It's a 'good thing' a community shelter is coming back

By Deborah Rose

“Without a sense of caring, there can be no sense of community.” – Anthony J. D’Angelo

The days are getting shorter and the nights cooler.

And, in recent months, the number of individuals without a roof over their head in town has increased. 

To ensure those who are facing hardships have a safe and warm place to lay their head during the upcoming winter months, the New Milford community has stepped up with a solution.

A new organization, the New Milford Community Shelter, is in the process of being established as a nonprofit. It is a revival of the town’s former winter shelter that ran from 2001-22.

It will operate just as its predecessor did, providing a safe space for those in need to sleep at participating places of worship in New Milford from late November through spring.

“Let’s just do this,” said Arthur Palmer, a longtime former shelter coordinator for the former shelter, of what he and fellow former coordinator Art Hopkins said to each other when the idea of reviving a shelter came about in discussion with town officials.

“Arthur and I talked about it, and we got the rest of band together, so to speak” Palmer said, referring to the men’s recruitment of the majority of the five other original former shelter coordinators. 

While the coordinators will return to head up the shelter, volunteers are needed to stay overnight with shelter guests.

In addition, donations are sought.

A volunteer training session – open to those age 18 and older who are interested in learning more about the shelter in general, or who would like to become a volunteer – will be held Oct. 23 at 7 p.m. at St. John’s Episcopal Church, Whittlesey Avenue. 

“There's no pressure (to volunteer),” Palmer said. “If someone just wants to learn what we are about,” they are welcome.

“I think the shelter resuming their service to the community is a good thing for this winter season, and is very needed,” said Social Services Director Ivana Butera.

“We have seen an uptick of local residents displaced,” she said. “Some have been able to relocate out of town, but some are challenged by the competitive and expensive local rental market, or due to personal issues, remain unsheltered.”

HOW DOES IT WORK?

Guests will line up between 8 and 8:30 p.m. each night outside the designated shelter each month. Doors will open between 8:30 and 9 p.m. 

Guests will be screened before entering – they will be turned away if they are, for example, under the influence or exhibiting inappropriate behavior – and must sign in, and set up their bedding.

Hopkins related that “95 percent of the nights are quiet” because those without shelter “have been out on streets all day long and all they want is to get out of the cold and sleep.”

Guests are woken at 6 a.m. and must leave by 6:30 a.m.

In the past, the shelter could have anywhere between a dozen and 17 guests, especially on extremely cold nights, according to Palmer.

‘IT COULD HAPPEN TO ANYONE'

Palmer pulled back the curtains to expose the reality of a homeless shelter, like the former one in town – that life, human connection, and humor exist, and that they can offer can hope, not just to guests but to those who serve the guests – in his recently published book, “Humor, Humility, Homelessness: Life in a Small Town’s Shelter.” 

The book is based on the journals he kept for 15 years during his time with the former shelter.

He said those who become shelter volunteers beginning this year will interact with individuals that come from different backgrounds and circumstances. He added that not all those who need supportive services, like a shelter, are mentally ill or on drugs.

“They’re human beings,” Palmer said.  

Hopkins addressed the “stigma people have of homelessness. He referred to people who tell him they saw a homeless person out and about, and Hopkins has to clarify, “That person isn’t homeless just because of the way they dress.”

“It’s a humbling experience. We’ve had ex-attorneys, landscapers, contractors, ex-firemen, and school bus drivers” as guests at the former shelter. 

He attributed medical expenses, the economy and unforeseen circumstances as contributing factors to why individuals may need a temporary shelter. “It could happen to anybody,” he said.

“That’s the only saving grace – to get a shelter,” Hopkins summed up.

The shelter will begin in late November at the St. Francis Xavier Church’s Parish Office at 1 Elm St., then move to St. John’s Episcopal Church on Whittlesey Avenue, the First Congregational Church on Main Street, and then back to St. John’s.

St. John’s space provides the most room for the shelter, and has showers available, Palmer related.

“For those already in the shelters in our neighboring communities, their stay is prolonged because it is harder to find a rental, and the shelter waitlists are just getting longer,” Butera explained. “Having a warm place to stay at night is becoming more crucial as the nights are getting colder.”

“I feel grateful for the New Milford shelter committee preparing to reopening their doors and welcoming in our neighbors in need,” she said.

For more information, email communityshelter@gmail.com or call 860-592-0142.