New Milford’s community care coordinator connects people to services
NEW MILFORD — Since he was hired in 2019, Justin Cullmer, New Milford’s community care coordinator, has helped find housing for the chronically homeless.
“The individuals that we talk about, that you see in movies or TV that are sitting on a street corner and have been homeless for months and years. Luckily enough in New Milford, we do not have that population. We used to and we don’t,” said Cullmer, who is employed by the town and offers all his services for free.
Cullmer’s role has evolved into keeping people in their homes — permanently. Toward that end, he helps people find jobs and stay sober.
He does that by connecting individuals to resources — both locally and regionally. He helps streamline the process and point them to the specific services they need.
Cullmer works with The Housing Collective , which operates the Coordinated Access Network (CAN) — which is made up of several public and nonprofit agencies.
“So, if we do find someone who's homeless here, we streamline them into the shelter there, because they are a regional shelter,” he said.
Through the Housing Collective, one can take advantage of voucher opportunities.
“If you get a Section 8 housing voucher, the state bases that off of the area in which you live and then you have to find an apartment that is under that threshold so you can afford
it,” Cullmer said. “Stamford and Greenwich are a higher cost of living than New Milford and Litchfield. So, your voucher isn’t worth the same in all areas.”
To help people stay in their homes, Cullmer directs residents to New Milford’s Social Services Department.
Social Services Director Ivana Butera said Cullmer refers people “to connect with the food bank, energy assistance, state programs and any other resource that may be available to them to help their household budget and maintain housing.”
Cullmer helps people
find housing through Catholic Charities and 2-1-1 , which provides a free, 24-hour emergency hotline that links to thousands of local health and human services resources.
Additionally, Cullmer helps young people struggling with stress and anxiety, and has pointed them to the New Milford Youth Agency.
He works closely with the town’s senior population. Jasmin Marie J. Ducusin-Jara, director of the New Milford Senior Center, said the center is in touch with him often, to discuss the best services for seniors who frequent the center.
“We have two senior service advisers here in our senior center. They help to provide resources such as financial help, or help getting housing units expedited for them,” Ducucin-Jara said. “Even if it’s just an individual that needs somewhere to go during the day, we’ll connect them to our lunch service and get some enrichment or socialization” she said.
When it comes to helping people find employment, Cullmer looks for job openings in the area, helps fill out applications, and provides transportation to jobs when needed. On occasion, he establishes
relationships with an individual’s family to better understand ways to help them.
For those struggling with substance abuse, Cullmer provides connections for detox, rehab and sober housing by contacting agencies through the Connecticut Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services.
One person Cullmer helped with housing and sobriety is New Milford’s Bruce Kovacs, 60.
For several years beginning in 2014, Kovacs lived in a tent with friends in an area of town known as Tent City, behind the Big Y Supermarket.
“At first, I lived with my two good friends there and we kept it nice,” Kovacs said. “Then, a lot of people found out about it and a lot of bad eggs came in. The ambulance was coming over every other night because of people overdosing.”
Cullmer approached Kovacs one day and asked him if he needed housing assistance. Using networking connections, Cullmer found Kovacs a bed for detox, rehab services, outpatient counseling and an apratment in town.
Kovachs said his friends from his days in the tent “are now all dead.”
“They didn’t take advantage of what Justin had to offer. I’m incredibly grateful. If it wasn’t for him and the others, I’d be dead, too — plain and simple.”
Through his connections, Cullmer builds a solid team of four or five people that work closely with each individual.
There is no set timeline with regard to how long he works with someone.
“Sometimes it’s a few months. Other times, it's either one phone call or a couple of weeks and then we go from there,” he said.
He said each case is unique.
“There are so many nuances in so many unique parts of everyone's situation that are different, and because of that, we go down different paths,” he said.
He said appreciates the power of collaboration.
“It's just the fact that there are a lot of wonderful professional agencies that have been working in silos for a long time. And I've had to learn to go to that agency and say, ‘Hey, I'm not trying to replace you. I just want to help you do your job better. And if you need any assistance, maybe I can help fill that gap.’ ”