How to Support Benincasa Community

Amistad Tiny Homes Fundraiser

The Rosette Neighborhood Village is a transitional housing micro-neighborhood located in the back yard of the Amistad House of Hospitality in New Haven.

Your small gifts = big change for people fighting their way out of poverty

It’s happening in New Haven County—and across America—people are losing their homes and falling into a cycle of poverty.

We are fundraising to build 6 affordable, tiny homes in the backyard of Amistad House to help some of these people get back on their feet.

Click below to "read more"

“Home for the Holidays”

Our goal is to have six tiny homes built by Thanksgiving, before another harsh winter sets in.

We’re almost there but need a little more help. That's why we're doing this fundraiser.

Through many small (and some large) gifts, we’ve raised $100,000 dollars towards these homes. We’re 79% of the way to achieving our goal of providing housing to 8 hard working people who are currently living in tents. We only need $28,740 to make this happen. (Your gift is tax deductible.)

Your gift will help us complete the purchase, construction, and electrification of these homes.

Below is our story, followed by some frequently asked questions that we get asked.

OUR STORY

For thirty years, the Amistad House of Hospitality has been dedicated to helping New Haven’s poorest residents—providing refuge, sustenance, companionship and housing support at 203 Rosette Street, which is also the home of Mark and Luz Colville. (Luz and Mark are longtime neighborhood activists who were honored as New Haven’s Persons of the Year in 2019.) In recent years, the low-income housing crisis, unbridled gentrification, and the Covid pandemic have pushed hundreds more Connecticut residents from their homes and into the street.

(Mark Colville standing in a tent city before it was bulldozed.)

Unfortunately, New Haven city officials have responded by doubling-down on a brutal policy of criminalizing the human right of people experiencing homelessness to take refuge on unused public land. In many cases, people who have taken such refuge for months, or even years in the same place, are suddenly evicted, their homes are bulldozed--with no provision of any safer or more permanent accommodations. People have died as a result of these evictions. Seeing no relief forthcoming from the city government, Mark and Luz decided to start welcoming those victimized by these encampment evictions into their backyard. With Amistad’s support, each person has been given a tiny piece of land and authorized to make a home on it, thereby transforming their status from “homeless person” to neighbor.

As word got out about what Amistad was doing, a group of community members (mental health professionals, faith leaders, writers, scholars, business leaders, people experiencing homelessness, students, and the Benincasa community) united to help raise money to elevate the living standard of the backyard residents; with an initial objective of replacing six of the fortified tent dwellings with tiny homes. We are literally creating a supported, self-governing micro-neighborhood (called the Rosette Neighborhood Village), which is intended to provide a powerful example to the city of New Haven of what a legally-sanctioned encampment for the unhoused could become. The three words we use to describe what we’re trying to provide are: Dignity. Safety. Community.

The tiny homes that your donation helps to build will provide Rosette Neighborhood Village residents with a safe and secure place to return to each day, storage for their possessions, electricity, temperature control and the peace that comes from knowing they will not be evicted. With access to the Amistad kitchen and bathroom, the backyard at Amistad is becoming a thriving community. Residents are self-organized and committed to being good neighbors to all. They maintain the backyard, have established a zero-drug policy, and help serve meals to the wider neighborhood.

(What the tiny homes will look like.)

This effort has been written about in multiple papers, it’s been featured in nightly news stories, and on NPR’s Where We Live .

QUESTIONS WE OFTEN GET ASKED:

Is homelessness really a problem?

According to NEAH, homelessness has been steadily rising since 2017.

~582,462 people are experiencing homelessness in the US right now
The state of CT has seen a 12% increase in homelessness in the past year
While 568 people in New Haven are experiencing homelessness, over 100 people are living on the street. That includes families and children. Without safe shelter, health declines precipitously. And, every year, people die from living on the street.

Why are people losing their homes?

There is a lack of affordable housing. For many people, Covid never ended. Folks in the service industry, in childcare, construction, and hospitality were down-sized. Their hours were cut. Some lost their jobs entirely. Others were bankrupted by medical bills. Those costs cascaded into missed mortgage/rent payments, and they ultimately lost their homes.

Aren’t there social services for this?

Yes, and there are many wonderful people trying to help. But government support has been cut over the years and there isn’t enough support meet the need.

Most people who lose their homes have 2 options:

1) Check in every day to a shelter (in at 4pm and then people have to leave at 7am). While shelters can provide a meal and a place to sleep out of the elements, this is an emergency provision. In shelters, families are separated, there is no privacy, sleeping spaces are communal, and people can’t bring in all their belongings.
2) Get on a long waiting list for temporary housing. While they are waiting to be placed, many people are forced to sleep on the street in tents or cars.

Who are the backyard residents?

These are courageous, hard-working people who are desperately fighting their way out of poverty. They have jobs, but the jobs don’t pay enough. They’re all connected to social services, but sadly, public funding can’t keep up with the rising demand of affordable housing. They want more for their lives and for their family.

Where are the tiny homes coming from?

The tiny homes are created by a company called Pallet, and are an example of "ultra-affordable" housing. Pallet Shelters™ have been designed with input from government leaders, homelessness service providers, and people who have experienced homelessness. These shelters have successfully been deployed across the country as a way to provide housing for people experiencing homelessness in places such as Los Angeles, Burlington, VT, Portland, OR, Madison, WI, and Boston.

Where will these homes be placed?

The six tiny homes will go up in the backyard of the Amistad House of Hospitality. Residents will have access to a kitchen, a bathroom, and a dining area in the Amistad House. And, residents who live in the tiny homes will actively take part in the hospitality services that Amistad provides to the community.

Is this legal?

We are working with the city to get legal permits for the tiny homes and have received permitting approval for phase 1 of our electrical work. The city government and the mayor’s office know that a lot of people are struggling with housing insecurity, and they are appreciative of our efforts. While city officials have privately expressed significant interest in this project and its potential breakthrough as a highly effective means of “transitional housing” for people experiencing homelessness in New Haven, the mayor’s office has yet to develop a similar model on a designated parcel of city-owned property. It is our belief that the success of this tiny homes initiative at Rosette Neighborhood Village will convince them of the urgent need to do so.

How is what you’re doing solving homelessness?

We are not trying to “solve” homelessness. We are asserting that housing is a human right, as stated by the United Nations under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. When no other housing is available, people should have the right to take refuge on public land. Since that right is so often violated, Rosette exists as a human rights zone where all are welcome. It is serving as a model for a community-led micro neighborhood for unhoused people. Meanwhile, it’s having a transformative effect on the lives of the neighbors who live there. Moving from a tent to tiny home model will provide more dignity and health for the people living in this community.

Do people really want these tiny homes?

Yes! Folks are excited about having a tiny home because they’ll provide protection from the elements, a bed, a safe place to lock and store their belongings, and the peace of mind that they have a home to live in until they are able to transition to permanent housing.