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Temporary housing program strained
Associated Press

HARTFORD—They were supposed to stay for only a night or two, but many of the homeless people who have been living at Upper Valley motels as part of an emergency shelter program have nowhere else to go.

The Cold Weather Program, launched this winter by the 10 Bricks Advisory Council, intended to provide a couple of days of housing for people who couldn't get help when local welfare offices were unavailable.

People have ended up staying at the motels as long as seven days because the homeless shelters in the area are full, said Joie Finley Morris, homeless outreach coordinator for the Tri-County Communication Action Program in Berlin, N.H., which established 10 Bricks.

"Every year there's a different trend, and it was 'my bad' thinking we could put people in a motel for two or three nights and then a shelter would open up," Finley Morris said. "That was last year's trend."

Ten Bricks aims in the long term to create a shelter in the Upper Valley for adults without children.

Finley Morris said an adult shelter in the Upper Valley could serve as a center for homeless services, helping people transition to their own housing.

That long-range plan won't help homeless people get through this winter.

The Cold Weather Program, using a $20,000 grant from the Byrne Foundation and another $5,000 from individual donations, has arranged motel rooms, taxi fares and food vouchers for people who need them.

"No one is freezing on our shift," Finley Morris said.

The program housed more than 22 people in motel beds in December, and 10 Bricks officials had planned for that to amount to 40 to 50 bed-nights.

In December, the Cold Weather Program funded 117 bed-nights, and by the end of last week, had provided more than 50 bed-nights for January.

"The Cold Weather plan is working, but because of what we're seeing happening, people are needing more," said Ruth Emery of Lebanon, co-chairwoman of the 10 Bricks council.

"We're putting them up for more nights, and what that's really bringing to our attention is that there's so much need for a permanent shelter."