A place to call home
When Chris lost his job in 2015, he soon found himself unable to pay his rent, and even though he had worked his entire adult life, much of it in the restaurant business, he quickly became homeless.
For over two years, Chris slept outside in a tent, even on the most brutal of winter nights. Without a support system in place, Chris had nowhere else to go, and didn’t know how to access the resources that could have helped him.
Things changed, however, when HHC’s outreach worker found Chris and helped connect him to essential medical care and other services. Eventually, Chris was convinced to come to HHC for shelter, and within a month of his arrival, he had found employment and began working with a case manager to save money and look for a new
apartment.
Less than two months after he first arrived at HHC, Chris moved into his new apartment in downtown New London. When asked about his first night in the new place, Chris expresses how amazing it felt to fall asleep in his own bed, in an apartment that was all his own.
Now that Chris is housed, he continues to work with a visiting nurse to ensure that his health remains stable enough for him to continue to work. He recently got a bike so that he can ride to work and is looking forward to warmer weather so that he can ride more often.
When asked about his experience at HHC, Chris speaks fondly of the staff and volunteers who helped get him back on his feet. “HHC helps you get back in your groove,” he says, referring to all of the ways in which HHC works to empower its guests.
Every day, HHC works with people just like Chris to connect them to the resources they need to move from homelessness into stable housing.