Open Doors

By 2030, Open Doors will become the gold standard across the state of Connecticut in three years and a national model in ten years in serving those experiencing homelessness with a Housing First model rooted in support services across the spectrum of needs.

To accomplish this and to ensure its long-term sustainability, Open Doors will:
- Create a fully financially sustainable organization reflective of our mission,
- Have the financial and operational resources required to provide housing stability for those experiencing homelessness in Greater Norwalk,
- Ensure our homeless shelter will be in top decile of all homeless shelters in Connecticut as measured by key performance metrics,
- Have best-in-class partners to serve the broader needs that are essential to our clients achieving their potential.

Of note, events of recent months remind us that even the best laid plans require adaptability in order to serve the most pressing community needs. Our focus over the next decade will be to put in place the operational and financial pillars necessary to realize our goals. That said, we will always respond to the needs of the community to accommodate any social, economic, or health crisis that arises.

Open Doors works diligently to ensure that homelessness is rare, brief, and non-­ reoccurring. Open Doors' strategies for achieving our goals include:

1) An Emergency Shelter that provides social services and a food program for homeless individuals and families and those living in poverty. The shelter case management services team provides individuals and families with comprehensive services including counseling, crisis intervention, goal planning, referrals to additional community support services, on site health care/mental health services, financial management, access to shelter, shower, toiletries, clothing, laundry facilities and computers/ phones .

2) Food Services -The food program provides hot meals every day of the year, as well as groceries through our Food Pantry.

3) Housing Assistance - Open Doors provides a comprehensive array of services that ensure individuals and families can obtain and are successful in housing. These services include intensive case management, rental assistance, and financial management. Open Doors uses a Housing First model to ensure individuals and families are stably housed so they are better able to succeed with supportive services.

4) Financial Opportunity Center - The FOC provides job placement for individuals in living wage jobs. This program is part of a national movement called Employment First, a 'best practices 'framework for system; change that is centered on the premise that all citizens are capable of full participation in integrated employment and community life.

5) Family Services -Open Doors offers wrap -around services for homeless families, which include parenting skills education for parents and after-school educational and recreational programming for school-age children and preschool education for very young children.

As a champion for those in need, Open Doors and all of its employees and partners have a responsibility to ensure all clients have a path to success. This is achieved through a core belief system that acts as the foundation of the organization’s culture:

SAFETY: We provide a reliable haven, both in structure and in resources, to help the community’s most vulnerable find their way to something better. By creating a safe environment, we allow our clients the space and support to focus on their future.

DIGNITY: Every single individual who walks through our doors will be treated as a person that matters, and will be shown the respect they deserve.

ACCOUNTABILITY: We know that empowering our clients to own their own successes is the best way to support them on their journey. Our role is to be a guide and help them accomplish their goals and we seek partners who uphold the same ideals.

Open Doors is committed to providing best-in-class services to positively and permanently help those struggling with homelessness. To do so, services are focused in four influential areas:

1) Immediate Impact: through facilities focused on shelter, food, and support services that make it possible for individuals and families to rapidly move to their next safe destination,

2) Supportive Services through case management that help create a plan that suits each client’s needs and gets them to a sustainable solution,

3) Affordable and Deeply Affordable Housing Solutions to allow for ongoing stability of those transitioning out of homelessness.

4) Strategic Partnerships forming and managing strategic partnerships will become a core competency to accomplish our mission.

In FY20, Open Doors' Shelter served 236 individuals. Open Doors serves an additional 1,000 low-income individuals each year through clothing and food programs. Open Doors chiefly serves the greater Norwalk area, but serves clients from towns throughout Connecticut as well as neighboring states.

Other progress includes:

1) The COVID-19 pandemic created a host of challenges for Open Doors, including limiting capacity, moving guests to shelters and constantly protecting the health and safety of staff and guests.

Despite this impact from March to October of 2020, Open Doors:

• Served 44,786 hot meals to those in need.

• Provided 2,343 bags of groceries to our community members and home bound seniors.

• Sheltered 90 households (75 single adults and 15 families) totaling 128 people,

• Admitted into shelter 36 new households (26 single adults and 10 families) a total of 59 people, while other shelters were closing their doors to new admissions,

• Met the increased need by moving 72 households (63 single adults and 9 families) a total of 96 people, out of shelter with 85% obtaining sustainable housing opportunities.

•Added a street outreach program and increased housing case management.

In addition, the National Alliance to End Homelessness has awarded ‘Gold Star’ status to Open Doors for multiple weeks in July and August for the greatest number of households placed in housing. Open Doors housed the most amount of people in Fairfield County. We are also the only organization that exceeded our goal.

2) On January 27, David Woll (U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development) visited Open Doors to learn more about our Smilow Life Center: David reports to HUD Secretary Ben Carson and plays an important role in HUD. David was extremely impressed with our Smilow business model and he commented that he and Secretary Carson wished more communities could take joint ownership in helping to stop homelessness.

3) Open Doors recently joined forces with the National Alliance to End Homelessness on an Emergency Shelter Learning Collaborative. The goal of the Collaborative is to challenge shelters to elevate their practice to national best practice by becoming housing-focused.

4) In its first two years of operation, more than 600 people have taken classes at the Smilow Life Center's Education and Job Training Center in order to learn new skills or build on their strengths. Now adapting another best practice in employment for homeless individuals, the Shelter recently developed a partnership with Career Resources to implement a job placement program using the nationally­ recognized Employment First model. The Employment First Job Placement Program increases community-based, integrated employment opportunities for those that are homeless. The goal of Open Doors' initiative is to work with shelter guests to become employed as quickly as possible to see a rapid exit from shelter.