On The Homeless Count Trail

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by Melinda Tuhus | Jan 31, 2008 8:12 am

(2) Comments | Commenting has been closed | E-mail the Author

Posted to: Social Services

two%20studying%20map.jpg These were just two of the more than 100 volunteers studying maps of their assigned neighborhoods who fanned out across New Haven Thursday night for an annual homeless count.

The process started at Liberty Safe Haven on State Street. Everyone was divided into teams of three or four, given their maps and a script with which to approach possibly homeless people, and project coordinator Jim Ferrales (pictured) explained the purpose.

“Part of it’s mandated by HUD [federal Department of Housing and Urban Development] when we’re applying for homeless assistance grants. But also, it helps us better coordinate our services. A lot of homeless people end up in jails, emergency rooms. So looking at this data helps us coordinate the services we have within the city to be more effective in serving the homeless.”

The survey asks: “Are you currently without a place to live or sleeping in a place that is not usually meant for sleeping?” Those who are doubled up with family or “couch-hopping” among friends are not considered homeless for the purpose of the count.

Another question asks why the person became homeless and gives the following choices: “rent problems, evicted for a reason other than rent problems, conflict with family or friends, overcrowding, domestic violence, went to prison or jail, went into the hospital, housing condemned, fire, other.”

As one might expect, homeless people on the street don’t always want to be identified as homeless, much less interviewed. (One hundred ten volunteers working in 34 teams found at least 60 people out in the cold during the course of the night, according to this Register report.)

emma%20and%20bill-1.jpg Emma Arons (pictured with fellow team member and driver Bill Heinrichs) helped set up the process. “Technically, we’re supposed to approach every person we see walking down the street, because we don’t want to assume we can tell” who’s homeless and who’s not.

Things didn’t exactly work out that way, as one of our assigned areas was the environs of Southern Connecticut State University, where we saw several people walking. They were all young and had backpacks, and were all walking purposefully, so we didn’t ask them if they were “sleeping in a place not usually meant for sleeping.” At Heinrich’s suggestion, we stopped in on the campus police to ask if they knew of any homeless folks around. The officer in charge told us to check out the area behind some Dumpsters between a dormitory and a woodsy area, but all we found there were three feral cats. The officer also reminisced about a student who once was caught living in a space above a ceiling in one of the campus buildings.

Heinrichs, who is the executive assistant to the executive director of the Housing Authority of New Haven, seemed to know every bench and piece of woods frequented by homeless people in the areas we covered. We drove through parking lots, down walkways probably not even meant for cars, and peered into stands of trees trying to spot campfires (which we never saw).

woman%2C%20bill%20and%20amy.jpg In the second area we covered, between Valley Street and Whalley Avenue, Heinrichs called on an old friend, neighborhood activist Cassandra Lang (pictured on the left, with fourth member of the team, Amy O’Connor, on the right), for advice on where we might find any homeless folks. She suggested the Dunkin Donuts, the laundromat and the 24-hour diner, all on Whalley, as places people go to stay warm. We didn’t find any inside those establishments, although a woman inside the laundromat said she knew many families who were doubled up, whom she considered homeless. Nearby we saw a man standing on the sidewalk with a cane. As soon as we pulled into a parking lot, he began walking the other way. He obviously didn’t want to talk to us, and, since he was holding a cane that could have been used as a weapon, the team decided not to try to approach him.

The third area we hit was Monterey Homes in the Dixwell neighborhood. Bill mentioned that since the place is patrolled by a private security firm, anyone we saw on the streets would likely be a resident or someone visiting a resident. By this time it was about 10 p.m., and, in fact, we didn’t see anyone at all on the streets.

During the three-hour drive through town, the only person a team member actually spoke to (besides Lang and several police officers) was a man waiting for a bus on Fitch Street, who said he was not homeless.

The data, which includes those in shelters, on the street and in hospital emergency departments, will be analyzed at the University of Pennsylvania and won’t be released until March, Ferrales said. He said last year the count turned up 788 homeless people in New Haven.

Comments

posted by: cedarhillresident on January 31, 2008 1:25pm

Don’t forget my area. We have a few guys living the the woods here. One make shift shanty is the side of Indian head. And at some time a tent or two on the mill river.

posted by: motheroftwo on January 31, 2008 1:55pm

Cedarhillresident…..then don’t forget to sign up for the next time. We can always use the extra help. Especially when you know where they are. Like a good neighbor (State Farm) maybe you should gather some information so this person doesn’t have to sleep in the make-shift tents next to the Indian Head.

As a volunteer and a team leader of this project I was a little frustrated to read your comment as this is the volunteers problems and not a national problem. Working with the homeless in the capacity that I do I don’t know one that woke up one morning and said ” Gee, I think I want to give up all that I have and be homeless”, my mission in life is to make sure I can buikd tents in the cedar Hill neighborhood.

CHR be a little more conscience of your comments lately. And make sure you vote on Tuesday because looking at the economy any of us can be homeless!!!!!!!

Respectfully - Mother of 2

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