A New Haven organization that aims to prevent and address youth homelessness was awarded funding by the City of New Haven to expand its existing center.
Youth Continuum in New Haven has been providing services such as street outreach, youth navigation, services for victims of domestic and human trafficking, along with other services for youth ages 12 to 24.
Tim Maguire, the executive director for Youth Continnum, said the discussion to expand their 924 Grand Ave. drop-in center began in 2019 in partnership with Y2Y, an organization out of Boston.
In 2020, they broke ground at 924 Grand Ave., but were forced to stop the project due to the COVID-19 pandemic that brought on issues relating to lack of supplies and material costs rising, according to Maguire.
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Maguire added the largest set back was the request by the CT Department of Housing to redesign the initial design space to include private, isolated areas.
"The initial design had a big congregate room with young people staying in one area. The redesign is some single and double bedrooms, to create isolation possibilities, privacy, distancing should ever again we face an issue where we have to isolate,” Maguire said.
The expanded drop-in center at 924 Grand Ave. will provide 12 beds for youth aged 18 to 24, connect youth to the CAN waitlist, provide youth with basic needs, life skills, intensive crisis intervention, case management and youth-to-youth volunteers.
“The thought was that when the shelter closed in the morning, young people could go downstairs, get their basic needs met, meet staff, get case management and then go into the community, work, school, etc.,” Maguire said.
Maguire added the new design will provide 12 beds on the second floor and 12 spaces in the basement that will eventually serve as a warming center in the winter months.
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Youth Continnum has been providing 12 beds for youth aged 18 to 24 in a temporary space on Valley Street and while the conditions are good, Maguire said the expansion to 924 Grand Ave. is necessary to reach the homeless youth in Connecticut.
“Connecticut is not a right-to-shelter state and so you have to come off a shelter waitlist. As of today, there are 12 young people in this region ages 18 to 24 that are literally homeless waiting for a shelter bed but that doesn’t count the youth who are couch surfing, bouncing around, who are space to space not even on the waitlist of can access a shelter bed," Maguire said.
This week, Youth Continuum was given $500,000 from the city’s American Rescue Plan Act Fund for the project's gap funding, according to Velma George James, the coordinator for homeless services with the City of New Haven.
George James added the New Haven CAN region, which includes 19 municipalities, is seeing an increase in homeless youth.
“As of this past week, we had about 46 youth that were unsheltered. Of those 46 youth, we have 12 that are on a shelter waitlist, we also have 12 in shelter,” George James said.
George James said the upcoming expansion will serve a great benefit to the area.
"They will have shelter services, warming services as well as the case management services, we're also looking to partner with other agencies to create job opportunities, job training for our youth,” George James said.
Maguire added the project has a deficit of $800,000. He said they will be applying for community investment funds to close the gap and are hoping to break ground again in early 2025.
