Stonington — Just days after a deep freeze hit the state that saw temperatures drop below zero early last month, Pastor Ray Jones sat drinking coffee at a table at Bess Eaton Coffee Shop in downtown Pawcatuck with Lori McClain and David Horst.

The three, who are part of an informal homeless response network, were there to discuss the current situation in the area .

The recent weeks have been quiet, but that was not always the case.

A year and a half ago, the situation was far different, but this network of passionate members has changed that by seeking out people who are homeless, be it in the woods or at the coffee shop, where they can come on Tuesdays to meet with Jones and his fellow volunteers.

Jones said there was a fairly good-sized group in the downtown area in the summer of 2021 who were without housing but by last winter, he said the volunteers had 75 to 80% of the people housed.

“The goal was to move them into housing, and I would say we have been very successful in that regard,” he said.

The tireless work and dedication of the 49-year-old Jones and members of the loosely affiliated team comprised of people from various religious, human and social service organizations has been successful in their efforts to combat homelessness in southeastern Connecticut.

“It was not singularly me. I did my job as a pastor, trying to be that calm, assuring voice,” Jones said, stressing their work “was truly a team effort. There were a lot of people involved in that from the team.”

At present, the team is unaware of anyone who is homeless in Pawcatuck, though they expect that will change as the weather warms.

As they sat in the Bess Eaton, Jones, the founder of Lighthouse Baptist Church in Pawcatuck, along with Horst, an outreach worker with the Homeless Hospitality Center in New London and McClain, executive director of Malta Ministries in Groton discussed the current needs of people who are homeless and brainstormed solutions, while providing a weekly presence downtown for anyone seeking their help.

“Not everyone is there every week, but there’s at least one or two, if not three or four of us there every Tuesday morning, and we’re comparing notes,” Jones said.

Though they have seen success, they do not rest on their laurels. A few days earlier, the team got a tip that someone may be living in the woods nearby and jumped into action, scouring the woods to find the person before the freezing cold temperatures set in, which could easily result in the death for someone without shelter.

The tip turned out to be wrong, but the team had been ready to assist.

A call to action

“My children are the fifth generation of my family to live in this community,” said Jones who is married with four children ages 18 to 26. “If people have local connections, they probably know a family member of mine.”

A carpenter and roofer by trade, Jones said he felt called to the ministry, which he pursued through graduate school before returning to his roots to found his church in 2000.

He deepened his community involvement four years ago when he became a chaplain for the police department.

Deputy Chief Todd Olson described Jones as an asset to the department as well as the broader community.

“Ray puts a lot of his time into helping people, especially the homeless. He truly cares and wants to make a difference,” Olson said.

In his role as a chaplain, Jones attended a meeting that former Police Chief J. Darren Stewart convened in 2021 with first responders, town employees and officials, the clergy and Westerly police to address the issue of homelessness in downtown Pawcatuck and Westerly.

“I don’t want anybody dying in the woods,” Jones recalled Stewart saying.

“When Chief Stewart had that call to action, I resonated with that, you know? It isn’t theory,” he said about someone dying.

How can I not help?

“I processed that meeting with Chief Stewart-- digested it-- and I just felt like God had put this in my lap and said, ‘you’ve said you want to help your community, and this is what your community needs help with,’” Jones explained.

“This is my community; these are my people, and I don’t want to see anybody living in the woods,” he added.

Jones, currently pursuing a second master’s degree focusing on the New Testament, saw a striking parallel through his studies.

“I’m looking at how Jesus ministers to the outcasts and the marginalized-- the poor-- and I thought, ‘how can I not,’” he said, adding, “I want my life, and I want my ministry, to reflect that of my Lord and savior, so I really felt that that is what I should do.”

And though he is comfortable in his role on the team today, initially, he felt uncertain.

“I think I probably speak for a lot of people, that there would be reticence and that feeling of inadequacy, and here I am. I’ve been a pastor for over 23 years, and I have a fair amount of experience working with a very diverse group of people but, nonetheless, this is not a population that you traditionally associate with our community, so I had pause,” he said.

“The Lord had to do work in my heart to help me, and then I threw myself into it,” he explained.

Tackling the problem

The team began by tackling the complexities involved in homelessness including mental health and addiction issues, trauma history, and hopelessness, as well as broader community issues, all of which required endless amounts of coordination and networking and even greater amounts of listening and building trust.

He said local business owners did not want their businesses impacted by disruptive groups of people in Donahue Park but were sympathetic, many offering employment for people transitioning out of homelessness.

They worked with equally sympathetic landlords to find housing to get people off the streets, out of the woods and into homes.

The property at the end of Noyes Avenue in Pawcatuck known as “the circus lot,” has intermittently been home to people living in the woods, and Donahue Park has often served as a gathering place for individuals who are homeless due to its proximity to community centers, grocery stores, pharmacies, and services, including the WARM Center in Westerly.

Horst described the team as a “coordinated access network” equipped to address immediate, intermediate and long-term needs involved in getting people into housing.

Some provide direct services like Horst who will walk the streets or the woods to make contact with someone, help them access services and temporary housing, and work to transition them out of homelessness.

McClain and her organization provide direct services but also supply basic hygiene, food and clothing needs, and personal connection.

Others use their expertise to provide indirect services like coordination of benefits and services or information and referrals.

And Jones has his pastoral skills.

“I don’t know all the processes,” Jones said, “but I can walk with them.”

He gestured vaguely at Horst and McClain, insisting that they were far more knowledgeable and experienced than he is and that he’s just a small part of a larger network.

McClain and Horst both looked skeptical about his comment.

“I get all fired up about all the things we’re going to do, and Ray just says, ‘okay, we’re going to just be with this person for a while,” said Horst. “He brings a chaplain’s heart to this work.”

“A ministry of presence,” added McClain.

“Emotionally and spiritually, he was willing to take that step of faith,” she said of Jones willingness to provide his church as a location that provides clothing, food and hygiene supplies.

“Obviously my church has blessed this desire and supported me in it and been very supportive of what I’ve done,” Jones said.

The agenda

“I love God, and I love people, and I just try to build relationships with people. I don’t have an agenda,” Jones said.

But he does.

“When you see people that are struggling like that,” he said, “remember that could be your brother or your sister; it could be your aunt or your uncle—how would you want them being treated, and from my perspective, that’s the task I feel compelled with. If I can show them the love of Jesus, and I can show them kindness and compassion and I can remind them that they do have people in their family that love them.”

“There are narratives that say, the community is not doing enough,” Jones said. “We’re under the radar, but we’re here to help. We have a plan in place. There are people on the ground that are helping and are mobilized to act.”