Deborah Jimenez, 44, and her partner have two well-cared for huskies and a cat. They keep them fenced in, in their room at a former Days Inn hotel, which is now a 24-hour homeless shelter on Foxon Boulevard.
Getting her pets there hasn鈥檛 been easy for Jimenez.
鈥淚 had so many anxieties and worries about what was going to happen with the staff when we showed up with them and they've been like so great with us,鈥� Jimenez said.
Jimenez was anxious because her pets are normally not allowed at many homeless shelters in the New Haven area. But the former Days Inn location does allow pets because it鈥檚 a non-congregate shelter.
People have their own rooms, which gives a greater sense of privacy and allows singles and couples to live under the same roof. It鈥檚 the first of its kind in the city.
New Haven Mayor Justin Elicker, a Democrat, said the hotel is a temporary solution at best, pointing to a lack of affordable housing in the area.
Jimenez for now, is just relieved she can stay here.
鈥淕etting the help right now is really important," she said. "Now I can focus on my mental health, so I can go back to seeing my therapist. I can focus on school better.鈥�
Cleaning solution wafted through the lobby, construction workers still setting up rooms. People started moving into the shelter during December. Construction is expected to finish by mid-January.
Elicker, who spoke at a conference celebrating the shelter on Wednesday, said it's going to bridge a gap.
鈥淚t is our largest at scale, it can house 110 individuals, and what I think is particularly exciting for us about the hotel model is that it is non-congregate,鈥� Elicker said.
The shelter also has laundry facilities and will eventually have a space for meal preparation.
It cost around $6.9 million to buy the hotel in September, as the city struggled to find accommodations for homeless people. City Engineer Giovanni Zinn gave a tour of the still in progress shelter, showing off completed rooms as Jimenez walked with local media.
Jimenez has good reason to feel optimistic. Patti Walker, the executive director and CEO of Continuum of Care, said the shelter is different from most since others aren鈥檛 open 24 hours, meaning people need to leave by the morning and essentially fend for themselves. But people can actually live at the new shelter.
Walker said residents will only leave when they鈥檙e ready.
鈥淭hey will leave here when they are assigned to and have secured permanent supportive housing,鈥� Walker said.
The shelter is not a first-come-first-serve facility, people wishing to get a room need to contact 211 to be placed for consideration.
There are still many more who need help said Margaret LeFever, The Greater New Haven Coordinated Access Network Senior Manager at United Way of Greater New Haven.
鈥淥ur most recent count this week shows we still have 207 individuals unsheltered in the greater New Haven community,鈥� LeFever said.
Men, she said, vastly outnumber women on the shelter waitlist. Couples, she said, have a longer wait time for shelter.
But while people are getting help, Elicker said the only real long-term solution is to expand affordable housing. Jimenez herself pointedly said she is pursuing a graduate degree in counseling and yet, still struggled to fend for herself.
Elicker said the city has a 2% housing vacancy rate.
鈥淭he issue is not around homelessness, the solution, the pathway is to have many, many affordable units online,鈥� Elicker said.
