Ximena Solorzano, Staff Photographer

In the wake of a protest calling attention to individuals’ being turned away from shelters and warming centers, Gov. Ned Lamont activated a policy ensuring that anyone in need will be connected to a place to go to, including hotel rooms if necessary.

Last Thursday, a group protesting the city’s homelessness policies claimed that individuals were being turned away from shelters during below-freezing temperatures before pitching a tent inside City Hall. Mayor Justin Elicker responded that nobody would be turned away during “cold weather emergencies.”

“Right now, meteorologists are telling us that this coming week may bring the coldest weather that Connecticut has experienced so far this season, so we want to get the word out that being outdoors in these frigid conditions for extended periods can be dangerous and even life-threatening,” Lamont said in a press release on Sunday. “Shelters and warming centers are available across Connecticut, and transportation can be arranged if needed.

Connecticut’s severe cold weather protocol is activated when the National Weather Service forecasts sustained multi-day single-digit or below-zero temperatures or when it issues watches or warnings with language indicating life-threatening temperatures or wind chills. 

According to the National Weather Service, temperatures this week have dipped as low as six degrees Fahrenheit. Forecasts for the rest of the week project low temperatures as cold as nine degrees. On Wednesday afternoon, Lamont extended the protocol from Friday to noon on Saturday.

The protocol activates a system set up for state agencies and municipalities to coordinate with the 211 hotline of the United Way of Greater New Haven and Connecticut’s network of shelters to make sure that anyone in need will be placed in a shelter and given access to transportation if necessary.

The hotline service also offers hotel arrangements and transportation through ride-sharing services as a last resort if a local coordinated access network is not able to accommodate that person or family. Before shelters make hotel arrangements, they coordinate with others in their region to find space for individuals seeking a warming center or shelter.

For example, the Varick Memorial Center at 242 Dixwell Ave. has reached capacity, but according to Program Manager Shellina Toure, the center has been referring individuals to other local warming centers and shelters, some of which, she added, have recently opened up additional beds.

Toure said that if the network of shelters cannot find a place for someone, they will work with 211 to place that person in a hotel room “so that no one’s left on the street.”

As of Wednesday afternoon, Varick Memorial was referring individuals to Upon this Rock Ministries shelter at 645 Grand Ave., which has been able to take everybody who has come so far, Pastor Valerie Washington said.

Despite this, according to organizers with the United Activists Community Team, a significant group of homeless individuals continues to take shelter in Union Station every night. U-ACT continues to offer these individuals and others facing homelessness warm meals and cold weather gear.

U-ACT also maintains that shelters and warming centers may not be suitable for all individuals, especially those who deal with substance use or who have had prior traumatic experiences in those types of spaces. The group continues to protest the city’s sweeps of homeless encampments, which it feels provide a better environment for some members of the homeless community.

211 provides lists of warming centers, homeless shelters, seasonal No Freeze shelters and homeless drop-in centers in Connecticut on its website.