Tent City on the Green was such a hit last year, raising $42,000 for the city’s overflow homeless shelter, that it’s happening again on Nov. 19 — in a tougher economic climate.
The “Tent City” event last year brought together city leaders, advocates for the homeless, and the homeless themselves to inahabit makeshift dwellings on the Green — and raise money to keep open the Columbus House “overflow shelter” on Cedar Street through the end of winter. (Click here to read about last year’s event.)
This year the effort is being spearheaded by the new city Community Services Administrator, Chisara Asomugha (pictured).
“In the spirit of community engagement, and the success we had last year, the city wanted to do it again,” she said in an interview in her office. “I think the important message here is, not only raising funds to provide shelter services for the homeless, but to recognize that homelessness is not just one particular face.”
Ed Mattison (pictured) agrees. He’s executive director of the South Central Behavioral Health Network, which provides services to those often considered the stereotypical homeless — those dealing with mental illness and/or substance abuse.
Mattison called many of the recently homeless “economic refugees.”
“They’re just people who are down on their luck,” he said. “They’re not mentally ill; they’re not substance abusers. A lot of them are tenants in buildings that were foreclosed on.”
He added that until recent changes in the law, “tenants had no rights” when it came to foreclosure. Mattison is also one of the leaders of a group called Inside at Night, which raises money for shelters.
Asomugha noted that last January, during the annual national homeless count, 677 people — including a growing number of families with children—were found living in New Haven. That’s about double the number of beds available.
At last year’s event, tents sponsored by a myriad of community organizations and agencies dotted the lower Green, some sporting festive signs and some doling out hot cocoa or cider. This year, tents and another kind of “home” will sprout again, under the sponsorship of teams. A tent is $1,000. “Or, for $250 you could sponsor a box,” Asomugha said, “because sometimes we know people aren’t living in tents; they’re living in cardboard boxes.”
The Columbus House overflow homeless shelter reopened for the season on Tuesday. It houses 100 men, and costs about $40,000 a month to operate. Funding is in place through mid-February. The need is to keep it open until April, in accordance with the city’s no-freeze policy.
With a nod to economic reality, Asomugha said her goal this year for the one-night event is $25,000. She noted that other efforts are also underway to raise money for the shelter. “We have some particularly strong advocates who have been working with faith-based communities to help with providing some of that additional support,” she said. “I think it’s wonderful to be able to have everyone involved in the process and recognizing that it’s the community’s issue and we can bring the solution.” She said food and entertainment will spice up the event, and there’ll be speakers, including some homeless residents who will put a human face on the problem.
Asked if it might be easier to raise money for homeless kids than for homeless addicts, Asomugha responded, “It should not be harder to raise money [for any demographic] as long as people recognize that any of us could be homeless. And if one person is homeless it affects the whole community.”
Some of the homeless for whom the fundraiser hopes to provide “three hots and a cot” don’t want to stay in shelters, even in the winter months, said Kenneth Driffin, an outreach case manager with the Columbus House homeless shelter. That includes people camped out in the woods on the edge of New Haven. Click here for a story about that.
They might end up needing indoor beds anyway. Driffin said police have threatened to clear out everyone camped there. Some of them are determined to keep living on their own, even if they have to move their tents.
Checks for the Nov. 19 fundraiser can be made out to the United Way with Tent City in the memo, and sent to United Way, 71 Orange St., New Haven 06510. To get involved, call Asomugha’s office at (203) 946‑7909 or by email.