On July 29, the United Way of Greater Waterbury presented a $45,000 check to CHD’s Hospitality Center in Waterbury, CT, in support of the Homeworks Program at the Center, which combines vocational training with housing support, with the goal of providing clients with a pathway to economic independence.
The Hospitality Center is a haven where people who are in recovery, unhoused, or just in need of basic services are able to obtain clothing for colder months, take a hot shower, and receive vital social services from case managers. The Center also partners with a soup kitchen/food pantry next door.
Homeworks is a collaboration that was piloted by the Northwest Regional Workforce Investment Board (NRWIB) and CHD four years ago. “By addressing the immediate need for a safe, secure environment, through short term rental assistance provided by the City of Waterbury, individuals are able to focus on building skills that will help them to live independently in the community,” said Paul Tang, program director of CHD’s Adult Mental Health-Connecticut.
The United Way of Greater Waterbury provides funding for CHD staff to provide case management to people in the Homeworks program. Case managers also provide clients with vocational referrals. CHD oversees the rental assistance portion of the program as well.
CHD has a host of landlords willing to work with Homeworks program participants, including 18 participants who live in the same building that houses the Hospitality Center. Those 18 residents live in the building’s second, third, and fourth floors—six on each floor. “We have three floors, with two apartments on each floor, and each apartment has three bedrooms,” said Heather Foster, assistant program director of CHD Adult Mental Health-Connecticut. “The residents in each apartment have a shared living room, a common bathroom, and kitchen. Each resident has a key to their own personal bedroom.”
In the year-long program, during the first six months, the clients’ housing is subsidized, while they receive intensive case management, attend job training, and apply for positions. “They also attend financial education literacy workshops,” said Kay Mello, director of community impact at the United Way of Greater Waterbury. “Financial literacy is a huge component of this. It’s a very holistic approach.” The workshops educate them on the importance of budgeting and saving so that they can build up the equivalent of first month’s rent and security deposit.
In the second six months, half of the clients’ rent is subsidized once they are employed.
Clients meet with their Homeworks staff at least once a week to review individual treatment plans, and they also work directly with his or her vocational counselor to discuss their Housing, Employment, and Learning Plan (HELP).
The Homeworks idea came from a US Conference on Mayors meeting, during which attendees heard about a program in Honolulu called Rent to Work. NRWIB Executive Director Cathy Awwad wanted to replicate this program in Waterbury to get homeless families into housing and provide an aggressive employment and training component to keep them there.
“Having the Hospitality Center in the same building as the apartments creates a sense of community and reminds participants that they’re not alone,” said Genny Fonesca, COO of the NRWIB. “That does so much for people whose self-esteem has been worn down by circumstance.”