City program westward bound

By Maria Garriga
Register Staff
This summer, Tucson, Ariz., will be the first place outside New Haven with its own Chapel Haven.
The program will teach independent living skills to young adults with mild autism, and offer itself as a research source for the nearby University of Arizona speech, language and hearing department, said Betsey Parlato, the agency’s executive director.
Chapel Haven, a local nonprofit agency, made a national name for itself with innovative residential programs that helped people with severe cognitive and social disabilities to learn how to live independently.
Chapel Haven West in Arizona, slated to open June 30, will be the first of what could be many future programs around the United States replicating the New Haven curriculum and model.
The two-year residential program for high-functioning autistic students will focus on social communication and independent living skills. Autism is a brain disorder that affects social interaction, interpersonal communication and creativity. Those who suffer from the disorder may lack awareness of how other people feel, have trouble communicating and have trouble interacting with the external environment.
Autistic students need to learn social interaction and social behavior in different settings, Parlato said.
Most of the teaching will take place in University of Arizona classrooms and social settings, she added.
“We will them how to go into a cafeteria to have lunch, to go into the cafeteria and not be overwhelmed by the sights, sounds and smells, how to talk to someone they don’t know, how to sit with someone they don’t know,” Parlato said.
Program participants can concurrently enroll at the university for a degree.
For years, families in the West have clamored to have a Chapel Haven program closer to their homes, Parlato said. Most communities, however, could not muster enough support for the intensive and extensive programs Chapel Haven uses.
Nonetheless, Parlato began making inquiries about a good location to expand Chapel Haven. She found the ideal location right near her vacation home in Tucson, where she started her search.
The Tucson Alliance for Autism and University of Arizona immediately teamed up to show Chapel Haven it would have overflowing support and excellent resources in Tucson.
Chapel Haven West will be based just outside the University of Arizona in Tucson. Parlato said the university has impressive resources for students with disabilities and a strong curriculum in disability studies and speech pathology.
The new center will be within walking distance of the University of Arizona, where Chapel Haven students will be permitted full use of facilities of the Disabilities Resource Center, which include a fitness center and computer lab with adaptive technology, as well the Strategic Alternative Learning Center, which offers fee-based support services and tutoring for disabled students.
Chapel Haven West will have slots for 30 students; tuition and fees will be $51,000 a year.
Chapel Haven West will have 17 staff members and 30 students, and, to date, 14 students have put down deposits. Chapel Haven programs get pricey as the amount of time in intensive one-on-one coaching increases.
Chapel Haven started its transition to independent living program for young adults with cognitive and developmental disabilities. Once students graduate the two-year program, they moved into nearby homes in Westville and are able to continue to socialize at Chapel Haven, maintain contact with teachers, and take continuing education classes. In the past few years, Chapel Haven added another program specifically for young adults with Asperger’s syndrome, a brain disorder on the autism spectrum that tends to affect people with average to high levels of intelligence.
All the programs have waiting lists, she said.

