Jennifer Almquist Works to Document the Faces of Homelessness and Poverty

By Bina Thomson

When Jennifer Almquist first heard an offhand comment about “the people living in the woods,” she had to find out more. Almquist, a lifelong resident of Northwestern Connecticut, knew that the woods between Norfolk and Winsted were not a good place to live so connected with Nancy Cannavo, president of the board of New Beginnings, a non-profit that supports people who are homeless in Litchfield County.

New Beginnings sponsors the Gathering Place, a drop-in center for unhoused people that provides access to showers, the internet, laundry facilities and a safe, warm environment. It is also a point of contact for other organizations that provide healthcare, mental health and substance abuse services, and assistance in completing applications for employment, housing vouchers, and other benefits. The Gathering Place, however, is only open during the day, leaving these people without a secure place to sleep.

After Almquist first visited the Gathering Place, she said she couldn’t get warm or sleep that night, thinking about what these people without a secure place to sleep. She is no stranger to hardship and became homeless herself at the age of 17 when she became pregnant and dropped out of school. A promising student with a goal of attending the Rhode Island School of Design, she married the child’s father at her parents’ insistence. For months she lived between homeless communes and shelters with a man who was both abusive and a heroin addict until a colleague helped her leave the situation and get on a better path.

“It’s not like that now, it’s a lot harder to get out [of homelessness] now,” says Almquist. “It’s almost impossible to get into the working world without a degree, and there’s an internalized imposter syndrome that takes hold.”

That experience has long informed Almquist’s work. A freelance photographer for more than 40 years, she used those skills to document the lives of the individuals at the Gathering Place and those residing in camps in the woods. A decade ago, she also created a photo essay on hunger in Litchfield County and presented a lecture at the UConn campus in Torrington. 

 “I have hours of videos, hours. People tell me about their lives, their stories, how they got here. Anyone can be a divorce or death in the family or a bad accident away from homelessness,” Almquist said of her conversations with the individuals living in the woods. She also wrote about them for the Winsted Citizen. 

Friends in Service to Humanity (FISH) runs a permanent shelter in Torrington with 35 beds and there is a now an overflow shelter at Trinity Episcopal Church, but the need continues to increase. Although chronic homelessness has declined in Connecticut, the overall number of people experiencing homelessness rose during the pandemic and continues to grow driven by evictions, a housing shortage and inflation.

Organizations like FISH and the Gathering Place continue to meet the immediate need by providing shelter and respite while the Connecticut Coalition to End Homelessness advocates for access to permanent housing and employment. “These places are amazing, but they are small and always full. They always need support,” Almquist explains. “But we keep putting band aids on bigger issues. We need to stop looking at these people in the lens of us and them, and just see it as all of us.”Almquist had her first public photography show at the Norfolk Library in the month of February. Displayed with her show was a photo album of large print portraits she had taken of individuals at the Gathering Place, along with information on how to donate to the shelter. She encourages people to connect with FISH (fishnwct.org)  or the Gathering Place (thegatheringplaceofnewbeginngs.org) to receive assistance and services or to donate and volunteer. She plans to continue using her photography to bring awareness and hopes to break down harmful stereotypes. “It’s easy to become overwhelmed looking at the global situation. We need to find a way to end homelessness for those living in Connecticut, and let our change grow from there.”