As severely cold weather strikes, shelters across Connecticut are staying open for longer to deal with the increase in homeless people in the state.
In Eastern Connecticut at The Windham Region No Freeze Project, the nonprofit will be extending their operating hours from evening to daytime to help those in need of somewhere to stay.
Avery Lenhart is the executive director of Windham No Freeze and said it’s something they’re happy to do, despite the added financial and staffing pressure it will put on them.
“The state has issued a cold weather order which means they’re asking us to stay open for 24 hours, which of course we’re more than willing to do and we’re happy to do it, but they don’t give us any funding to do that," Lenhart said. "So, its challenging for us. We try to put extra money for this kind of event in our staffing budget for the year just to make sure you know we have this.”
Lenhart added that since the ending of the COVID housing eviction moratorium they have seen a big increase in people who have become homeless including those who are employed and senior citizens who are unable to pay their increased rent.
The Windham No Freeze Project shelter can be found at 433 Valley Street in Willimantic.
