Agency that aids homeless women fears state budget ax

Norwich — Four women living at the Katie Blair House for formerly homeless women pleaded with local state legislators Monday to continue funding the program that has helped them get out of abusive situations, find homes and jobs, and reunited one woman with her young daughter.

Nakesha Phillips said she reluctantly walked into the Katie Blair House at age 40 to work to regain custody of her daughter. Through tears of joy, she told more than 20 people crowded into the house that on Friday she received the call that her efforts had paid off. She will be reunited with her 1½-year-old daughter, now in foster care.

"I'm doing things I never thought I could do," she told legislators. She said she is training to become a nurse.

"Something tells me I should be sitting with these state representatives in Hartford," she said.

Delores, who didn't give her last name, told legislators that the Katie Blair House got her out of an abusive relationship. Jackie said Katie Blair House helped her get a job, and now she's getting a promotion. Margaret lost her apartment last September and proudly announced that she is now No. 6 on a list for a permanent apartment.

Gov. M. Jodi Rell's revised budget calls for cutting $2.4 million, about 5 percent of the housing/homeless line item in the state Department of Social Services budget. The cut would bring the total to $44 million statewide to support non-government homeless services programs.

Bethsaida Community Services, which runs the Katie Blair House, receives $55,000 annually from DSS. Because the grant is competitive, agency officials fear losing some, or possibly all of the grant, board member Angela George said.

The Katie Blair House hosted a meeting with several local legislators Monday morning to plead for continued funding.

George said the state grant comprises 15 percent of the agency's annual income. Bethsaida runs the Katie Blair House at 117 Cliff St. as transitional housing for up to eight women at a time for six months to two years. Next door, the Flora O'Neill Apartments offer four units as permanent housing for women.

In response, legislators offered sympathy and promised to fight for funding for programs with proven track records, but added that the state budget reality is grim. State Rep. Christopher Coutu, R-Norwich, said 20 to 25 percent of the state budget has "evaporated" through loss of revenues. Coutu said the legislature is to blame for failing to act and for leaving agencies such as Bethsaida not knowing what to expect just a few months before the fiscal year starts.

State Rep. Kevin Ryan, D-Montville, a member of the Appropriations Committee, said the state budget had been at $19 billion, and with drastic loss of revenue, now has about $16 billion "to use wisely." He called funding for the Katie Blair House "an investment in the future."

State Rep. Diana Urban, D-North Stonington, said the state has to use accountability-based methods to determine which agencies should receive the limited funding available.

"Your program works," she said. "We will defend you."