Hamden Police Open New Comfort & Care Room, Honor Slain Teen

HAMDEN, CT — The Hamden Police Department marked the opening of its new comfort and care room with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Sunday morning.

The ceremony also honored what would have been Elijah Gomez’s 19th birthday, according to a news release.

Gomez was a 15-year-old Hamden High School student who was tragically shot and killed on May 9, 2022, while walking home from school along the Farmington Canal Trail in Hamden.

“In August 2025, Crystal Zukauskas, President and Co-Founder of Eli’s Garden of Healing, along with Elijah’s mother, Jennifer Cathcart, contacted Hamden Police Department Social Worker Jessica Rizzo with a vision: to create a compassionate, trauma-informed space where families can find comfort and privacy when visiting the police department in the immediate aftermath of a crisis,” police wrote in a news release.

Through this collaboration, police said Eli’s Garden of Healing and Cathcart generously provided the paint and furnishings for the room, while the town helped bring the vision to life.

“We are community partners with all Hamden residents, especially those who have been affected by violence,” Hamden Police Chief E.P. Reynolds said. “We want everyone to feel supported and cared for during difficult times and with the help of Eli's Garden of Healing our police department can bring comfort to families in the future. We are blessed by the opportunity to serve in any way we can. We understand that for those who have been affected by violence in any way, the healing process is continuous and the Hamden Police Department is with you every step of the way.”

Social Worker Jessica Rizzo said, “When Eli's Garden of Healing approached me about what they could do to support our therapeutic responses to our community, the vision of creating an environment where families could retreat to for difficult conversations with our officers was presented. It is vital for the residents of Hamden to have a soft place to land when visiting our Police Department during one of their most difficult days. Our officers and I are very grateful to have this space as a tool to compassionately respond to our community's needs in a way that supports their healing journey. Today we thank Eli's Garden of Healing for this gift and it is that much sweeter that we get to cut this ribbon on Elijah's 19th birthday.”

The Hamden Police Department also offers a multigenerational grief support group on the first Thursday of each month from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. This group is open to all families who have lost a loved one to community violence.