By Robin Moyer Chung

WESTPORT — Gov. Ned Lamont joined a “who’s who” of community and philanthropic leaders Monday at a “rededication celebration” for Homes with Hope and its two freshly renovated shelters, the Gillespie Center and Susie’s House. 

Lamont smiled as he remarked, “I love the heart in Westport,” paying tribute to the town as a welcoming community that also is attentive to its responsibilities.

Seila Mosquera-Bruno, the state’s housing commissioner, agreed. “Everything we work on with Homes with Hope is amazing, there is true love in this community.”

“Creating a welcoming and well-maintained environment within our programs and housing significantly increases residents’ sense of dignity and belonging,” said Helen McAlinden, the president and CEO of Homes with Hope.

“When we invest in making their living spaces comfortable, they are more likely to respect and care for them and feel a better sense of self worth,” she added.

Indeed, current Gillespie resident, Bill, praised the renovated Jesup Road facilities. The elderly man lost his partner, then his home and was forced to live in his car before, “by the grace of God,” he was placed at the Homes with Hope shelter. 

“I’d never lived in a shelter before, so I didn’t know what to expect. It runs like clockwork.” Bill then held out his arms, saying, “I can’t thank the staff enough.”

There is joy for those devoted to the cause of creating spaces for people who need to keep their dignity, whose feelings of being accepted and respected are most critical, but the work is increasingly challenging. 

First Selectwoman Jennifer Tooker agreed. “It’s not easy in the suburbs,” she said, despite the prevailing, and erroneous, impression that homelessness is limited to urban areas.

Westport is one of only three affluent communities in the nation to have a homeless shelter downtown, shoe-horned into a block boasting $75,000 diamond rings, $1,700 hoodie sweaters and $13 greeting cards. 

The space, Gillespie, is small but mighty. The family architecture team, Zeiss (“We’re a mom-and-pop firm”) worked with McAlinden’s team to overhaul and uplift the space to include 15 men’s beds, a separate women’s room for four, and a “mini-room” of three beds for ill residents and those requiring privacy. 

The upper floor is now a neat, polished — and heated — food pantry which, thanks to new refrigerators, affords opportunity and access to nutritious and perishable foodstuffs. The shelves contain everything necessary to make a meal, from onion powder to meats to boxes of candy hearts (treats are also a necessity). 

Personal-care products are now available, such as toilet paper, toothbrushes and soap. A washer/dryer is available to residents, and each person contributes to the shelter’s upkeep.

Susie’s House, formerly Project Return, a home surrounded by recreation fields on Compo Road North, offers six en-suite bedrooms to at-risk women ages 18 to 24. The town turned over management of the property to Homes with Hope under a pact approved in October 2022.

Notably, half of the residents are enrolled in Connecticut State Community College in Norwalk and are offered free transportation to classes. It’s handicap accessible and includes welcoming living spaces.

Susie’s House has an anticipated opening of April 1. 

The two shelters now have a waitlist of 146 individuals, which typically numbers over 300. Many, like Bill, are forced to live in their cars in the interim. 

On hearing this, Lisa Pinney-Keusch, founder and director of Rock the Walls, a resource hub for victims of domestic abuse, nodded her head. “I know families in this area who do not have a home, who are living in their car,” she said. “They need shelter.”

Robin Moyer Chung is a freelance writer.