Volunteers seek out homeless

By Maria Garriga
Register Staff
NEW HAVEN — A team of Connecticut Counts volunteers cautiously entered an isolated lot off Woodin Street Wednesday night, searching for homeless people who may have taken shelter there.
The volunteers, some of whom are shown at right, walked across the dark lot until they found a stone cross at the end, a tall grave marker bearing no name. This team had discovered a forgotten pauper’s cemetery, the Hamden-Westville Woodin Cemetery. The cross may have had no name because it stood for all the dead who had been buried, penniless, anonymous, homeless.
Thirty-four teams, totaling 110 volunteers, fanned out through the city looking for homeless people at risk of exposure.
Yale Divinity School students who volunteered said it would be a good chance to practice what they learned in class. By 9:30 p.m., the teams had found 60 people out in the cold. The count went on until 11 p.m.
The team that found the pauper’s cemetery continued to scour West Rock by car, scanning the woods, consulting a map and trying to make sure they surveyed each street for which they were responsible. They checked a loading dock. They looked at solitary cars in parking lots.
At an abandoned project with boarded up doors and windows, volunteer Tom Lehtonen, an alderman, used a heavy-duty flashlight to look into units with open doors. He couldn’t get too close — a tall fence separated the buildings from the sidewalk.
"This is where they might take shelter," volunteer Allison Ponce said.
The team left West Rock and headed to Shelton Avenue and Newhall Street. An older man leaning on crutches stood outside a convenience store that had just closed out. He asked all passers-by for fifty cents.
Ponce took out the homeless survey and asked him a few questions and then gave up. "He said he had his crib," she said, shrugging as they walked down the darkened residential streets.
After two hours, they headed back to the offices of Liberty Community Services Safe Haven, a bustling hub at 210 State St. where volunteers met up to share their survey results.
"I’m so excited. I really wanted to see the neighborhoods," said Anna Robinson-Sweet, 19, a Yale University freshman from Brooklyn, N.Y.
Homeless workers had been sent to canvass parts of town known to have high numbers of homeless people.
Others traveled to neighborhoods with boarded-up houses, vacant lots, stores and other places that might attract people seeking shelter.
A group of volunteers from Cheshire United Methodist Church left Liberty Community Services amazed at their experience.
"I really wanted to see how you feel when you see a homeless person," said Elizabeth Thomas.
"We do it partly to get to know ourselves," added Carolyn Hardin-Englehardt. "You find out how you interact with the homeless. Personally, for me I thought it would be spiritually challenging to face homelessness."

Contest to target underage drinking

By Maria Garriga
Register Staff
NEW HAVEN — Wine & Spirits Wholesalers of Connecticut wants the public to know they are getting serious about underage drinking by calling on college students to spread the word among the state’s youngest drinkers.
At a press conference Monday at Southern Connecticut State University, the association announced a new competition for college students. Participants will compete by submitting public service announcements for TV that call on parents to warn children 8 to 14 about the dangers of underage alcohol consumption.
"We are parents, too. ... Ten is the onset age when children begin to drink," said Peter A. Berdon, executive director for Wine & Spirits Wholesalers of Connecticut. The association represents the state’s alcohol distributors and organized the contest, cthe WSWC PSA Contest 2008,alled "Renewing the Spirit of Connecticut: Tackling Underage Drinking."
Lt. Gov. Michael Fedele, Southern Connecticut State University President Cheryl A. Norton and Jill Spineti, president of the Governor’s Prevention Partnership, joined in making the announcement in Southern’s Michael J. Adanti Student Center.
The association believes college students can be more effective in finding ways to communicate the message to both parents and young children. The theory is that students understand the problem because they have witnessed it firsthand.
T"Once I got into late middle school, I saw lots of students using alcohol to escape their problems. They saw it in their house, they thought it was OK, and they took it right from the cabinets," said Kerin Jaros-Dressler, 20, of Willimantic, a junior at Eastern Connecticut State University who attended the press conference.he Connecticut Coalition to Stop Underage Drinking, part of the Governor’s Prevention Partnership, reports that Connecticut children start consuming alcohol at age 11 on average, two years earlier than the national average.
Berdon pointed out that family and friends provide two-thirds of the alcohol used by underage drinkers, which makes them the target audience for the PSAs.
The contest will be open to all students enrolled in colleges and universities in Connecticut. Submissions must be received by April 15. Approved applicants may get a stipend of up to $150 to help with expenses in video production.
The grand prize winner gets $2,500, the second place winner gets $1,500, and the third place winner gets $1,000. The winning entry will be aired on network and cable television by the Wine & Spirits Wholesalers.
State Police Lt. J. Paul Vance praised the partnership between universities, alcohol distributors, educators and parents. "We in law enforcement cannot do this alone. We need parents on board. We need educators on board. ... If we can save one child, we’ve made a difference."
Alcohol distributors say they have long supported initiatives against underage drinking, but have now begun to work together for greater impact.
"We are very careful about how we market. This is a legal product at the age of 21. We will do everything we can to abide by the law and to help people not overconsume. Moderate consumption is appropriate, underage drinking is not appropriate," said Andrew Hillman of Connecticut Distributors.
To obtain an application or for more information, contact Kathryn Glendon, community program manager, by mail at Wine & Spirits Wholesalers of Connecticut, 132 Temple St., New Haven 06510, by phone at 624-9900, orCQ by e-mail at kate@wswc.org. All submissions must have a faculty adviser or be part of a college course.

