Owen Quinn has moved his career back to Hartford from the suburbs to help some of the city’s most unfortunate men make new lives for themselves.
The former town manager of Winsted is now the executive director of The Open Hearth Mission in Hartford.
The Open Hearth operates a traditional emergency shelter that accommodates 25 adult men and an 84-bed transitional living program. Annually, it serves hundreds of men in both programs and provides more than 120,000 meals. The shelter has a 125-year tradition of self sufficiency.
“I’m happy to continue the fine foundation of the Open Hearth, which is men helping themselves get back on solid financial grounds,” said Quinn, 54.
Quinn said his tenure as a town manager, with its round-the-clock demands, prepared him for his work at The Open Hearth.
“This is very much like a municipality,” he said.
His new role has all the diversity of a municipality. Quinn must deal with the city and state, as well as provide job training services for the men in its care through a work yard that produces firewood.
There’s also the challenge of an older infrastructure. The Open Hearth’s three-story facility at 437 Sheldon St. needs “a lot of tender loving care,” said Quinn.
Plus, there’s the declining economy which means less funds for operations, but more people demanding the Open Hearth’s services.
“The biggest challenge in this economy,” said Quinn, “are the number of people having difficulty making ends meet. Demands for our services are at an all-time peak.”
Quinn, who worked extensively in social services before managing Winsted, knows one important aspect of his role is finding new sources of funding.
“It means active grant writing to find the elusive dollars,” he said. “It means running a mean, lean organization that is highly efficient.’’