Last Thanksgiving, Wilfredo Gutierrez was in prison for shoplifting. For two Thanksgivings before that, he was on the streets.
This Thanksgiving, he’s living in a spare one-bedroom apartment in West Haven. There’s a little furniture, including a couch his son bought him. Gutierrez has been married twice and has five children.
"On the wall, I have some family pictures," he said. "My ex-wife, my daughter, she’s attending college at Sacramento State."
Gutierrez served six years in the Marines in the 1970s. He spent most of that time stationed at military bases in the south, along with a year in Okinawa, Japan. For nearly 20 years, he worked in the mailroom at a design firm in Wilton. Five years ago, he and his second wife divorced. Around that time, he lost his job and couldn’t afford the mortgage on his house. He lived on the street for two and a half years. He slept in an alcove at the Bridgeport train station.
"I used to jump the wall. That’s where I slept at night," he said. "I used to go to Holiday Inn and get me a tablecloth. That was my blanket at night-time."
He said he was in a bad place. He started stealing food from grocery stores just to have something to eat.
"It’s not fun. Believe me what I’m telling you. Not knowing where you’re gonna get your meal," he said. "And you thinking, 'how I’m going to get it?' You start panhandling. You start taking things that are not yours."
Gutierrez was caught trying to steal a DVD player from Wal-Mart. That’s how he ended up spending last Thanksgiving in prison. When he got out, his son convinced him to call the VA and ask for help, something he said he’d avoided doing for years. In less than a month, the VA had found him an apartment and given him a rent voucher. That was six months ago.
I can recall the day that I got the keys and open those doors. It felt like I hit the jackpot.- Wilfredo Gutierrez
"I can recall the day that I got the keys and open those doors. It felt like I hit the jackpot because I knew that I would not be out on the streets, not knowing when I’m gonna get my next meal," he said. "I know those answers to those questions today."
The VA subsidizes housing for Gutierrez and other veterans indefinitely until their income reaches a certain level. In New Haven County, where Gutierrez lives, that’s just over $30,000 a year.
Gutierrez said right now, he’s grateful to have the basics. His son helps him with the electric bill. He has a warm bed, sweet tea in the fridge, and a CD player in the living room.
"It’s something I didn’t have, and I know that when I wake up in Thanksgiving, I’ll be able to put on music," he said. "If I wanna start hearing Christmas carols, if I wanna go to my bed -- It’s like having a million dollars for me. And I cherish every little thing I have in this apartment."
Gutierrez said he plans to sit at his own kitchen table for Thanksgiving dinner with his son. They’ll eat a turkey dinner, and then head to the living room to watch football.
The Connecticut Department of Housing has placed 650 veterans in permanent homes in the past year, but it estimates there are still 250 who don’t have a place to live. The state’s goal is to find homes for all its homeless veterans by the end of the year.
Earlier this year, Connecticut was the first state to house all of its chronically homeless veterans. Those are veterans with disabilities who have been homeless for at least one year, or have been homeless four times in the past three years.
