Tri-Town Shelter Services

Pieter Nijssen has been the Executive Director since 2004. He is a native of the Netherlands and a first generation immigrant. After spending several years in the private sector, where he sharpened his business skills, he entered the public sector. From 1986 - 1996 he and his wife served as missionaries, during which their children were born while residing in the Rep. of South Africa. Pieter returned to the social service profession as a Case Manager and Skills Instructor among TANF recipients (1997 - 2003), after which he reentered shelter work as a Case Manager. He is a member of N.A.C.S.W., Associate Member of C.A.P.S., and has completed over 120 C.E.U.'s related to the population we serve.

Tonya Arango began working with us in 2004 as a shift worker and used her experience here to gain a full-time residential counselor position in a therapeutic program for teenage girls. Since 2004 she was on-call and in 2008 came back as a part-time staff worker. Her CPR, First Aide, Therapeutic Crisis Intervention, and DCF Medication Training makes her a well rounded and welcome team member.

Prior to coming to us, Lisa Gray worked as a Certified Nurses Aide for 15 years and spent 10 years in the retail industry, during which her last three years she was Assistant Manger. She offer a unique blend of caring, communication, and customer service skills that are transferable and valued. She is loyal, dependable, easily trainable, and a team player.

LaTunya Pritchett has an earned B.S. in Social Work from Alabama State University with a 3.6 G.P.A. She has also completed Aggression Replacement, Dialectical Behavioral Therapy, Part I and II, and DCF Medication Administration training. This, along with her residential counselor and supervisor experience and warm disposition, makes her a valuable asset to our team.

Rey Ruiz has a degree in Criminal Justice and has been in the helping profession since 1998. He previously worked in a facility for adjudicated juveniles, after which he worked as a Case Manager / Counselor for ADRC, Inc. This, along with his experience working at another shelter as Assistant Director, and being a Research Assistant at U-CONN Health Center, brings a level of knowledge and experience that makes us well-rounded.

Julie Rybacki is our Service Co-Ordinator. She has been in the social service profession since 1990 serving a broad spectrum of at-risk population groups. Her previous work in another homeless shelter, Milestone (a detox program), and Pierce Memorial Home gives her a depth of knowledge and experience that enables her to effectively connect and work with our clients as their primary case manager. She has the challenging task of giving compassionate care, consistent counsel, and coordinating the support services clients need in order to be self-sufficient. Since 2004 she has completed over 100 C.E.U.'s at the New England School of Addiction Studies.

Evelyn Thorpe has been working at the Shelter since 1995 in various capacities and is one our most cross-trained staff. She holds a B.A. in Criminal Justice with a major in forensics and has over two decades of human service experience between the Legal Aide Society and Alternative Incarceration Program. Prior to coming to Connecticut she spent a number of years in St. Croix, United States Virgin Islands. While there she taught the 12-Step and related recovery modalities to a diverse population. Evelyn has earned continuing education credits from Case Western School of Social Work in Ohio, St. Joseph's College, Hartford and U-CONN's School of Social Work.

Charlene Williams has been with us since 1997 and is a part-time staff worker with a B.A. in Psychology. Previously she worked at the S.T.R.I.V.E. Program in New Britain serving teenagers. Since 1984 she has been working at Hartford Hospital. Charlene is non-judgmental and able to make others feel "at home."

In addition to the above staff, we also have several part-time shift workers who are compassionate care-givers. Finally, we have an experienced part-time bookkeeper who ensures that we adhere to the highest standards of accounting practices.