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Hartford Homeless Shelters Reaching Limit
Shelters Struggling To Accommodate Growing Number Of Homeless
POSTED: 3:05 pm EST November 7, 2008
UPDATED: 10:01 pm EST November 7, 2008
HARTFORD, Conn. – Concerns over homelessness in Hartford grow has the city’s homeless
shelters quickly fill to capacity.
Those running the shelters said they don't know what's going to happen once the weather
colder.
turns
After she lost her job and her apartment in July, Sheliba Jiles said she took her two sons to the
only place they could go: the South Park Inn shelter. She said she’d be on the street if the shelter
wasn’t there.
The South Park Inn is at capacity, officials said, and they have a group that spends the nights
sleeping in chairs in their lobby – and the colder temperatures have yet to settle in.
“We’re virtually full all the time these days and that's been true through the better weather in the
spring when the overflow shelters closed,” said John Ferrucci, of the South Park Inn.
At the Open Hearth shelter, which is also full, officials said they expect to expand their 25-man
capacity to 30 once the temperature drops.
“The biggest need for all of us in Hartford is that there are not sufficient shelter facilities for the
number of people who need help, particularly in the colder months,” said Rebecca Rabinowitz,
CEO of Open Hearth.
City Councilman Larry Deutsch organized a tour of the city's shelters Friday. Whether it’s more
funding or more volunteers, he said he hopes the publicity will lead to more help.
“I think once people become aware of the need, even in hardship, they'll be not only donating
privately but pressing the government to make sure we have enough funding,” he said.
At the House of Bread, officials said that over the last 10 years they’ve gone from serving 7,000
meals a month to 13,000. In recent days, they said, it's gotten noticeably worse.
“What are we going to do with people this year?” Ferrucci asked. “Should we send them to City
Hall or the capitol or call the police, when we end up with 10 or 20 people on our doorstep that we
don't know what to do with?”