With winter fast approaching, homelessness is becoming an increasingly dangerous condition for hundreds of people in Middletown.
Shelters and aid groups throughout the city are scrambling to accommodate a homeless population on inadequate resources.
In 1999, a study conducted by Wesleyan Professor of Sociology Rob Rosenthal and 16 sociology majors found that there are an estimated 401 homeless people in Middlesex County on any given night.
But Rosenthal is quick to point out that no homeless count is definitive.
“Homeless people are always hidden,” Rosenthal said . “But this is a very good count.”
With 12 or so local agencies and organizations that provide services for the homeless—including the American Red Cross, Amazing Grace Food Pantry, The Connection, Inc., St. Vincent DePaul Place and Shepard’s Place—there is still a great deal of need.
The Eddy Center, an emergency shelter service and an alternative-incarceration program for people who have recently been released from jail. can house up 32 individuals at one time. Guests stay for no longer than 30 days during which time they receive a variety of in-house services.
“They work on an Action Plan upon arrival with a case worker,” said Shelter Coordinator Tanya Tolson. “Together they try to come up with measurable goals and also referrals. Some referrals are for [future] employment and others are to substance abuse programs.”
But there is a demand for more space and more beds, Tolson admitted.
“This year we saw an increase in the number of people who come to us,” she said. “We [can] only take Middletown residents.”
Those who stay in Middletown’s shelters come from throughout the state to find refuge.
“Other [local] areas do not have shelters,” Rosenthal said, citing Durham as an example of a county without a homeless shelter.
Peter Harding of St. Vincent DePaul Place recently launched the “Families Feed Families” program, in which families provide staple foods to the Amazing Grace Food Pantry, which then distributes food to families in need. This ensures that there will be reliable amount of food for the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays.
Members of the Wesleyan community are also helping the city meet the needs of the homelessness.
Each spring, Rosenthal conducts a community research seminar with 16 sociology majors. Local agencies and organizations offer research proposals, of which four get selected by an advisory council for the seminar student to work on.
The Middletown Supportive Housing Coalition (MSHC) uses the homeless count obtained by Rosenthal and his students in its proposals for Housing and Urban Development grants.
“Now [Wesleyan] is more involved in a more helpful way…[that is] not paternalistic,” Rosenthal said. “Even in the seminar, we don’t determine the projects, we try to respond to what the community needs.”
Wesleyan is also participating in upcoming clothing and food drives, two of which are for the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays.
“We wan to help bulk up resources,” Gates said.
Collections boxes will be set-up around the campus at Olin, Weshop and at the CFA. All collections will go to the Amazing Grace Food Pantry.
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