On the coldest night of the year...

You can make a difference

As I type this, I’m sitting in front of a warm fire. I just came in from my first shoveling in a quick-hitting snowstorm. In parts of Connecticut, snow is expected to fall as fast as an inch an hour.

We are not getting that here in the southern part of the state, but even with three or four inches, I’ve learned after decades in New England that you don’t wait until the snow ends to start shoveling. You shovel by increments, especially if a cold snap is to follow.

(We once owned a snowblower, but we gave it away because the realtor from whom we bought our Connecticut house down near the shore said, “Oh, it never snows down here.” Joke’s on us! It does snow down here!)

When I was a full-time journalist, I was drawn to writing about symptoms of poverty with the naive notion that if people knew about poverty, they’d act to end it. I started to write a lot about homelessness, and snowstorms took on a different feel. That’s not because I’m holy or anything like it. It’s because I’ve met people who sleep outdoors even in this awful weather. Sometimes, they’re there because their mental health won’t allow them to stay in a shelter and sometimes? There is simply no room for them indoors. Once you learn the names of people living on the streets, “homelessness” stops being theory.

During our current storm, Connecticut’s Gov. Ned Lamont has activated the state’s severe cold weather protocol through Friday. This means that if someone has no shelter and calls 211, that person will get a bed — and a ride to that bed, if necessary.

If only that protocol was the way the system worked no matter the weather.

If only we didn’t need such a protocol at all.

These days, I am on the board of the Connecticut Coalition to End Homelessness, and our state is facing a crisis. After some incredible work providing homes for people who needed them a few years ago, over the past few years we’re seeing more and more people on the street.

This is sad and ironic. Connecticut has a median household income of $91k and change. We are, according to this, the 10th wealthiest state in the union and yet we still have children and families who don’t have beds to call their own. Some find a spot in our impressive shelter system, and some? Sleep outdoors, even in this frigid weather.

During the 2025 legislative session, CCEH is asking the state for $33.5 million for crisis response, eviction prevention, and case management for people who need permanent supportive housing. Whatever your politics (or lack thereof) housing people is cheaper than leaving them on the street, no matter the services, no matter the housing.

Here’s where you can come in. On Feb. 22, CCEH is partnering with the Community Renewal Team for a Hartford walk to raise funds for both organizations. This is part of a national effort, Coldest Night of the Year, that you can learn more about here.

And here is the website for Hartford’s walk.

Please consider joining us for the 2k- or 5k walk through the capital city (you can register to walk here). Or, if walking in the cold isn’t your thing (which might just mean you’re smart), you can donate here, if you’d like. Any amount is appreciated and the money will be put to good use.

There is no good reason for people to be on the streets — no economic reason and certainly no moral one. Whatever Connecticut’s legislators decide, we need to stand in the breach.

Thank you for considering this.