The Yale Street Supportive Housing Project
with a ribbon-cutting ceremony

Bridgeport, CT, January 18, 2007—The Center for Women and Families of Eastern Fairfield County and Mutual Housing Association (MHA) of Southwestern Connecticut celebrated the opening of The Yale Street Supportive Housing Project with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on January 18.

MHA is the developer, owner, and property manager of the three-family home at 33 Yale Street. The Center, through grants and donations, raised over $150,000 to help fund the development and furnishing of the units. The City of Bridgeport, in demonstrating their continued commitment to Bridgeport’s Ten-Year Plan to End Homelessness, invested approximately $200,000 in US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) funding to complete the substantial renovation of the Yale Street property. The City played a prominent role in creating the Ten-Year Plan, co-chaired by Mayor John M. Fabrizi. By facilitating effective developer/service provider partnerships, the City has been able to contribute to the goal of creating new units of permanent, affordable supportive housing, a proven solution to ending homelessness. The City also contributed funding through its Lead-Free Families Initiative.

The first three families to be housed at 33 Yale Street are from The Center’s Beyond Shelter Program, which provides services to assist homeless individuals and/or families who are leaving homeless shelters and transitional living programs, including victims of domestic violence, to achieve housing stability. Beyond Shelter staff members provide case management and supportive services to help the families with budgeting, landlord/tenant issues, and any short-term problems that could impact their ability to obtain or maintain housing. Rents are being established on a case-by-case basis, with the goal of capping rents at 30% of family income.

“Finding safe, affordable rental housing in the Bridgeport area is one of the biggest challenges facing the community,” said Kristine Hazzard, The Center’s president/CEO. “This partnership with MHA provides us with an ideal way to help at least three families begin to rebuild stable, safe, and healthy lives.” … more

33 Yale Street opening/page 2

During the ceremony, Mayor Fabrizi commented, “The Yale Street supportive housing project contributes to Bridgeport’s Ten-Year Plan to End Homelessness by providing a permanent home to families coming from a shelter program. This plan has an ambitious goal and we are accomplishing our benchmark of creating 1,261 new units of permanent affordable housing over ten years. By strategically investing our HUD dollars, other sources of funding and community support were leveraged to make this development a reality.”

The development was a true community effort, with employees from the City of Bridgeport working on the exterior during the United Way Day of Caring. About 50 individuals and organizations donated time, money, and/or services to the project, which received additional major grants from the Frederick H. Leonhardt Fund of New York Community Trust, Melville Charitable Trust, Charitable Leadership Foundation, Royal Bank of Scotland, Trinity Episcopal Church, MHA Construction, and MHA Permanent Financing. Standard Security donated and installed security systems in the units and community room. The project architect was James Evans Associates and the contractor was the Erikson Group.

“It’s been a pleasure working with a partner that has taken such initiative to accommodate the needs of their clients,” said MHA’s executive director Larry Kluetsch. “Thanks to The Center, this is truly a unique development.”

Mutual Housing Authority of Southwestern Connecticut is a nationally recognized nonprofit affordable housing and community development corporation with a mission to create housing solutions that change lives, revitalize neighborhoods, and improve the quality of life for low- and moderate-income people in Fairfield County.