Old Hotel In Hartford Is Now A Homeless Shelter

Community Renewal Team

HARTFORD, CT — City leaders and community members Tuesday will officially dedicate a new place for those without homes to find shelter from the storm, literally and figuratively.

The Hartford-based Community Renewal Team (CRT) will host a ribbon-cutting ceremony for CRT’s The McKinney at the newly renovated location on Brainard Road in Hartford.

The 80- bed shelter, formerly the Days Inn Hotel, has undergone extensive renovations to provide a safe and welcoming environment for individuals experiencing homelessness.

The public ceremony will take place at 11:30 a.m. followed by a barbecue luncheon on Tuesday, Sept. 24, at 207 Brainard Road, Hartford.

“I cannot express enough how proud I am of the collective efforts that have gone into making The McKinney a reality. Over the past two years our team has worked tirelessly to create an innovative space that not only provides dignified living conditions but also offers on-site services to those in need,” said CRT President and CEO Lena Rodriguez.

At the new site, The McKinney will be a one-of-a-kind facility where guests will have the comfort of individual bedrooms, offering a sense of privacy.

The facility also includes private offices to meet with clients, a computer lab equipped for housing and employment searches, and ample space for group counseling sessions and workshops.

In addition, the shelter features an in-house clinic with medical staff and behavioral health services, ensuring that residents have access to essential medical and mental health support.

Operating seven days a week, 365 days a year, including holidays, CRT’s McKinney Shelter is a haven for homeless men 18 and older.

To access the shelter, guests are required to go through the Coordinated Access Network by calling 211.

“By relocating to a former hotel, the people receiving services at The McKinney Shelter will now have private rooms on site to sleep and receive wrap-around services – such as on-site behavioral health and medical services, job training and employment services, and holistic case management – which has proven to be a much more effective way of providing services to those in need,” Gov. Ned Lamont said. “I am glad the state could partner with CRT to purchase and complete this relocation, and I thank the organization and everyone who works with them for all of the services they provide."

Guest speakers and attendees at the event will include: Hartford Mayor Arunan Arulampalam; State Department of Housing Commissioner Selia Mosquera-Bruno; Connecticut Secretary of the State Stephanie Thomas; Federal Housing and Urban Dedvelopment Program Manager Joe Linhart; HUD Regional Director/Boston, Robert Shumeyko; CRT President and CEO Lena Rodriguez; and CRT Senior Vice President Christopher McCluskey.

Community Renewal Team, Inc. is the designated Community Action Agency for Middlesex and Hartford Counties and is the largest non-profit provider of human services in Connecticut.

For more information on the Community Renewal Team, click on this link.