Standing Firm Again - Homeless Families Find the Strength to Change

Written by Alayna Patterson, Redcross.org

"Home is where the heart is." It sounds clichéd, but for those families who suddenly find themselves without a place to sleep, without a home, the saying takes on a whole new meaning.

The Middlesex County Chapter of the American Red Cross, located in Middletown, CT, is helping these families with some of the most basic of needs. Food, water, shelter, clothing…items often taken for granted. The goal of the Family Shelter and the Transitional Living Program (TLP) is to reach out to families so that becoming homeless is a one-time and fleeting experience. Shelter families find refuge for a three-month period while families in the TLP may stay for up to one year. What makes these programs different from many is the focus on allowing families a sense of independence while also requiring a degree of self-reliance.

Rest, Recover, Regroup
Shelter families stay in 2-bedroom apartments in duplex houses located in a quiet residential neighborhood. Families must purchase and prepare their own food, which fosters budgeting skills. Each apartment is equipped with a phone and each family is responsible for their own job and housing search. They are guided by weekly, even daily, meetings with a case manager. This structure allows families a chance to stay together with a sense of privacy, even sit down together for family meals, without losing sight of the long-term goal: getting back on their feet to stay. They find a safe, comfortable environment in which to regroup and focus on the future.

Families with children that identify themselves as needing more support while transitioning from a shelter may become part of the TLP. Operating since 1997 as a joint venture with the local New Horizons Domestic Violence Shelter, the TLP offers scattered-site transitional housing. Families are required to meet with a case manager on a weekly basis, pay 30 percent of their income for rent and participate in program meetings and training workshops twice monthly. Many families moving from shelters find that they do not have adequate funds to afford housing in the Middletown area. The TLP allows these families time to build up their resources and learn budgeting skills while waiting for subsidized housing.

Staff Commitment
The devotion of shelter staff is best expressed by Shelter Director David Shumway. Shumway describes the plight of a woman with four sons. The mother suffered from a personality disorder, and due to poor housekeeping skills, poor personal hygiene and behavioral problems, the family had been asked to leave several shelters. In fact, they were not allowed back to any shelter in Eastern Connecticut. The American Red Cross was asked to admit them as a last-ditch effort before the Connecticut Department of Children and Families would remove the children permanently from their mother. Determined to find a remedy for the situation, Red Cross staff found medical care for the baby, a job for the 16-year-old and a summer youth program for the 11- and 12-year-olds. A case manager helped the mother learn how to find housing and overcome personal issues. The family recently moved into their own 3-bedroom apartment with the help of a housing subsidy grant.

"What we're really doing is teaching and empowering," said Shumway. Senior case manager Nancy Dowty echoes the sentiment: "It's rewarding to see people find the strength to make positive changes in their lives. However, I don't produce any change in people. My role is to teach families who become homeless how to do the things they need to do for change to happen. I want them to learn these things so they won't become homeless again."

If you would like to learn more about this Homeless Services program, please contact Shelter Director David Shumway at (860) 347-8686 or shumdave@hotmail.com.

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