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City Issues Promise On Overflow Shelter
by Thomas MacMillan | May 31, 2010 11:20 am
(4) Comments | Commenting has been closed | E-mail the Author
Posted to: Housing, Social Services
Spurred by first-term Alderman Mike Jones, City Hall committed to keeping New Haven’s overflow homeless shelter open uninterrupted throughout the year’s coldest six months from now on.
The commitment came on the heels of an amendment Jones (at right in photo) drafted for last week’s budget meeting of the Board of Aldermen.
Jones, who represents Yale campus-encompassing Ward 1, ended up withdrawing it. Nevertheless, the proposal prompted Chisara Asomugha, the city’s head of community services, to issue a memo pledging six months of uninterrupted funding for the overflow shelter over the winter.
Read the memo here.
The Columbus House overflow shelter on Cedar Street has been struggling recently to find the money to stay open. It usually stays open for six months, but this year had to close early.
Jones said his amendment was intended to create a public conversation about the shelter’s need for money. The amendment would have required the city to demonstrate how it planned to allocate homeless shelter funding.
The way the homeless shelter is funded is unsustainable, Jones said, echoing a sentiment expressed by homeless advocates in the city. The shelter has been funded by grants and donations, but that money doesn’t last from year to year. People don’t like to fund projects that will simply shelter people without otherwise changing the conditions of their lives, Jones said.
“There is a limited number of times to keep going back to the well,” he said. He said the city needs to step in and ensure that people are not sleeping out in the cold.
“This problem in New Haven is happening all over the country,” said Ed Mattison, one of the principals at Inside At Night, an organization that raises money for homeless shelters.
“Winter overflow shelters are all put together with Scotch tape,” Mattison said. They stay open by cobbling together grants and donations from many sources.
Jones said he withdrew his amendment before Thursday’s Board of Aldermen meeting because he “wasn’t sure if it was overkill,” and also wasn’t sure if the budget would pass.
In her memo on Thursday, Asomugha wrote that it was a response to Jones’ proposed amendment: “This memo attempts to address the concerns of the maker of the amendment calling for a plan as it relates to homelessness expenditures.”
In order to address “the increasing need to provide shelter during the winter months,” Asomugha outlines a “cold weather mitigation plan.” The plan states that the overflow shelter will operate for six months, from Nov. 1 to April 30, and that “Current funds to service providers will be reallocated to ensure that the Overflow Shelter will provide shelter without interruption during the six month period.”
The memo does not change overall homelessness services funding levels for the coming year. Asomugha warns that “the plan will mean that local shelter providers could receive less funding this year than originally appropriated.”
Mattison said city shelters will still need to work to raise money. “We don’t want the city to have to take money from other programs,” he said.
Jones called the memo’s plan “a good first step.” He said he’d still like to see “a public conversation” about funding for homeless shelters. He said he’d also like to see “a plan with dollars and cents,” something that expresses a firm, quantifiable funding commitment from the city.
Jones said he’s been working on the homelessness issue because of a personal interest in the subject and because it’s important to a lot of Yale students. “It’s something that a lot of people care about,” he said. “I represent those people.”
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Comments
posted by: No advancement on May 31, 2010 4:21pm
Isn’t this like robbing Peter to pay Paul? The city is basically saying that it will not do any fundraising this year, but will instead dip into its coffers to keep the shelter open and then give less money to non-profit organizations who work with the homeless. Which means less services overall for the homeless. I don’t understand how this is a better plan than raising additional monies to keep the shelter open. This sounds like spin to appease a novice Alderman.
posted by: Noelle on June 1, 2010 5:43am
Our overflow shelters should have substantial support from the state and from the surrounding communities. This isn’t just about New Haven residents becoming homeless; we serve homeless populations from throughout the region.
posted by: Been There, Done That on June 1, 2010 7:54am
More double talk, and a committment made without the funds to support it. Is this what they mean by innovated based budgeting? Knee jerk reaction to the BOA action, crisis resolved for now, maybe there’ll be some other crisis that will overshadow this during the winter. This is leadership?
posted by: Priorities? on June 2, 2010 5:45am
Does anyone else find it odd that the Yale Education short timers (Jones and Elicker) choose to slash education funding in an odd effort to balance the budget while finding ways to lobby for creating offices of sustainability, increase the budget of virtually every City Department and push $1M for homeless shelters. ... Cutting education in an urban environment only destines the need to fund homeless shelters and police support. They fail to recognize that they are funding the end result of their warped priorities on the front end.
