WESTPORT – Homes with Hope’s Gillespie Center, Hoskins Place and Susie’s House have become as much a part of the town’s legacy as Staples High School, the Westport Country Playhouse and the Levitt Pavilion.
So, that is why the grand reopening of the emergency homeless shelters complete with a food pantry and community kitchen on Monday, Feb. 10 was something to celebrate for elected officials, town employees and residents alike.
At the shelter’s 45 Jesup Road building Monday Homes with Hope President and CEO Helen McAlinden, Co-chair of the board Becky Martin, First Selectwoman Jennifer Tooker, state Department of Housing Commissioner Seila Mosquera-Bruno and Gov. Ned Lamont lauded the renovations of the shelters and food pantry.
“I love the heart here in Westport,” the governor said. “I think Westport leads by example. We have a real housing shortage in this state.”
He described the need for such services provided by the Gillespie Center, Hoskins Place and Susie’s House, especially at a time when there is big housing shortage. “There’s more demand for housing than ever before that is driving up the price of our housing,” Lamont said. “And when you drive up the price, landlords drive up the rents. And all of sudden people are homeless.”
Martin likened the shelters and food pantry to yet another of the jewels in Westport’s crown.
“Gillespie is our emergency shelter, our community kitchen, our food pantry,” Martin said. “I have always thought this was a jewel in Westport’s crown equal to Staples High School, the playhouse, and now thanks to the state and the town and our staff it sparkles like the jewel that it is. Also, Project Return at Susie’s House will now be a permanent solution to homelessness for six at-risk women.”
After a seven-month hiatus that ended in January, volunteers were back in business at the renovated Gillespie Center 15-bed emergency shelter for single men and the Hoskins Place four-bed emergency shelter for single women providing food and shelter. In the shelters and the attached food pantry, they are serving up meals and providing food to families in need from the pantry.
Specifically, the renovations included bringing Gillespie Center up to code with new safety protocols brought about since the pandemic that includes a new ventilation system, modifications to the men’s and women’s bathrooms to make them ADA-compliant, the addition of an isolation room that will allow ill or compromised clients a safe space and modifications to staff offices to create more space. The food pantry now offers an expanded assortment of fresh fruit and vegetables, eggs, milk, butter and meat and fish.
As for Project Return at Susie’s House at Compo Road North, its updates include four bedrooms on the second floor, two bedrooms on the first floor, communal living spaces and large kitchen. The building is also now ADA-compliant.
At Susie’s House, Project Return provides long-term housing solutions in a safe, stable environment with on-site case management services. Project Return will prioritize at-risk, vulnerable young women aged 18 to 24. Residents are offered at least one-year leases.
McAlinden pointed out that homelessness is not just something that occurs in the inner cities.
“There’s only three affluent towns in the whole of America that have a homeless shelter in their downtown,” McAlinden said. “A lot of affluent downtowns think that the problem of homelessness belongs with the inner city. But if more affluent towns did this – this building is within only a few walking steps of Tiffany’s jewelry store – we wouldn’t have such a big problem with homelessness and housing insecurity.”
Actually, philanthropy helped get the shelter renovations completed when an anonymous donor gave $170,956 to Homes with Hope to fill a funding gap that occurred when bids came in higher than expected, according to a report in the Westport Journal.
The projects were funded by a Connecticut Department of Housing/Small Cities Community Development Block Grant, which included federal funds.
“This building (Gillespie Center and Hoskins Place) has $1.7 million, of which we used federal resources, and Susie’s Houses has $1 million of state funding,” Mosquera-Bruno said.
First Selectwoman Tooker, who has worked closely with Homes with Hope, was proud to deliver a message to the governor and housing commissioner present Monday at the press conference.
“It is a source of great joy and pride for me as the leader of this town to look the governor and the commissioner in the eye and say your money is well spent,” Tooker said.
“Everything Helen (McAlinden) and I work on together. Everything I work on with the board, our leadership team is just amazing. They carry out the work they do with such respect and dignity for their clients and true love for the community.”
Gov. Lamont ended the press conference with a pep talk, of sorts, for Westporters.
“You can tell your neighboring towns what this means for your community,” he said. “A lot of these folks need a helping hand, need a place they can call home. A lot of them are neighbors.
“It represents the best about our heart and Connecticut is all about and what Westport is all about I urge you to tell this story wherever you go.”
