Storm Shelter Crew Swings Into Action

Ginnette Magro and her husband normally sleep on the New Haven Green. With a tropical storm predicted to be on its way, they made other plans. Quick.

They were among the first arrivals at an emergency shelter the city and the Red Cross set up at Career High School Saturday evening to prepare for the arrival of Tropical Storm Henri.

Thirty-seven people had found refuge at Career High School by noon on Sunday, including a reunited couple and a stranded commuter.

The shelter was one of four evacuation shelters set up by the city in anticipation of Tropical Storm Henri. In addition to the Career shelter at 140 Legion Ave., there are shelters at Nathan Hale School at 480 Townsend Ave., Jepson School at 15 Lexington Ave., and King-Robinson School at 150 Fournier St. As of 2:15 p.m. only two people had arrived at the latter three shelters, which will close by 7 p.m., according to city emergency management chief Rick Fontana. The storm ended up switching course and largely bypassing New Haven; the Career shelter is scheduled to remain open Sunday night and close Monday morning.

Magro on Satruday heard about the shelter from a friend, who had heard about it from the Downtown Evening Soup Kitchen’s drop-in center, she said.

When she arrived, Magro received a bag of toiletries, including a washcloth, tissues, soap, a toothbrush and toothpaste, and a razor. She had a bacon, egg, and cheese sandwich for breakfast and snacked on some Oreos. She had a good night’s rest in the school’s gymnasium, she said, where a grid of cots and blankets had been set up.

“I kind of want to go out,” she said. The storm hadn’t quite arrived yet, and she mused that she might try and find some coffee. ​“I’m not used to staying put.”

Shelter Supervisor Al Sokaitis from the Red Cross has experience running emergency shelters across the country. The pandemic has added a new twist to the job: on Sunday morning, he found himself giving occasional reminders to lift face masks above the nose. Everyone so far has been good about masking to prevent viral spread, he said.

Sokaitis led a team of around half a dozen Medical Reserve and Red Cross volunteers, who signed newcomers in, distributed snacks, and checked in every so often about supplies the shelter needed: more blankets, lunches, some coffee.

“It’s been kind of quiet so far,” said volunteer Aaron Troncoso. He said he expected that when the storm worsens, the shelter will get busier.

Helen and Anthony, a couple who declined to provide their last names, had been separated for a day, anxious and uncertain of where to find one another, until they ultimately found one another at Career.

The pair, who have been married for 12 years, recently lost their home. They both landed in the hospital for addiction-related symptoms. They were discharged separately with no cell phone or means of contacting each other, they said.

Anthony had been discharged first, on Saturday.

“I had been trying to get in touch with her,” he said. ​“I walked around all night.”

Helen was discharged on Sunday morning. ​“I felt very lost and alone,” she said. The hospital had sent her to the shelter in a cab early on Sunday.

When she walked into the shelter, she saw Anthony.

“There was a halo around him,” she said.

It happened to be Helen’s 61st birthday. ​“This was my birthday present,” she said, nearly in tears.

For now, the couple said they are resting and trying to make a plan to reach a rehab center in Stonington. They sipped coffee provided by the shelter (“light and sweet,” Helen said).

Jacqueline Thomas had been halfway on her way to work at Amazon’s North Haven warehouse when she realized she had no way of getting there, she said. She had taken the train to New Haven from Bridgeport and waited for her usual bus to arrive at Union Station before realizing that bus service had been canceled. A police officer drove her to the shelter that morning. Thomas said she’s been figuring out where to go next with her sister.

The shelter volunteers have been kind, Thomas said. She was nervous about sleeping in the communal room, so she napped near the volunteers by the school’s entrance. Since waking up, Thomas sought out a low-sodium snack. She has been thinking about her two birds, Angel and Precious, and her cat (simply named ​“Cat”) at home in Bridgeport.

As she spoke, a young boy approached the volunteers curiously. ​“Where’s mama?” he asked. Soon after a volunteer rushed over, he and his mother had found each other.

School staff have also been helping to keep the shelter running.

Radcliffe Deroche, an Eco-Urban Pioneers building-maintenance supervisor contracted with New Haven Public Schools, had a long day ahead of him.

His shift began at 8 a.m. and will end at midnight. He and his colleagues have been setting up cots, ensuring that the doors are unlocked, and keeping the building running.

Meanwhile, he was thinking about his home on Ellsworth Avenue and his mother, who lives in the Hill. He was keeping his fingers crossed that the storm won’t affect them severely.

This is Deroche’s first time working at a weather-induced shelter, but he’s no stranger to transforming school buildings into safe spaces in emergencies. When Covid first arrived in New Haven, he set up a similar emergency shelter space at Career.

“If we can do that during Covid,” he said, ​“this is a walk in the park.”