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Earlier this month, I received a call from Lt. Stokes from Waterbury Police regarding an encampment of ours that has gotten the attention of the Police Chief. He informed me that this location needed to be cleaned up by the end of the week or they would have to come in and clear everyone out. So, I was able to clear out the mess with help from one of our clients and we reached back out to Lt. Stokes to have the refuse team come and gather all of the bags of garbage we brought out. I am hopeful that the continued relationship we have with the Waterbury Police Department will ensure the safety, well-being, and wrap-around support that benefits our clients.  One of the challenges I have faced these past couple months is when we get clients matched to vouchers, we are seeing that it is taking much longer for them to find apartments. This means that our clients have to remain outside in the elements much longer than they had anticipated in the past. Currently, we have 10 of our clients who are matched to a housing voucher and out of those 10, 7 of them have had a voucher longer than 3 months. We are hopeful to see a turn around soon.

February brought along some drastic weather for our clients to endure. Josh and I continue to meet with our clients at least once a week to check in with them, complete required paperwork for housing, and provide necessary supplies for them to be able to survive the winter elements. I continue to see an increase in clients who are willing to enter Detox. In the past, clients would be hesitant to go into a detox facility due to past experiences, struggles with mental health or substances, or even just overall not being 100% ready. Josh and I were able to advocate for and assist in bringing a client to a detox facility in Southern CT. This client has had ongoing struggles with alcohol but with our continued support during the past few months of knowing this individual, they were finally ready to take their step and begin their recovery journey.  As mentioned in the previous blog, our caseload is still increasing due to the shelter being at capacity and no warming centers opening up due to the temperature staying where it has been. Clients are resorting to sleeping in abandoned buildings, tents, or in their cars.

During the frigid month of January, keeping clients warm and dry becomes one of our top priorities. Josh and I are making sure to check in with our clients who are living outside at least once a week if not more. During the winter months we typically give propane tanks for their heaters, more blankets due to theirs being soaked from the weather, and constantly providing additional food and warm clothing. A recent barrier we faced in our work has been obtaining documents such as (Photo ID’s, Birth Certificates, and Social Security Cards) for our clients however lately our clients appear to be more motivated and receptive to the services we offer. Another successful outcome I have seen throughout my work is the number of clients willing to go into Detox. Josh and I have assisted 6 individuals in getting a detox bed. We are hopeful that these individuals will get into long term treatment through the detox facility which will then assist them with housing. One of the challenges I have faced has been the increase in our caseload along with the limited space for these clients to go. We receive many self-referrals in addition to referrals from the CAN and Waterbury PD about individuals who are living outside, in cars or vacant buildings. The local shelter has been at capacity every day for the last few weeks due to the cold weather. Sadly, the governor has only put the “Cold Weather Protocol” into effect once this winter and that was 1/17-1/22. We are finding more and more individuals being stuck outside with no place to go. Even when the warming center was open both the shelter and warming center were at full capacity.

This month, Josh and I have been actively involved in facilitating the admission of three individuals into rehab/detox facilities. The first client, grappling with a profound struggle with alcohol, expressed a sense of urgency seeking help, conveying the sentiment that he felt he was running out of time. Despite our attempts to secure a program through local hospitals proving to be successful we had to explore other avenues. During a recent check in the client indicated the immediate need to go to the emergency room after learning no detox beds were available in the state, yet regrettably he was discharged after a brief stay. Undeterred, upon arriving at the hospital to pick him up, we diligently called the access line multiple times throughout the day. After several hours of persistent efforts, we succeeded in arranging transportation for him to the detox facility he had long sought. In another instance this past week, we received a call from a concerned officer reporting two individuals living along the riverside required relocation. Upon arrival it became apparent that both individuals were facing greater risks than initially presumed. Both clients shared their struggle with substance misuse and urgently appealed for assistance in securing detox beds.

There has been a rapid increase in the number of people living outside in Waterbury. Before Thanksgiving, Josh and I received a call from a client of ours saying that a part of the woods they were staying at was being cut down and that the trees were falling really close to them. We rushed over to find countless trees already knocked down with many being near our clients. In total, we had 10 clients residing in that slab of woods. After trying to plead with the company cutting the trees down to stop, it became apparent that we needed to relocate our clients ASAP. Luckily, in the next day and a half we were able to relocate all 10 of those individuals. Rents in Waterbury are becoming tougher and tougher for our clients to get. There is a big lack of affordable housing and landlords willing to give people with evictions or past convictions a chance. There are more people resorting to living outside due to mental health, substance use, and or just fear of the shelter environment. With this increase there are less and less spaces where these individuals can live until they are matched to housing.

In October, I have been fortunate enough to deliver over 100 sandwiches to clients thanks to the multiple groups and families that provide them to us each month. We were able to meet with members of the Wheeler clinic in Waterbury along with a few homeless response officers from the Waterbury Police Department. There we shared information along with different ideas and strategies on how each individual group can better help the homeless community. Just this month our program has seen over a 30% increase in our caseload. We are starting to see a growing increase of people over 65 years of age who are newly homeless.  Most of these cases the person(s) were living in their residency for over 10 years and due to COVID, landlords have raised the rents of nearly every apartment building in the city.