“I ended up homeless unexpectedly and they’ve been a great help,” said Terrence Waite, standing outside Harkness House in New Haven.
The veteran spent nearly 40 years in military service. He hadn’t heard of a lot of veterans’ programs, so he was glad to find Harkness House after his landlord unexpectedly ended his lease.
Now, he has transitional housing while he looks for the next place to call home.
“Oh, I can’t wait. I’m working on it actively now,” Wait said.
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Advocates and supporters of homeless veterans gathered at Harkness House on Davenport Avenue Thursday to celebrate increased federal funding for veterans’ transitional housing programs like Harkness House and Homes for the Brave.
“Getting this rate enhanced again will make roughly a $300,000 increase in our annual revenues to care for these veterans,” Vince Santilli of Homes for the Brave in Bridgeport said.
Leaders of organizations like Santilli’s say the current federal reimbursement rate of about $80 per veteran per day falls short of covering needed social services, clothing and housing.
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“Reimbursement amount covers maybe 60 to 75% of the actual cost of running the program,” Sarah Hoffman, chief development officer of Columbus House, said.
Harkness House is a program of Columbus House. Hoffman said she hopes the increase closes the gap so that they can realign their fundraising efforts.
“And that’s what we’re hoping. That this will allow us to come closer to fully funding the program and free up our time for all the other needs that we have across the organization," Hoffman said.
There is not an exact count of how many homeless veterans are in Connecticut. Some say they are reluctant to come forward.
Senator Richard Blumenthal said it’s a situation that should never happen.
“For one veteran to be homeless is a shame and disgrace for this country," Blumenthal said.
