New Haven shelter closing raises questions

On Mon., Sept. 15, the Yale Hunger and Homelessness Action Project (YHHAP) delivered a letter to University President Richard Levin, imploring Yale to keep Crown Street Overflow Shelter open until an alternative shelter location can be found. The shelter is situated on property which Yale purchased this summer.

"With new welfare cutbacks, many more people have recently been faced with homelessness, and attendance at local shelters and soup kitchens has nearly doubled. The close of the Crown Street shelter will have a dramatically adverse affect, particularly as the winter approaches," YHHAP political action co-chair, Nicole Tuchinda, MC '99, said.

The former Crown Street shelter, owned by West Haven developer Edward Granfield but leased by the city, was shut down this summer when Yale purchased the property on July 31. Designed to accommodate overflow from the privately-funded Immanuel Baptist and Columbus House shelters during the winter months, the shelter had beds for 75 single men. But because the city only leased the property for five months a year, the owner sought a more permanent tenant. Granfield said that he sold the site to Yale after other shelters and the city decided not to purchase it.

However, city officials contend that Granfield never approached them about purchasing the property. Instead, according to Alma Ayala, the city's human resources administrator, Granfield offered the city an extended 12 month lease. Since the shelter does not operate year-round, the city rejected the longer lease.

Concerned about the shelter's closure is We the People, a community advocacy group composed of individuals who are or have been homeless. "With the winter nearing, I fear that many of the men who used to frequent the shelter will now be forced to sleep outside in the cold or in abandoned buildings," active member Andrew Levels said. "In terms of homelessness, hunger, and welfare, the city of New Haven tends always to place profit ahead of human lives."

Levels is angered that the city has been slow to find a new shelter. In the past, the Crown Street shelter opened by November or December, and Levels doubts that the city will have found a new site by then. "We the People has repeatedly petitioned City Hall and put a great deal of pressure on city officials to expedite the search for a new shelter since June, but our efforts have largely been ignored," he said.

Ayala denies that the city has ignored We the People's calls to action. She stated that two undisclosed sites are under review, and expressed confidence that there will be a new shelter in operation for the winter. And if no site is found, Ayala said that the city will attempt to lease the old shelter from Yale. "There has been no displacement of homeless people because the sale of the shelter was negotiated after it had closed for the summer, and at this time of year, the shelter would ordinarily not be open anyway," she said.

In the meantime, YHHAP monitors the city's response and encourages Yale's involvement. "While it is the direct obligation of the city of New Haven to establish a new homeless shelter, Yale nevertheless has a moral obligation to fulfill and...should aid in this process," Deborah Dinner, CC '98, YHHAP political action co-chair, said.

This week, YHHAP held a meeting with Michael Morand, assistant secretary for education and human development in Yale's Office of New Haven Affairs, to discuss Yale's involvement. According to Dinner, Morand said that Yale might accommodate the shelter if no new site is found and agreed that Yale should assume some responsibility for relocating the shelter. The site now lies vacant while the University designs its conversion to an arts facility.

As the winter months draw near, it's clear that some alternative needs to be found to keep the homeless people who used the shelter from being left out in the cold.

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