Amid years of uncertainty surrounding the establishment of a Hamden animal shelter, one town resident has taken up fundraising efforts through the formation of the nonprofit organization, Gimme Shelter.
The organization, which was started in 2017 by Hamden resident Lenny Young, is the principal contributor to the town’s Animal Control Gift Fund, which raises funds to form a Hamden animal shelter. To date, the organization has raised about $25,000 for the fund.
Leaning on local businesses, Gimme Shelter has developed many donation opportunities over the years. Most recently, the organization held a fundraiser at The Playwright restaurant in Whitneyville on Sept. 1. The event was highlighted by a donation to Gimme Shelter from Eamonn Ryan, the restaurant’s owner, of 20% of the night’s proceeds.
The fundraiser brought in just over $1000, Ryan told Young Friday when the two met at the 23-year-old Irish bar.
“We’ve always been involved with (Gimme Shelter) since day one,” Ryan told HQNN. “Everybody has animals, and they don’t have a shelter in Hamden, and it’s something that the town needs.”
Young said he formed the organization in an effort to support the town’s animal control resources, which currently consists of one animal control officer, Monica Vece.
“I saw the animal control officers stepping up as our last line of defense,” Young said. “They’re not just dog catchers for someone’s dog who got away.”
Young said the organization’s day-to-day work centers around raising awareness about animals who are missing or in need of rehoming.
“We don’t keep members,” Young said. “We have a Facebook page. We just send stuff out to the group. We have supporters and they show up, and a lot of it’s been education.”
The organization consists of just four officers who maintain a Facebook group, Gimme Shelter Hamden, that has more than 720 participants. The group largely serves as a platform to share posts of lost animals in the Hamden area.
Awareness and fundraising are Gimme Shelter’s top priorities, Young said, but the driving force behind all of the work remains to establish a Hamden Animal Shelter.
He said having a centralized facility, rather than utilizing space in other local shelters as the town has done with the North Haven shelter, would lead to shorter animal stays and quicker rehoming turnarounds.
“(Creating an animal shelter) might not be people’s priority issue, but I don’t see why people would be against it,” Young said. “It’s economically feasible and it’s humane.”
After years of stalled attempts to name a site for a shelter, Young said he is hopeful that the new town administration’s efforts will exceed what has been done in the past. In 2005, Hamden entered into an agreement with North Haven to borrow space in the town’s animal shelter. Though it was only meant to last six months, the agreement was extended until 2019.
Mayor Lauren Garrett previously pledged to name a site for a Hamden shelter within the first 100 days of her administration. In March, Garrett’s office announced via a press release that Hamden and New Haven town officials were considering “expanding and renovating” the New Haven shelter into a regional facility for both towns.
“It’s just like musical chairs: who’s ever in charge when the music stops?” Young said. “This is where we are right now. If they could get it off the ground while (Garrett is) still mayor, it’s going to happen.”
Ryan, whose restaurant has supported Gimme Shelter since its formation through yearly fundraisers, also expressed support for Garrett’s plan.
“It’s kind of like light at the end of the tunnel,” Ryan said. “Because we’ve been in limbo the last couple of years doing fundraisers. It’s like spinning your wheels.”
With the hope that Gimme Shelter’s efforts will be successful in creating a shelter, Young said he has aspirations to expand the organization in the future. He said he hopes Gimme Shelter will eventually branch into directly fundraising for the town’s animal control efforts, like providing new vans for officers or supporting animal medical needs.
“The majority of the public thinks that everybody treats their pets like they do—a bona fide family member—and they don’t,” Young said.