Volunteers sought for count of homeless

By Maria Garriga
Register Staff
NEW HAVEN — If someone with a clipboard were to approach you Wednesday and ask where you spent the night, don’t be offended: It’s just one of the volunteers conducting the city’s second annual Point-In-Time Count of the Homeless. The homeless count will take place statewide from 7 to 11 p.m. Wednesday. "New Haven is desperately in need of volunteers for the street count. We do (the count) all at the same time to avoid duplication of individuals," said James G. Farrales, vice president of mental health services at Continuum of Care, Inc., a New Haven-based nonprofit agency. Past homeless counts may have counted individuals twice if they were at a shelter and a soup kitchen. The state count also had duplications because a homeless person could be in New Haven for one count and in Bridgeport for another, Farrales said. The city needs at least 100 volunteers for 35 teams of two to three individuals, he said. The teams, which go out together as a safety measure, will travel throughout the city with housing surveys that will gather hard demographic data on who the homeless are, how they lost their housing and what barriers they face to securing housing. The surveys will be confidential. The data will be aggregated and used by the city to apply for grants and create programs that combat homelessness. The state count last year tallied 3,325 homeless families. The majority of homeless single adults were white, and over 55 percent of homeless adults had completed high school. They most often attributed losing their homes to difficulty paying rent. Many reported that mobility or health problems contributed to their difficulties. New Haven recently received $5.2 million in $5,187,485homeless assistance from the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development, an amount higher than expected, which Farrales attributed to the data provided by last year’s homeless count. The Jan. 24, 2006, count in New Haven yielded 1,177 homeless individuals; two-thirds had gathered in shelters or transient housing, one-third stayed outdoors on a bitterly cold night. Last year’s count had too few volunteers and too little time, Farrales said. This year, volunteers will have a four-hour period to canvass locations on their lists, compared with two hours last year. Those who finish early can still leave early, Farrales said. Teams will spread across areas considered likely to attract homeless people, such as the Green, as well as 30 percent of locations considered unlikely, such as Lighthouse Point. Volunteers will approach all people found at the location with a housing survey. The first question, "Where did you spend last night?", should help identify the homeless, who will get additional demographic questions. A"This Point-in-Time Count helps determine trends about how they became homeless and what services they need to help them," Farrales said.nyone who wishes to volunteer for the New Haven homeless count should contact Khelen Rhodes, volunteer coordinator, at 497-2302 or khCQ allelen.rhodes@libertycs.org. For more information on the Statewide Count, contact Gretchen Upholt, Project Assistant, CT Counts 2008, at (860) 721-7876 or gupholt@cceh.org

Building group to break ground

NEW HAVEN — Sleeping Giant Build, a member organization of Habitat for Humanity of Greater New Haven, will break ground for its first sponsored house at 2 p.m. Sunday at Hallock St.
Organizer Don Deloge said build members will be joined at the ceremony by their partners, the William Morales family, who are the prospective homeowners, and representatives from Habitat for Humanity, to mark the beginning of construction.
"The construction of this house is the result of the cooperation of several organizations and individuals from Hamden, North Haven and New Haven, who are dedicated to providing affordable housing and building community," said Deloge, of North Haven.
Sleeping Giant Build was formed to coordinate fundraising, material donations and the volunteer labor needed for construction of a new house. The group continues to seek donations from the community to reach its $50,000 goal. Donations can be made to: Habitat for Humanity of Greater New Haven, Sleeping Giant Build, 37 Union St., New Haven 06511.
The premier sponsors are A-1 Toyota of New Haven, Spring Glen Church in Hamden, Church of the Redeemer in New Haven, St. John’s Episcopal Church of North Haven, Connecticut Gastroenterology Consultants of New Haven, St. Rita Church of Hamden, North Haven Congregational Church, Mount Carmel Congregational Church of Hamden, the Unitarian Society of New Haven and United Illuminating Co.
According to Deloge, students from Ridge Road School in North Haven and the Jared Andrews Studio in North Haven also contributed. The National Honor Society at North Haven High School and the Habitat for Humanity Club at Hamden High School will also be doing fundraising and providing work site volunteers, Deloge said.