By Ken Valenti

WESTPORT–The Homes With Hope (HWH) food pantry opens at 1:30 p.m., but people begin lining up by 8 a.m. for the non-perishables, fresh foods and hygiene items offered to all who arrive, no questions asked about income or need. 

“There’s a line out the door,” said Executive Director Helen McAlinden.

It’s a sign of the times. Homelessness and food insecurity are on the rise, and HWH, based in Westport and serving all of Fairfield County,  is expanding to meet that need as far as it can. But the organization has its own struggles.

To McAlinden, providing food helps to ease the homelessness by preventing it.

“Food has gotten very, very expensive and if you have to pay a lot of money for food and you have to pay a lot of money for utilities and rent or your mortgage, it’s just impossible,” McAlinden said.

Four staffers were hired to operate the pantry to help with the volunteers, McAlinden said. And that’s just one service among a range of programs providing emergency shelter, affordable and supportive housing, mentoring, community service programs and more.

Last year, the organization spent $6.9 million serving 2,195 individuals and families, up from $4.4 million the year before, according to its recently released annual report. It also took in substantially more funds – $8 million up from $5 million. But McAlinden noted that much of the revenue came in federal funds earmarked for renovations at the Gillespie Center – which includes the food pantry – and Susie’s House became a single-room occupancy location. They were not ongoing sources of revenue.

In the annual report, she wrote that “federal funding cuts have created real uncertainty, leaving many of us concerned about how we will continue to serve the growing number of individuals and families facing both housing and food insecurity. Funding from many federal programs has been cut.”

Meanwhile, the organization’s expenses are rising. Insurance is up 30%, McAlinden said.

“It’s getting harder and harder to keep our lights on,” she said in an interview.

Homelessness grew 45% in one year, and more than half of the people entering shelters – 59% — said it was their first time, the HWH report says.

The rise is seen statewide. Connecticut’s annual Point-in-Time count showed 3,847 homeless people in January, the fifth consecutive annual increase. A year earlier, the count was 3,735. The numbers are up from 2021’s recent low of 2,593.

“Each day, more people turn to us for help, and the need continues to rise,” McAlinden wrote in the report, adding, “Homes with Hope is growing to meet that need.”

Carol Martin, executive director of the Westport Housing Authority, sees the urgent need for services, too.

“I’ve actually seen more families living out of their cars than ever before,” she said. To her, HWH is a valuable partner in addressing the issue.

“Homes With Hope is a terrific organization,” she said. “Certainly, Westport is lucky to have them.”

The report includes positive impacts and success stories the HWH helped bring about.

The 18-apartment building at 122 Wilton Road, providing mixed affordable housing, was fully operational in 2025 and fully leased. It now houses 25 adults and 27 children.

Susie’s House provides housing for college students who can’t afford it. Some were sleeping on fellow students’ couches or were simply homeless, McAlinden said. Now, a year after it reopened, “two residents are graduating from Connecticut State Community at Norwalk and preparing for the next chapter of their lives,” HWH Board Chair Rebecca Martin wrote in the report.

“We provide them with transportation, a laptop, a mentor, whatever they need,” McAlinden said.

In other good news:

• The After School Academic Program (ASAP) mentored 10 students, giving them the supports needed to help them “develop the skills they need to be successful at school and in their personal lives,” the report said.

• A woman named Mariah, fleeing an abusive relationship taking one child and pregnant with a second, was able to find housing when HWH helped cover security deposits first for a studio and later two-bedroom apartment. The University of Connecticut graduate with a corporate job, wrote in the annual report, “Homes With Hope didn’t just provide housing assistance – they gave me back my peace of mind. Twice.”
• Travon, a man who lost his job, apartment and car, said that, with HWH’s help, “I was able to regain stability. I have since secured employment, moved into a new apartment, and am now preparing to enter the law enforcement academy as I begin a promising new chapter in my career.”

The report shows that the organization also relies heavily on fundraising. In last year’s budget, $4.8 million came in private donations, up from $3.3 million the year before. 

HWH’s fundraising efforts include the annual comedy night “Stand Up for Homes with Hope.”  This year, Saturday Night Live alumnus Kevin Nealon will be the comic, on Oct. 9 at the Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts at Fairfield University at 8:30 p.m.

For information about sponsorship, click here; for information about tickets, click here.