City Council bails out nonprofit

The Shelton City Council on Feb. 18 voted to grant Community Lifeline $20,000 after the nonprofit that operates the downtown homeless shelter lost access to grant money when its bookkeeper departed with passwords.

The loss of access to the money has prevented employees from getting paid, and triggered notices threatening the shutdown of utilities because of unpaid bills.

The action was a last-minute addition to the council’s meeting agenda. The council voted 4-2 for the grant, with Mayor Eric Onisko and council members Tom Gilmore, Miguel Gutierrez and Melissa Stearns voting for it and Deputy Mayor Sharon Schirman and council member George Blush voting against it; council member Lyndsey Sapp wasn’t at the meeting.

Before the council voted, 12 people stepped up to the mic in support of Community Lifeline. Most are former residents of the homeless shelter or case workers at the shelter.

Erin Martinache, president and board chair of Community Lifeline, told the council a departing bookkeeper left with the password to access and draw money from a grant. Community Lifeline has not been able to draw on the grant since Nov. 31.

“We’re a pay period behind in our pay … If we don’t get help, we might not be able to get out of this hole,” she said.

During the past few weeks of frigid conditions, the shelter opened its doors during the day as a cold weather shelter. Feeding people and staffing the building around the clock strained the nonprofits’ resources, Martinache said.

Martinache said the shelter costs about $40,000 a month to operate, about $27,000 in salaries. Members of the board of directors are not paid, she said.

Monthly expenses include about $4,000 for utilities, $1,000 for garbage, $1,200 for water and sewer and $1,500 for insurance. Community Lifeline receives about $2,400 a month in grants and about $5,000 a month in donations, she said.

With the grant, “We won’t be panicked and not getting shutoff notices for garbage and power,” she said.

“I think it’s a public benefit to help out … $200,000 is a small amount,” Onisko said. He later added, “It’s a small price to keep 35, 50 people inside at night.”

“We’re not really talking about tomorrow,” the mayor said. “We’re talking about today.”

In voting no, Blush said, “I don’t see a path forward” for the agency.

Aaron Meyers, a case worker at Community Lifeline, said the council chambers was filled with people who are “success stories” for the shelter.

Jeremiah Roberts said he was homeless a year ago when he met Meyers and received guidance and resources to improve his life.

“If it wasn’t for Community Lifeline, I’d probably still be on the streets … All it took was someone believing in me,” he said.

Andrew Freeman said he spent 18 months at the shelter after he became homeless. That stability allowed him to keep his job, and Community Lifeline helped find a place to rent, he said.

Downtown business owner Dean Jewett told the council loaning money to the nonprofit was “throwing good money after bad.” He said he commended the agency “for what you do,” but the shelter is at a poor location amongst downtown businesses. Jewett said he would support the establishment of a mitigation site for the homeless outside downtown.

Moments after the vote, Martinache told the Journal, “It’s a relief that we can pay our employees and catch up.”