Connecticut
Opinion: Tiny homes, big potential for CT's homeless
Blue and red lights flashed on the white curtains of the front windows in the darkness of early dawn as I left for my shift at Saint Rafael’s Hospital.
While emergency service vehicles are not uncommon on my downtown block, the square of sidewalk delineated by caution tape was unsettling. Even more so was the body in the center, covered only by a thin, stained white sheet. Based on the contour of the body, I immediately knew who it was: the young man who regularly slept on the stoop of the building next door.
Through the news media following his death, I learned he was a cook and bouncer who lost his job, then his housing during the height of the COVID pandemic. Once living on the streets, he became a recognized advocate for those experiencing homelessness in New Haven. Though there was never a specific cause of death named, the police eventually believed it was secondary to a medical condition.
His story is tragic but not unique: individuals experiencing homelessness die 30 years younger than those of us fortunate enough to have stable shelter. As a primary care physician at Yale New Haven Health, housing instability is as much a detriment towards my patients’ health as any disease.
Rosette Village offered New Haven a solution.
The Rosette Neighborhood Village began in 2022 as a protected space for individuals to set-up tents after the city began bulldozing tent cities throughout New Haven.
In October 2023, the community crowd-funded enough money to build six palette houses to shelter eight individuals; three months later, electricity was installed, allowing for heat, air conditioning, and the ability to power medical devices, such as a CPAP machine.
Unfortunately, despite Mayor Justin Elicker’s quotes that “Ensuring our residents have affordable, safe, and high-quality housing is a top priority,” he has actively attempted to dissolve the community since its inception. In July of this year, the mayor ordered power cut off for the community during a heat wave and issued an eviction declaration for the removal of the tiny houses.
Tiny house and pallet shelter communities for the unhoused have already proved successful in other metropolitan areas such as Madison, WI; Los Angeles, CA; and, Portland, OR as early as 2000. As of 2020, there were 91 tiny house villages, either open or slated to be opened, for those experiencing homelessness. New Haven can be added to this growing list with something as simple as a zoning law protecting these individuals and their homes.
In October of last year, homelessness was declared a state emergency, as it remains in a progressive housing crisis with a 14% yearly increase in the homeless population. In New Haven, 25% of residents live in poverty– 15 percentage-points above Connecticut as a whole. Similar data shows that New Haven apartment rentals and energy utilities cost an average of $750 and $125, respectively, more a month than the national average.
Given the ever-increasing demand, a shelter bed is hard to find in New Haven. Even if more shelter beds were available, it is common sense that a permanent residence, even if tiny, offers multiple benefits when compared to a shelter, such as having a safe place to store belongings, including medications, stay during bad weather (those staying in shelters must leave, with their belongings, during the day) or allowing married couples to make a home together.
Housing and healthcare go hand-in-hand, and when there is not enough housing, as is the case in New Haven, the healthcare system feels the strain.
My colleagues and I have many stories of caring for patients who present to the emergency room for a meal or a place to sleep. This is not a sustainable, nor cost effective way to manage homelessness. However, returning to the streets is not a viable solution, especially as violent crime against unhoused individuals is increasing in New Haven.
Yet, I emphasize again; instead of encouraging a system that has shown to be effective, the City of New Haven is trying to shut down Rosette Village, which would evict eight more individuals, friends, neighbors to the street. While the threat of another heat wave has passed, we all feel the chill of winter approaching and yet, three months later, electricity has yet to be restored.
We may never get Mayor Elicker’s support, but he is not the only person who can address this. To my state congress people and local alders, will you please create legislation that will protect Rosette Village as well as future tiny village efforts which could offer safe and sustainable housing solutions to the nearly 3,500 Connecticut residents experiencing homelessness?
Miranda Savioli M.D. is a physician at Saint Rafael’s Hospital in New Haven.
Florida’s tallest flag pole raises new Stars and Stripes on Independence Day
Florida’s tallest free-standing American flagpole now stands 250 feet tall at Bernice Braden Park in Cape Coral
You might have seen Connecticut’s state flag in government buildings and schools and wondered what the meaning was behind its design.
