NEW HAVEN, Conn. — A new program in New Haven is working to provide care to people experiencing homelessness. It’s called One Stop Pop-Up and it offers support in the form of showers, medical care and outreach services.
“Everybody that we have ever spoken to that have gone into our units, the transformation that a shower makes when they come out; the smile on their face; the thank-yous that we get,” said Walter Harris from Power in a Shower.
The idea was born 15 years ago when Harris was purposely homeless in New York City to figure out how to best serve that community.
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Leaders in the Elm City told FOX61 the homeless population has been growing.
“We have over 500 people on our by-name list that are actively homeless. Most recently, this last month there were like over 100 people that were introduced to our system in just the last couple of months,” said Coordinator for Homelessness Velma George.
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Medical services are also available on-site through the Yale Community Health Care Van.
“We treat the uninsured, the undocumented and we address a lot of things. We do syringe exchange. We do substance abuse and mental health counseling,” said Terry Bohonnon, director of the Yale Community Health Care Van.
Another key component is outreach services, like job and housing information.
“We have individuals and families that are out here with section 8 vouchers and other rental subsidies that can’t find suitable units so we’re really appealing to our property owners to give our clients a chance,” said George.
The One Stop Pop-Up sets up every week at three locations:
- Tuesday mornings at the New Haven Green
- Tuesday afternoons at the E.T. Grasso soccer field
- Friday mornings at Una Iglesia Para La Ciudad
Community partners include the Cornell Scott Hill Health Center Street Medicine Team, Liberty Community Services, Power In A Shower, Una Iglesia para la Ciudad, and the Yale Community Health Care Van.
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Angelo Bavaro is an anchor and reporter at FOX61 News. He can be reached at abavaro@fox61.com. Follow him on Facebook and Twitter.
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