Best Homeless Service Bridgeport Near Me

4worldlovers: Bridgeport Rescue Mission demonstrates the love of God to the hungry, homeless, and addicted. Our goal is to help people achieve what they were designed by God to achieve.

“I was lucky to still be alive… I had to change.”

4worldlovers: Norwalk, Conn. – Fairfield County and the city of Norwalk were hailed as an example to the rest of Connecticut during Opening Doors Fairfield County’s roundtable discussion on Monday.

The event gathered local and regional advocates and experts, landlords, and state-wide leaders to discuss trends in housing and services to the homeless, the successes Connecticut has made in this area, and examine obstacles to truly ending homelessness in Fairfield County.

“I am grateful so many people came out to dive into this important issue. By coming together to share best practices we can learn from one another, implement strategies that have proven effective, and end homelessness state-wide. At the end of the day, it’s about people,” said ODFC Co-Chair Cheryl Bell.

Norwalk’s system of care for those facing housing insecurity and homelessness begins with identifying people experiencing or approaching homelessness and diverting them to housing options like family or friends. There are crisis beds available for those who need immediate assistance, and financial counseling at the city’s shelter, Open Doors, to help with economic education and employment. The Norwalk Housing Authority has also created more mixed-income housing, providing affordable units in Fairfield County, which has the lowest rental vacancy in the nation, and incentives to landlords to participate in Section Eight housing.

Because of these systems, Norwalk’s successes in moving toward eradicating homelessness in the city include no households experiencing chronic homelessness, which is being without housing for at least a year, and the number of people experiencing homelessness is steadily decreasing.

“The ability to end homelessness is in our grasp,” said Norwalk Mayor Harry Rilling.

In addition to local leaders, attendees heard from Connecticut Department of Housing Commissioner Seila Mosquera-Bruno; HUD Regional Administrator, New England Region, Juana Matias; US Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH) Senior Regional Advisor Nichele Carver; Office of the Secretary of HUD Senior Advisor for Housing & Services Richard Cho; and Westport First Selectwoman Jennifer Tooker.

“What Fairfield County does really well, is using every tool in its toolkit to serve as many people as possible. It is important to educate your legislators and policymakers about what you do and why the funding is so important. It’s time to pull out all the stops to end homelessness for everyone,” said Senior Advisor for Housing & Services Richard Cho.

4worldlovers:
The Alpha Community Services YMCA, a Bridgeport area pioneer in providing services dedicated to the homeless, has been a branch of the Central Connecticut Coast YMCA since 1992. The Alpha Community Services Y has grown and expanded its services, striving to provide not just temporary shelter but also a path to a better life for those experiencing homelessness – managing the largest family emergency shelter in Connecticut and providing supportive services to over 400 clients each year.

For information about Alpha Community Services YMCA programs and services please take a look at our recent newsletters:

Alpha Community Services YMCA offers services to clients referred by Connecticut’s statewide system for addressing chronic homelessness, the Coordinated Access Network (CAN). Through CAN referrals, Alpha Community Services Y provides Family Navigation; Emergency Shelter focused on families; Permanent Supportive Housing; Supportive Services to Veteran Families and also has been instrumental in creating and sustaining the Bridgeport Housing First Collaborative. All services include Case Management enriched through partnerships with a variety of community organizations. Also provided are specialized services to clients facing housing insecurity, as such, complies with all applicable privacy and confidentiality standards, including but not limited to, those of HUD, DOH, DMHAS, and HMIS.

If you are currently homeless and seeking services, please call 2-1-1.

Alpha Community Services YMCA provides case management services to all its clients. Case Managers provide support and crisis intervention for the clients. They link residents, both adult and youth, to mental health, substance abuse, employment, medical resources, educational opportunities and other services in the community. Case Managers assist families in the path of self-sufficiency.

In addition to offering support services through the case management model, the Y has developed its own programs for its clients: Workshops for Effective Parenting Skills, STD/HIV prevention, Dental Hygiene, Health and Wellness, Job Readiness, Eviction Prevention, and Financial Planning, among others.

4worldlovers:
The Thomas Merton Center is committed to providing a loving, safe and hope-filled community atmosphere that responds to the needs of its guests. Respecting the dignity of each person, we reflect to the individual and the community our shared responsibility to love and support one another. We believe the sharing of a hot meal is an invitation to come in and share in a place where one can belong; respect and love are mutually given and received; each person is valued and not to be judged; and healing life’s hurts is possible with people who care. Collaboration with other agencies and people is essential to meeting the needs of those we serve.

Meal Program: We serve about 350 meals every day for breakfast and lunch.

Shower Program: Our showers are open to guests twice a week.

Mail Program: This program provides an address for guests to receive Social Security, Medical Cards, and EBT Cards.

Eat Smart Marketplace: The Eat Smart Marketplace is our Food Pantry that provides 5 days of nutritious meals every week!

Case Management: Case managers provide individual assistance and partner with other agencies based on guests’ needs.

With our partners, the Catholic Charities Thomas Merton Family Center will provide wraparound services to our guests, helping them along their path to self-sufficiency in a newly renovated 13,000 square foot building at 1406 State Street in the heart of Bridgeport.

Registration for Eat Smart Food Pantry requires ID for each household member, age and proof of address.