Adopted by the General Assembly in 1897, the Flag of Connecticut features a navy blue background with a white shield. Three grapevines with purple grapes are on the shield and oak leaves and acorns can be found on the shield’s edge.
Below the shield is a banner which features the phrase “Qui Transtulit Sustinet” written in Latin. According to ConnecticutHistory.org, that phrase translates to “He who transplanted still sustains,” which honors the colonists who moved to the state from England.
Per Encyclopedia Britannica, the three grapevines have two competing interpretations: they represent either the three oldest settlements in the state (Hartford, Wethersfield and Windsor) or the three colonies that merged to form Connecticut (Connecticut Colony, Saybrook Colony and New Haven Colony).
Why is the Connecticut flag blue?
According to ConnecticutHistory.org, the blue comes from Connecticut’s Civil War military flags. During the Civil War, Connecticut regiments had flags featuring blue backgrounds. ConnecticutHistory.org reports that when the legislature adopted an official flag in 1897, they kept the color that military tradition had already established.
Origins of Connecticut’s state flag
Per ConnecticutHistory.org, Connecticut did not have an official state flag until 1897. The site reports that in 1895, the Anna Warner Bailey Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution in Groton pushed for an official flag to display in their new meeting room.
Governor Owen Vincent Coffin introduced a bill on May 29, 1895, which ConnecticutHistory.org says caused the legislature to subsequently form a committee. After several designs were submitted, the Connecticut General Assembly adopted the flag in 1897.
Connecticut’s coat of arms, which includes the shield, grapevines and banner featured on the state flag, was not formally standardized until 1931, according to USASymbol.com. The website also says color standards for the flag came in 1956, when the Secretary of the State’s office developed uniform specifications.
A hit HBO documentary series is looking to Connecticut for stories to feature in its second season.
The show “Neighbors” follows on-going neighbor disputes across the country. The goal of the show is to help neighbors reach a resolution, according to the show’s casting director and executive producer Harleigh Shaw.
“Each story we explore, we spend extensive time with neighbors on both sides to really understand the full context beyond the disputes,” Shaw said.
Producers wanted to share stories in the second season that were based in states that weren’t featured earlier this year in the first season, including Connecticut, Shaw said.
“A lot of the things that we’re most interested in are things that may seem small, but become a bigger issue between the neighbors,” Shaw said. “Anything from disagreements over gardening practices to property lines to noise to dock issues, if it’s a waterfront property. A whole myriad of things. We’re really open to anything.”
However, the show does avoid situations that are violent or dangerous.
Residents from Connecticut looking to participate should be open to third party conflict resolution, according to Shaw.
“Some of the ways that we did that were through mediation,” Shaw said. “That’s a huge one. But there are other things in terms of resources we’d be open to help the neighbors to like help work through the issues.”
Filming will take place throughout the summer and is expected to be completed by the end of September.
The show’s production team is located in New York City and Los Angeles.
“Connecticut has always been really interesting because it’s just a short trip away, and we’re just curious to explore the types of neighbor dynamics that are going on there,” Shaw said.
Connecticut residents who are interested in being on “Neighbors,” can apply at helloneighbortv.com and are encouraged to submit information about themselves as well as their neighbor dispute.
“The neighbor disputes are the entry point for this show, but we’re always also just very interested in inspiring amazing people doing cool stuff,” Shaw said.
“Neighbors” premiered in February and was quickly renewed. The show averages about 3 million viewers per episode.
The show features stories that make viewers laugh and cringe, according to HBO Programming’s Executive Vice President Nina Rosenstein.
“At a time when even the smallest disagreements can spiral out of control, ‘Neighbors’ feels both hilariously absurd and surprisingly relatable,” Rosenstein said. “What makes the show special isn’t just the stories and people they find, but the empathy and humanity they bring to each episode.”
DANBURY, Conn. (WTNH) — Danbury drivers can expect hours-long closures on Sugar Hollow Road early Monday morning after a “serious” crash, according to local police.
Police said the morning crash has caused closures in both directions at the Ridgefield Line (Bennetts Farm Road) and at Miry Brook Road.
The road is expected to close for approximately three to four hours, police said.
Drivers are asked to seek alternate routes, including George Washington Highway and Route 53.
There are no words on injuries.
Additional information was not immediately available.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
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