When there isn't room at a local shelter, some communities have limited funds to put people up in a motel room for a few nights.
Before this winter storm, the state activated its severe cold weather protocol. It’s an effort to make sure no resident is without shelter during a weather emergency.
The protocol went into effect on Monday, and will remain in place until Thursday. During this time, Coordinated Access Networks -- made up of providers in eight regions -- works to identify beds that are available at local homeless shelters.
Kristen Granatek works for the Connecticut Coalition to End Homelessness as its manager of technical assistance and program services. She said that anyone needing help should call 211. From there, individuals or families will be connected with resources in their local area.
"Our beds on a normal day, when it's not an extreme weather situation, are 95 to 105 percent full at any given time," Granatek said. "We simply don’t have enough shelter beds to meet the needs across the state. What happens on days like today, our shelters will expand to meet capacity, simply put up extra cots. They’ll find chairs anyplace that they can to make sure that people aren’t in the cold."
When there isn’t room at a local shelter, Granatek said there are communities that have limited funds to put people up in a motel room for a few nights.
Overall, Granatek said Connecticut’s homelessness numbers are trending downward.
An annual point-in-time count, or a count of sheltered and unsheltered people in Connecticut, was scheduled for Wednesday, but that has been postponed due to the weather.
