delayed the opening. A fervent fundraising effort bailed out the shelter and enabled it to open Wednesday, at least for a few months.

Collazo was glad it did.

“I’m worried, because I don’t have anywhere to sleep,” said the 65-year-old native of Puerto Rico. Collazo said work has been hard to find since he got laid off from his job as a carpenter. He’s been living on Social Security checks, hopping from shelter to shelter for the past eight months.

Collazo also appears to be part of a group Mayor John DeStefano has been targeting: According to court records, Collazo is struggling to get back on his feet after a series of scrapes with the law. Reinaldo Collazo, age 65, has been in and out of the criminal justice system since 1998, for offenses that began with drunken driving and ended in a two-year prison sentence for allegedly endangering a child.

When people get into trouble with the law, they need a stable home in order to get back on their feet and start contributing to society again, noted Heather Calabrese, of United Way of Greater New Haven.

Calabrese was among a crew of non-profit workers who gathered at the shelter to celebrate its opening Wednesday.

Several groups are working to restore funding to homelessness in the wake of government budget cuts. Columbus House took a big hit when the mayor cut $350,000 for homeless services in this year’s budget.

Since then, several non-profits stepped forward to fill the gap. Just last weekend, State Reps. Cam Staples and Pat Dillon held fund-raisers and United Way threw an a capella concert to supported Columbus House. Money has poured in with the help of other groups, including Yale-New Haven Hospital, Yale University, NewAlliance Foundation, Community Foundation for Greater New Haven, Dwight Hall, and the Yale Hunger & Homeless Action Project. In years past, Inside at Night, a volunteer project of Interfaith Cooperative Ministries, has helped the overflow shelter to expand its season to October to May. This year, the shelter is focusing on staying open during the coldest months, from November to April.

Columbus House Executive Director Alison Cunningham has set a goal of raising $100,000 to close a budget.

At this point the organization has enough money to keep the overflow shelter open through the end of February. The shelter is just $40,000 short of being able to open through the end of April, she said.

Donations can be made to United Way, earmarked with the words “Shelter Now.”

“With $40,000 and one month,” said Calabrese, “we’ll have a full winter of warmth and safety for people who would otherwise be sleeping under bridges and on the streets.”

“If times are tough for us, you can imagine what things are like for someone who has to sleep out in this rainy night.”