Thresholds: Helping Women And Children Get Back On Their Feet

By Jan Howard

An emergency shelter in Danbury helps area homeless women with children to get on their feet by providing them with temporary housing. While residents of the shelter, the women are assisted with housing, education, employment, and health issues.

Thresholds Emergency Shelter for Women with Children opened in a temporary location on March 17, 1995, in response to a need identified by a Homeless Task Force appointed by Danbury Mayor Gene Eriquez. The previous shelter, operated by the Salvation Army, had closed suddenly on June 1, 1994, leaving a gap in the city’s homeless services network.

Thresholds is a program of Catholic Charities of Fairfield County, Inc. Its corporate office is located in Bridgeport.

“The city came to us because we have a reputation for running things well,” Director of Homeless Services Eileen M. Walsh said.

The goal of the emergency shelter is to provide each resident and her family with the resources necessary to locate permanent housing for a more stable environment. The emphasis is on positive enduring change, not just the immediate benefits of a roof over their heads.

Each resident is supported in gaining skills, confidence, and connection to the community. The shelter provides extensive in-house workshops and mentoring, but its primary focus is to encourage and assist residents in utilizing resources outside the shelter.

Each resident works with a case manager to develop a plan to address specific needs and secure resources that will enable her to leave the shelter and move on to more independent housing. The case manager provides referrals, advocacy, and ongoing coordination with other social, government, and community service agencies.

 “We want to help organize these women to make it out there,” Ms Walsh said.

Thresholds, now located in a large house at 5 Harmony Street, a downtown Danbury residential area, is funded through the Department of Social Services, United Way, a block grant from Danbury, donations, and fundraising.

Ms Walsh gave high praise to the generosity of people in the Danbury area who drop off donations for the shelter. Thresholds’ wish list includes paper supplies, cleaning supplies, non-perishable foods, office supplies, linens, and miscellaneous items, such as brooms, rakes, electric alarm clocks, snow shovels, hedge and branch clippers, vacuum cleaner, lawn mower, and two utility sheds.

Donations of clothing or toys should be directed to The Hope Chest or Salvation Army.

“I am always amazed at the enormity of unsolicited donations,” Ms Walsh said. “The churches are very generous with all of us.”

The seven-bedroom house, which is rented from the Danbury Housing Authority, provides emergency shelter and support services for up to 15 to 21 women and children 24 hours a day, seven days a week, on a first come, first served basis. Referrals come from the Department of Social Service, social service agencies, other shelters, or a family member.

Last year the shelter served 126 women and children.

“We do an assessment when a client first comes here,” Ms Wash said. “We are very thorough as to who benefits from the program.” The client is required to meet with staff prior to admission to discuss, assess, and plan for her immediate needs and those of her children. All shelter residents receive a health screening.

The shelter requires a $50 room deposit. “We’re asking a person to be responsible and pay some part of their way. When they leave, we want the room to be the same as when they came,” Ms Walsh said.

However, if a woman is unable to pay, “We never turn anyone away,” she said.

The state pays for childcare while the women are working or looking for jobs, she said.

“Childcare and transportation are the most difficult issues for women,” Ms Walsh said. “They don’t have the natural support of a family.”

Finding housing that is affordable for their clients once they have jobs is difficult, Ms Walsh said. Many of the women move to Waterbury or New Milford because rental housing in Danbury and surrounding towns is out of their financial reach.

Ms Walsh said many shelters do not offer the level of services Thresholds does. “We help them to get a job or refer them to programs and training, such as to become a certified nursing assistant. We have a computer room upstairs.”

While the shelter is non-denominational, part of its service is to address spirituality, she said. The shelter also collaborates with other agencies that serve women, such as the Women’s Center of Greater Danbury.

The length of stay in the shelter varies, from three to six months, or longer, and follow-up is provided for up to a year after the client leaves the shelter, she said.

There are strict ground rules for living in the shelter. Mothers must be in charge of their children, and there is a six o’clock curfew.

The Thresholds staff works with residents to teach and encourage healthy and effective life skills. They provide hands-on guidance, problem solving, and encouragement to build on each resident’s strengths. They make sure the residents have the basic skills to sustain a home for their children, such as planning and preparing meals, budgeting for and purchasing nutritious foods, caring for physical and emotional needs of themselves and their children, and organizing their time to complete tasks.

“These women have sustained an enormous amount of trauma. Many have been physically and sexually abused, children and mothers,” Ms Walsh said. Despite that, she added, “The atmosphere in the house is pretty positive.

“We assess, we don’t judge. We are women helping women,” she said. “Many of us are single parents ourselves.”

Residents meet weekly to discuss and resolve any house issues, and plan and prepare meals family style. Thresholds purchases all the food so that residents can save their funds toward security deposit, rent, and other housing-related costs to facilitate leaving the shelter.

One resident a week does the cooking, Ms Walsh said, which introduces the residents to various types of ethnic cooking. “There’s education here, too.”

Nightly chores are switched on a weekly basis.

 “They make good friends here,” Ms Walsh said. “The women learn from each other. The things they do for each other are very heart-touching.”

She said the children went trick-or-treating last Halloween for UNICEF. “It’s a way of giving back,” she said. “It’s something I feel strongly about.”

Though the shelter serves the greater Danbury area, Ms Walsh said most of the clients have been from Danbury.

The shelter employs four full-time staff members and ten to 12 part time and per diem employees.

“We’re always looking for a Sunday shift person,” she said.

Ms Walsh said the shelter benefits from the help of many volunteers, such as agencies, businesses, and individuals, from painting rooms to new furniture. Some groups have taken part in the shelter’s adopt-a-room program, and have completely refurbished bedrooms.

Ms Walsh said there is a great need for a longer-term transitional home for women with children. “We’re just putting a Bandaid™ on it,” she said. “They still need support.

“My dream is for a six months to two years transitional home,” she said. “Women and children are a vulnerable, at-risk population that we need to pay attention to. How to we get women to climb out of poverty when they have limited opportunities?”