West Haven Didn’t Reject The Homeless

(Opinion) This article is in response to this report from Monday about negotiations over housing homeless individuals in a West Haven Best Western.

The most significant public health crisis in more than 95 years has reminded us that the failure to do more to solve homelessness and create more affordable housing properly has now aggravated a public health crisis.

People like those who work to keep a place like Columbus House open are heroes not just today, every day, before the crisis, today and after the crisis. The state workers that negotiated for housing for the homeless, heroes. They are temporarily helping solve a public health crisis.

But during this crisis we should deal in facts. So first some history.

One of the most significant advocates for the homeless ever was born in West Haven: Kip Tiernan (pictured). She founded ​“Rosie’s Place,” the first homeless shelter for women in Boston, and dedicated her life to issues involving homelessness and its root causes.

One measurement that a community is making efforts to combat concerns Conn. Gen. Stat. sec. 30‑g. In only 26 out of 159 towns in the state are more than 10 percent of residential housing units affordable. So says the state of Connecticut. In New Haven almost 32 percent of the units are affordable. An economically desirable figure is between 10 – 20 percent. More than 20 percent is considered a tipping point. Only one community that borders New Haven has more than 10 percent of its units affordable. That would be West Haven at 13.21 percent.

History repeatedly tells us causing concentrations of poor people into cramped and dense living areas causes failure and tremendous social ills. The word ​“ghetto” derives from the area of Venice in the 1500s, where the Jewish population was segregated. Jacob Riis in his work How the Other Half Lives documented the ills of concentrating poverty in one place. The Chicago ​“Gautreaux” project recognized this and made affordable housing in locations of opportunity as a matter of policy. Locally a federal court case required 183 ​“scattered-site units” in New Haven in the early ​‘90s for just this reason.

First point, affordable housing and homelessness go together. Second, the problem of homelessness requires a regional solution. It’s not New Haven’s problem. It’s not West Haven’s problem. It requires a regional solution.

Indeed, West Haven, with the VA within its borders, is second only to New Haven concerning towns that border New Haven, in its support for the homeless. This has been the case a long time. Not doing enough to diminish homelessness has now contributed in a negative way to this public health crisis.

As to the current relocation, it’s odd that you do not wonder out loud, with all the empty hotel and motel space in the area, how West Haven became the location for relocation of the homeless.

History tells us putting 200 poor, homeless people in one concentrated place for a significant length of time will necessarily create certain pressures on local infrastructure.

This case could be one of the first exceptions, but we have to be honest and prepared so that we protect everyone during this public health crisis.

So, as far as I know, Best Western in West Haven is contracting with the state of Connecticut for up to 60 days stay at $100 per room two to a room, 100 rooms for homeless individuals primarily from Columbus House. This is a state project, a state plan, not a New Haven plan, as homelessness is a regional problem. If their stay there results in an unusually high increase in public safety call activity or challenges to public health by violations of social distancing and crowd gathering, then the Best Western or the State of Connecticut may have to pay for additional police, as would any business or night club in West Haven.

If the 60-day stay in uneventful then there is no problem and no need for increased police presence.

Third, the state’s initial problem solving did not include any relief for the public safety issues regarding West Haven’s homeless population. So the state was going to move 200 homeless individuals to West Haven and tell West Haven’s homeless they were out of luck. Mayor Nancy Rossi told state officials that was unacceptable, and the policy now includes West Haven’s homeless for housing.

Fourth, West Haven is a Tier III community, one of two cities in the state and the most fiscally challenged city in the state. Taking state action that likely burdens the community with the least resources needed addressing. The state Office of Policy and Management agreed and will provide sufficient resources to West Haven that this homeless housing in West Haven might cause.

That the Best Western unilaterally created a Boarding/Rooming Housing in violation of local Zoning rules and absent the application for or issuance of a special permit will have to be dealt with.

Again, Columbus House folks are heroes, state employees negotiating housing contracts heroes. However, not the Mayor, not the Public Health Director, not the Chief of Police, not the Emergency Director for the City of West Haven, were ever contacted about this plan. West Haven learned of the plan when two of our first responders who were self isolating were asked to leave the Best Western to make way for the homeless.

To be fair, the state opposed this outcome. But our first responders were in free rooms, and the state was paying cash for the rooms. The state did not intend this outcome, and tried to combat it.

Because of the efforts and demands and questions from the Mayor of West Haven, Nancy Rossi, our Public Health Director, our Chief of Police, our Fire Chiefs and our Emergency Management Director, West Haven now is invited to participate in these plans, West Haven homeless can get housing provided by the state, the state will provide sufficient resources for West Haven to manage this temporary housing situation and there is no plan and no effort by state agencies or actors to ​“move people into permanent housing, rather than back into shelters after they leave hotels.” When the public health crisis ends, and it will, this housing arrangement ends.

The real story is when will we have a true regional solution to this problem where every community steps up to level they are able and provides resources including actual housing units to help with this problem. The best housing solution is housing located in many opportunity zones where those moving to the housing will have greater opportunity for jobs and the housing is not concentrated in one community. This is not about West Haven rejecting homeless people. This is about West Haven making sure its homeless are included in the solution. It’s also about making sure resources are sufficient to ensure this solution does not fail. It needs to succeed for everyone’s health.

Lee Kennedy Tiernan is corporation counsel for the city of West Haven.