Beth-El Center broke ground this week on a new operations center in Milford, a $16 million campus designed to bring emergency shelter, permanent housing and food assistance under a single roof at a moment when homelessness across Connecticut keeps climbing. Community members, dignitaries and advocates turned out for the groundbreaking celebration for the project, according to seed facts from the original report.
The future home of Beth-El Center sits at 993 Bridgeport Avenue, a parcel the nonprofit acquired for $1.8 million, according to Milford Patch. As reported by News 12 Connecticut, the organization broke ground on the new operations center in Milford this week, with the project priced at $16 million. Beth-El Center has served the region for 40 years, reaching thousands of people facing homelessness, housing instability and food insecurity, per the same report.
Jennifer Paradis, Beth-El Center's executive director, told News 12 that the groundbreaking represents a chosen collective future, and she described the operations center as an investment in a different approach to homelessness and a dedicated community center. The planned building is expected to run about 20,000 square feet, according to CT Examiner, replacing Beth-El's existing facility at 90 New Haven Avenue.
What the New Campus Will Hold
Per the seed report, the new Beth-El Center will include 10 emergency shelter units for families, a large kitchen and dining room, and a 24/7 community hub. CT Examiner's earlier account similarly described ten suites for emergency shelter families as part of the approved design. The project is also expected to include a community kitchen along with rooms for workforce development and other educational opportunities, according to WTNH.
The number of permanent supportive housing units planned for the site has varied across reporting. News 12 states the new center will include 15 permanent supportive housing units, while earlier Milford Patch coverage of the approved plans described eleven supportive housing apartments. The dossier does not resolve which figure reflects the current, final design.
Beth-El's facility is also planned to offer a 24-hour, seven-day-a-week drop-in center for the unsheltered community, a feature first detailed when the land deal closed, according to Milford Patch. The new center will include emergency shelter and permanent housing, bringing housing and social-service resources together.
Funding Picture Still Taking Shape
WTNH reports that the Connecticut Department of Housing will provide $15 million for the project, while Beth-El Center has separately established a $2 million capital campaign goal. Beth-El hopes to finish construction and hold a ribbon-cutting by 2028, according to the seed report.
The groundbreaking lands as the state's homelessness numbers keep moving in the wrong direction. Connecticut's homeless population rose 3% from 2025 to 2026, marking a fifth consecutive annual increase, according to Connecticut Public. The state's point-in-time count identified 3,847 people experiencing homelessness on the night of January 27, 2026, the same report found.
Connecticut Public also reported that the sheltered homeless population grew by around 17% in 2026, even as the number of people living outside fell by almost 50%, and that homelessness among residents 65 and older jumped 51% since 2024, rising from 281 to 320 people in a single year. The state allocated $5 million for cold-weather resources such as emergency beds and faster response times, per the same account.
Local Demand Already Outpacing Capacity
WTNH reported that Beth-El's emergency shelter program has seen increases of more than 100% every year, a sharp climb from just three years ago, when the program served 99 people over the course of a single November-to-April season. That local surge mirrors the statewide trend and underscores why Beth-El leadership is framing the new Milford campus as more than a renovation — Paradis cast it, in her comments to News 12, as a dedicated community center built around a different model for addressing homelessness.
