Jennifer Paradis
Homelessness
Jennifer Paradis
The line seemed never-ending. Walkers, wheelchairs, oxygen tanks – and people clutching both those items and their beloved pets and personal items, wrapped in layers, waiting outside. They came to the Beth-El Center’s no freeze program every night, seeking refuge from the biting cold.
We had planned for the season, which runs from November 15 to March 31, expecting to see numbers like last year, a record-breaking year when we served 99 individuals. But what we saw this winter was beyond anything we had imagined: 206 people – and 18 companion animals – turned to us for nightly shelter. Our oldest guest was 81. Several were just 18.
This is what homelessness looks like today, even in Milford.
Nearly 25 percent of our guests had been homeless for over a year. Over 27 percent live with chronic illnesses or physical disabilities. And more than half suffer from severe mental health challenges. This crisis is not limited to urban centers. It’s here, in our towns, among our neighbors.
No-freeze programs are not traditional shelters. They are the emergency rooms of the shelter system – a vital, life-saving resource for people with nowhere else to go. As homelessness across Connecticut increased by 13 percent from 2023 to 2024, warming centers like ours have become the only line of defense for many. When emergency shelter beds fill up –and they always do – unsheltered homelessness rises. And when people are forced to sleep outside in the dead of winter, they die. When they have access to warming centers, they live.
At Beth-El, we see our no freeze program as a beacon of hope. For those who stay with us nightly, we are their temporary home, their first step toward stability. And for our wider community, we’re part of the solution to one of our most difficult and pressing issues.
One donor dropped off socks and said, “I’m so glad you’re here. I feel like I can only do something small to help, but it was 11 degrees this morning – I couldn’t imagine being outside.”
What many don’t realize is that programs like ours not only save lives, they save money. Warming centers reduce the strain on police, fire and emergency medical services. They offer safety and dignity while creating pathways to housing. We don’t manage homelessness – we help solve it.
This year, one in every four people across Connecticut was turned away from a warming center due to a lack of space. But at Beth-El, with appropriate funding levels, trained staff, faith leaders, volunteers and community champions, we turned no one away.
The results speak volumes: over 70 percent of our guests moved on to shelter or permanent housing. With the support of critical state funding, we did our jobs, and amid a growing homelessness crisis, we delivered results.
Now, all of this is at risk.
Funding for cold-weather programs like ours is under threat, as is the critical prevention work that helps people stay housed after they’ve been helped. Without continued support, programs like ours could disappear – just when they are needed most.
We are the last resort. We are the place where people turn when every other door has closed. Without us, there is no refuge.
Jennifer Paradis is the executive director of the Beth-El Center in Milford.