House
Republican Press Release
January 30,
2009
Press
Office: 860-240-8700
Grant will Help Fund
Renovations to Homeless Shelter’s Kitchen, Bathrooms
A $135,000
grant approved by the State Bond Commission for the St. Vincent DePaul Mission
of Waterbury will enable the organization to move ahead with long-delayed code
renovations to the kitchen and bathrooms of its homeless shelter at 114 Benedict Street, state Representative Selim Noujaim said today.
The bond
commission approved the grant at its regular monthly meeting Friday, January 30th
at the Legislative Office Building in Hartford.
“Finally it
happened! The St. Vincent DePaul Mission has helped hundreds of homeless Waterbury residents who needed a place to stay, especially during the winter when many are
at risk of hypothermia,” said Representative Noujaim, R-Waterbury. “As a
legislator who appreciates the work the St. Vincent DePaul Mission does, I have
been working with Governor Rell’s office, Department of Social Services
officials, the Office of Policy and Management, and other local legislators for
several months to secure this grant. I’d like to thank Governor Rell and the
bond commission for their strong support for this funding.”
“We’re very
thankful to Governor Rell, the Department of Social Services, the Office of
Policy and Management, Representative Noujaim, state Senator Joan Hartley, and Waterbury’s entire legislative delegation for their strong support for this project,” said
Paul Iadarola, the mission’s executive director. “We have been averaging 117 to
120 people almost every night this winter, especially when temperatures have
dropped below freezing. Our bathroom facilities are in disrepair and have been
hard-pressed to handle the increase in the number of people who have been
seeking shelter over the past several weeks. The renovations this grant will
make possible will enable us to continue serving Waterbury’s homeless
population for years to come.”
“We will be
enlarging the kitchen to allow us to install a three-bay sink and a hand wash
sink. The upgrades to the shelter’s five bathrooms include the replacement of
showers and floor tiles with material and equipment that will require less
frequent maintenance and repair,” Mr. Iadarola said.
Because of increases in the cost of labor, material and
equipment, the $135,000 grant is unlikely to cover the entire cost of the
renovations. For that reason, the St. Vincent DePaul Mission will be holding
fund-raisers and seeking contributions to cover any additional expenses it may
incur to complete the project, Mr. Iadarola said.
