Fairfield's only permanent homeless shelter hasn't housed any new clients since foot-high floodwaters filled the building on New Year's Eve.

Heather House executive director Linda Mahoney turns away several needy clients every day because repairs have not been made to the shelter or transitional apartment buildings, she said.

"This has been devastating to the shelter because we have been hindered in our ability to accept new clients," Mahoney said.

The shelter needs new flooring and dry wall needs to be replaced to avoid mold problems before it can take new clients. The shelter's landlord is a nonprofit agency and couldn't front the money for the repairs.

After months of negotiations between Fairfield city officials and the Federal Emergency Management Administration, Heather House recieved a loan from the city of Fairfield and is ready to start repairs. But until that money comes in, the shelter has a cash-flow problem.

A benefit concert is planned for Friday to raise money for Heather House.

"It is imparative that we have good ticket sales to keep the shelter running until we can access our other funds," Mahoney said.

Concert organizer Leslie Batson of Fairfield said the goal is to raise $20,000, but raising awareness of homeless issues and the Heather House is equally important as raising money.

"We need people not only to step up and buy a ticket but to come and learn about Heather House," Batson said.

Heather House provides shelter for homeless families and single women. The shelter takes in clients at times of crisis, and in addition to providing food and shelter, it provides case management and links families to other services in the community.

The shelter has room for 24 people and 12 people can live in the transitional apartments. Now, only two people are staying in the shelter and the apartments have seven residents.

Since 2001, 800 people have lived in the shelter. The shelter has a 75% success rate at helping families move into permanent housing, Mahoney said.

The Rev. Todd Bertani, a Heather House Board member and pastor at St. Mark's Lutheran Church in Fairfield, recieves 10-20 calls per month from people asking the church to put them up in a hotel, he said. The churches recognized that wasn't the best way to help people, and in 2001, The Interfaith Council, a nonprofit group of several Fairfield churches, began running the Heather House.

The floods temporarily stopped shelter services, but with the community's help it will be housing the homeless again soon, Bertani said.

"This is not going to stand in the way of us fulfilling our mission," he said.