MIDDLETOWN — Local officials are keeping close tabs on homeless people during frigid temperature spells as the number of encampments in the city rises. As of January, more than 3,400 people were experiencing homelessness in Connecticut, up 13% from the prior year, according to a recent report from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The number of those affected in the state has increased for three straight years, and advocates see no indication that it is declining.
In Middletown, one such enclave is located near Washington and Newfield streets, according to Health Director Kevin Elak.
Police periodically check in on those living outdoors, he explained. They are left alone if “not creating a nuisance — or trespassing. If people are causing a disturbance or harassing people or things like that, they could take action.” This particular encampment is on private property, Outreach Officer Jesse Santostefano said during the Mayor’s Homelessness Task Force meeting on Tuesday. He said a nearby resident expressed concern about the situation, so police tracked down the owner, who, he explained, “did not wish to pursue having” the encampment removed…