The Beth-El Center in Milford broke ground Monday on a new homeless shelter that will provide around-the-clock care.
The shelter will include 12 emergency beds, 10 emergency units for families and 15 permanent supportive housing units.
While the new building won’t be a large increase in bed capacity, other services available will be greatly expanded, according to Executive Director Jennifer Paradis.
“The big shift that happens in this building is the model around these units and these various stages and levels of intervention around the homeless response system,” Paradis said. “We've scaled up housing on the back end to make sure there's a place for people to go as they come in and they intake.”
The facility will also include a community kitchen, life skills training, continuing education programs and workforce development.
Community members will be able to drop in any time for assistance. Currently, Beth-El only has 24-hour operations during the winter months, when the Center’s cold weather shelter is operative.
“[It’s] not a super increase to the volume of people that we're serving by bed size, but a whole different modality in approaching to homelessness,” Paradis said.
The expansion is five years in the making and the commencement of work comes on the heels of assaults against the city’s unhoused residents.
The attacks included rocks thrown at tents and one person was harmed by an attacker on a motorcycle.
Police are still investigating, but have identified several suspects and are raising the urgency of the incidents to the level of hate crimes as swastikas were spraypainted near the attacked encampment.
The exciting day coming right after a series of bad days is reassurance the shelter is making a positive change, Paradis said.
“Today is just a reminder that we are all responsible for the community that we create, and we're doing our best to create one that we want to be a part of, as well as ensuring that that says the same and speaks the same to our unhoused neighbors,” Paradis said.
The attacks show the importance of spaces for homeless community members to gather, according to Rep. Rosa DeLauro.
“The displays of violence are proof of the important roles like Beth-El Center play in our lives and the lives of our community,” DeLauro said.
Construction will cost about $16 million, with $15 million coming from the state Department of Housing (DOH). The new facility is expected to be ready in about a year and a half.
