While smaller municipalities in the state will open warming centers in emergency situations, housing those in need during extreme cold falls largely upon private organizations.
And with an increased need for shelter as the state's homeless population rises, some, including families with small children, are being left out in the cold.
One such independent operation is the Windham Region No Freeze Project, a grassroots organization in the Willimantic section of town that started 20 years ago. It typically provides between 28 and 30 beds at its shelter, which is currently only open between November and April, project director Avery Lenhart said.
The shelter is in the process of working with the state Department of Housing, however, to be open year round.
While Lenhart said her shelter does as much as it can to keep people safe and warm during the winter months, the increased homeless population in the state has led to an influx of need.
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The shelter, which only serves adults, is typically at capacity one or two nights around the end of November.
This winter, however, it was full by mid-November and some people were sleeping in chairs by the end of the month, Lenhart said.
"My staff doesn't want to turn people away at the door," she said, but added that many times, the shelter cannot accept drop-ins because it is full.
Lenhart said there is a "weird misconception" that this winter has been mild because there hasn't been too much snow. Temperatures have consistently fallen well below freezing overnight in the early part of the season, and are expected to continue to drop in January and February.
"Those are typically our worst months," Lenhart said. "The problem is every place is full."
She said that last month there was a week when about 140 people in the eastern Connecticut region were unsheltered overnight.
"That's a lot of people outside," Lenhart said. "A couple of them had minor children."
Similar situation around the state
Bill Turner, the state's director of emergency management, said "ideally, every town would have at least one" warming center.
That is far from the case, however, as there are typically between 30 and 50 warming centers in the state when extreme cold protocols are activated, he said.
"None of them are really state-operated," Turner said. "They're all done at the local level. It's kind of a moving target."
The state provides guidance to municipalities to attempt to identify locations in their town, and then relay which locations are operational to the 211 hotline, he said.
Ideal locations would be those that comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act and already have a generator, so people can come in and warm up, get a cup of coffee, and charge their phones during power outages, Turner said.
He noted that warming centers or cooling centers during extreme heat waves are not designed to be overnight operations like shelters.
Warming centers are rather supposed to be just temporary solutions to get residents out of extreme weather.
Lenhart said that she knows of people who have housing vouchers, but are still unable to find suitable housing because of a lack of supply in the state.
"We have both ends of the system in trouble. We can't move people out of shelter because there isn't enough of available housing," Lenhart said. "We need cold-weather services to be funded by the state."
New Haven's challenge continues
The issue of homelessness has become so widespread that people are turned away from warming centers in New Haven every night, according to Lenny Speiller, a spokesman for Mayor Justin Elicker.
New Haven typically has its warming centers open from Dec. 1 through mid-April, but they've been continuously operating throughout last year to support the homeless population, Speiller said.
There are 107 spaces available in three warming centers in New Haven, along with 50 spaces at a family triage site and seven shelters, Speiller said.
"The warming centers have been at capacity every night since the onset of the colder weather," he said, adding that people are turned away "every night."
The overwhelming homeless population continues despite New Haven buying a hotel in December, increasing its capacity by 110 people across 55 private rooms in the largest shelter in the city.
Smaller towns in the state often lean on neighboring communities for such issues.
Those in the Tolland area facing homelessness must rely largely on the Cornerstone in Vernon, as Tolland does not have its own overnight warming centers, Town Manager Brian Foley said.
Cornerstone operates three shelters in Vernon, accommodating up to 40 people per night. During the winter months, the shelters are expanded to help up to 150 people per night, according to the organization's website.
The supervised shelters provide a warm place to sleep, laundry facilities, and a hot shower for use in emergency situations.
Tolland does, however, open town buildings, such as the senior center or library in emergencies, such as mass power outages, Foley said.
Vernon has a robust history of opening shelters when needed, Town Administrator Michael Purcaro said.
Smaller-scale shelters at town buildings can be utilized with cots and blankets, but those tend not to see much usage, he said.
Vernon is one of a handful of towns that has a regionally designated shelter, with its at the Vernon Center Middle School, which was used during the October snowstorm in 2011.
A large-scale shelter such as that provides a place for people in surrounding communities, as well as their pets, Purcaro said, adding that Cornerstone also "provides a tremendous value to the community."
Because of Vernon's "very robust ability to shelter" those in need during winter months, its shelters do not have to turn people away, he said. "Not every town needs that level, but they need some capability."
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