Shelters near capacity as temperatures drop
BRIDGEPORT — The YMCA’s 24/7 shelter in Bridgeport is almost at capacity, leaving many homeless people with few options to escape the cold weather.
With temperatures recently dipping into the teens and 20s, social workers in Bridgeport told homeless residents to seek shelter at the South End Community Center on Park Avenue. However, that shelter reached capacity on Monday, and was two people short of doing so again as of Tuesday afternoon, said Carmen Colon, who heads the Bridgeport YMCA.
The YMCA’s shelter, which typically runs between mid-November and mid-April, opened about three weeks ago. A housing director with the group running the Prospect House shelter on Prospect Street previously said it had been full since April.
Colon, whose group works together with the shelter, said Prospect House was still at capacity.
Colon said beds become available as people leave or find permanent housing. Even so, on Tuesday the 30-person YMCA shelter was housing 28 people, which is about average, Colon said.
Colon said she expects Gov. Ned Lamont to activate the state’s Severe Cold Weather Protocol, which has included setting up a system to transport homeless people to shelters. But that’s if temperatures continue to drop, she said.
As part of the protocol, some churches will open space for homeless people, she said.
In the meantime, social workers are asking those calling 211 to consider other options, like asking friends or family if they would be willing to offer them a place to stay. Sometimes workers would directly contact family members of a caller to check if they would be willing to house them, Colon said.
In February the Bridgeport Rescue Mission nonprofit opened a five-story building on Park Avenue that offers a free place to stay while residents complete a drug and alcohol recovery program or a job training program that also helps participants find a permanent home.
MaryAnn Gardner, who oversees all the agency’s programs, said on Tuesday her group can accept about 10 more people at the facility. To stay there, though, residents have to adhere to a schedule. A typical day includes attending classes on topics such as business and life skills, and could also include meeting with a case manager or fulfilling doctor’s or court appointments.
Participants are also required to take part in religious activities that include morning prayer and a discussion of Christian scriptures, Gardner said.
“They can opt out by going to a secular program, but we’re not gonna change our programs,” Gardner said. “If you went to a synagogue or a Hebrew school you have to go with what they have, if you go to the mosque, you have to do what they do.”