Danielson, CT — 2022 —The Cold Weather Overnight Shelter for the Northeast communities opens December 1, 2022. Communities of Putnam, Killingly, Brooklyn, Woodstock, Pomfret, Plainfield, Sterling, and Thompson boosted their capacity to keep the area’s homeless population safe over the winter with the Cold Weather Overnight Shelter (formerly known as the Northeast No Freeze Project). The Access Cold Weather Overnight Shelter (CWOS) is readying for another year and can accommodate 8 guests per night.
Our region faced a looming crisis – how to shelter those experiencing overnight homelessness in northeast Connecticut during the upcoming cold weather months. The Access Emergency Shelter no longer had the capacity to fill this need. So, Access brought together concerned nonprofits, local town governments, faith communities, residents and local businesses to create a northeast Connecticut Overnight Cold-Weather Shelter — a place for people without shelter during the winter to find a safe warm place to sleep. Staffed by Access employees and generous community volunteers, this Shelter has the capacity for up to 8 guests per night. And in addition to providing shelter, Access staff were able to engage many of the guests and help them to quickly find housing through our many programs.
The shelter is located at St. Albans Church’s Rectory on 254 Broad Street. The Shelter can accommodate up to 8 individual men and women per night 7 nights a week from December through March 31 and provides a warm dry place for people without a home to sleep and use bathroom facilities. Families with children will be sent to the Access Emergency Shelter on Reynolds Street. For more information, please contact David Shadbegian, Director – Homeless Shelter Services, at 860-774-4977 ext. 3505.
Guests are allowed to enter the Shelter each night between 8:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m. No guests will be admitted to the Shelter after 10:00 p.m. Guests will be asked to present an ID but will NOT be denied shelter for lack of ID. Guests with felony convictions will be allowed in the Shelter. The Shelter closes each day at 8:00 AM, at which time all guests must leave the property, unless they have an appointment scheduled with an Access staff member helping guests find housing. Each guest is allowed to bring into the Shelter one bag or backpack of personal belongings. No food is allowed in the shelter, the CWOS is simply a warm place for the night.
The Access Community Action Agency is designated by the federal and state government as the anti-poverty agency in northeast Connecticut. Access provides food, affordable housing, job readiness services, and other pathways to economic self-reliance for vulnerable limited-income families and individuals throughout the region. For more information about Access’s services, call (860) 450-7400 in the Willimantic area, (860) 412-1600 in the Danielson area, www.accessagency.org.