New Haven Cuts Power to Tiny Homes at Amistad Catholic Worker
The city of New Haven, Connecticut, cut power to the tiny homes hosted by the Amistad Catholic Worker in its backyard. The move is just the latest chapter in a long-running conflict between the Amistad Catholic Worker and the city over the plight of unhoused people.
After being unhoused for two years, Joel Nieves was able to use his sleep apnea machine for the first time at the Amistad Catholic Worker’s backyard shelter. Last week, the city of New Haven shut off the power to the tiny homes, leaving him defenseless.
“What am I going to do?” Nieves said to the New Haven Independent. “I’m nervous because I don’t know how I’m going to sleep tonight.”
Since the pandemic, Mark Colville and Luz Catarineau of the Amistad Catholic Worker have used the house’s backyard as an encampment for those increasingly being forced onto the streets. The house provided guests with meals, hospitality, and a sense of home.
In October 2023, Amistad took this hospitality to the next level, building six tiny houses to shelter those living in tents. These shelters provided a more permanent residence for those repeatedly displaced by the city.
According to the New Haven Independent, the project cost the house $123,940, amounting to $20,656.67 per unit. The homes were equipped with electricity, heating, and cooling — all of which are essential for surviving the Connecticut seasons.
On July 15, the Amistad shelters’ 180-day provisional permit concluded. Amidst a heat wave, the city of New Haven cut off their power on July 19.
Amistad and their lawyers have been in contact with the city for the past three months in anticipation of the end of this provisional permit. “They intentionally let it run out,” Colville told Roundtable. “We’re not breaking the law.”
In October, Amistad went before the city’s zoning board with much support from their neighbors.
“The mayor violated an agreement with the neighborhood,” Colville explained. “We had a six-month provisional agreement with the understanding that the mayor’s administration would make sure that they made efforts to make this agreement permanent, precisely because it’s a reflection of the will of the neighborhood.”
The mayor claims that the permit was not made permanent due to building code failures: There are no bathrooms in these tiny homes, though all are welcome to use Amistad’s bathrooms and other facilities.
Following the events of July 15, the Amistad community has spoken out against the actions of the city of New Haven. They hosted a press conference on July 16, with guests speaking on how they are affected by the city’s constant displacement of their lives.
The sudden electricity cut-off is dangerous, and even life-threatening, for the guests sheltered at Amistad. Nieves relies on his CPAP machine to be able to sleep without worry that he may stop breathing and not wake up. Without it, he is vulnerable.
The Amistad Catholic Worker began hosting unhoused people in its backyard in 2023 after the city cleared a tent city. At first, some of the former tent city residents camped in the backyard, with power and access to toilet facilities provided by Amistad. Later, the community erected the tiny houses. One former resident of the tent city died after the city’s eviction when the car he was sleeping in caught fire, according to Connecticut Public Radio.
“If you’re a homeless person living in a tent, the city doesn’t have to do anything. They just scoop you up and move you like a bag of clothes,” Colville explained. “We’re trying to set up a model for what a supported encampment would look like if the city took the responsibility to provide a basic infrastructure.”
The Amistad Catholic Worker pickets weekly outside New Haven’s City Hall for their cause. They welcome any and all to join them each Friday from 12-1 at the New Haven Lower Green on Church St. across from City Hall. There is also a meal served before for those in need.
