Commission should help homeless voice concerns

By Krishanti Vignarajah

According to Yale Hunger and Homelessness Action Project (YHHAP) Political Action Coordinator Amanda Bell, DC '00, the 29-member Homeless Advisory Commission was created by legislation passed in 1989. It was intended to draw together homeless people, board members of local homeless shelters, and local business people in the hope that they would address the city's homelessness, but representatives were never appointed. A proposal by Alderwoman Rita Krevit, head of the Homeless Select Committee, would reduce the size of the commission to 15 members, making it more likely for the body to be assembled and function effectively.

The commission would allow homeless people to voice concerns about issues that directly affect them. For example, when Yale purchased property that had housed the Immanuel Baptist Winter Overflow Shelter last year, many of New Haven's homeless were forced to seek shelter elsewhere.

"When the shelter shut down, it made it even tougher for people to find a warm place to sleep," Andrew Levels, a member of the homeless activist group We The People, said. As an overflow center located only blocks away from campus on Crown Street, the Immanuel Baptist overflow shelter provided 75 additional beds when winter weather conditions became intolerable and other shelters were full. It was also the only no-fee shelter in the city.

According to Wesley Thorpe, Sr., director of the one remaining standard Immanuel Baptist shelter, Yale bought the property to facilitate the renovation of a neighboring building.

However, since Yale purchased the property several months ago, no signs of renovation have been sighted. Maria Damiani, director of homelessness and special projects in the city's Office of Human Resources, could not specify why Yale had acquired the property.

Thorpe also stated that New Haven representatives approached Yale, requesting that the University lease the property to the city until Yale began its renovation efforts. The temporary lease would have provided the city with additional time to locate and establish an alternate site for New Haven's overflow shelter.

Yale refused the offer, but since the close of the Immanuel Baptist overflow shelter, the city has opened a new shelter on Cedar Street directed by the Columbus House that has helped to meet the needs of the homeless in the region.

YHHAP Co-Coordinator Deborah Dinner, CC '99, believes that had the Homeless Advisory Commission been operating at that time, its members might have been able to offer proposals that would have worked to resolve the issue sooner. She hopes that if the legislation passes and the commission is created, it will "place the voices of the homeless in City Hall."

Back to News...