Windham No Freeze Project Becomes Project HOPE

Willimantic, CT — The Windham No Freeze Project has become Project HOPE.

The Windham region's only adult homeless shelter is kicking off the new year with a new name and a new mission, offering year-round housing and homeless services to eastern Connecticut. The change, officials said Thursday, follows a year of "dramatic growth" spurred by the renovation and expansion of the organization's primary building at 433 Valley Street in Willimantic and the award of a state grant to fund approximately six months of shelter operations.

Established in 2003 as the Windham Region No Freeze Project, the organization has evolved from a cold-weather seasonal shelter into a comprehensive housing services provider, officials said.
The new name, Project HOPE of Eastern Connecticut, reflects its expansion to year-round operations, serving the Windham region and beyond.

Officials said the monicker HOPE is an acronym for "the breadth of services the organization now provides – housing, outreach, prevention, and emergency shelter."

Said Avery Lenhart, Project HOPE's executive director, “We are thrilled to announce our new name. HOPE is what we strive to give the people we serve every day. Because shelter is a temporary reprieve — not a destination — our expanded capabilities go above and beyond shelter to help people struggling with homelessness and unstable housing to regain control of their lives."

Project HOPE has expanded its staff to allow the organization to provide the following services:

• A full-time outreach coordinator works in the community to locate and assist unhoused individuals, connecting them to the organization and its community partners.
• A full-time case manager helps unhoused people reconnect to social services and access critical documents such as birth certificates, identification cards, social security numbers, and other documentation that will allow them to apply for housing and assistance.
• A part-time housing location specialist helps to match people to landlords with available units.
• A full-time shelter manager oversees shelter operations 365 days a year.

Throughout the year, Project HOPE staff members advocate for shelter guests and unsheltered clients locally, regionally and on the state level. Staffers communicate the needs and challenges of those living in homelessness or unstable housing in eastern Connecticut to members of the state legislature, to other members of the state's Coordinated Access Network involved in housing, and to landlords and service providers within the local community.