The Fresh Starts team, including Marcus Harvin, Diamond Harvin, Talia Cardoba, Bradley Woodworth, Axel Woodworth, Adam Rawlings, and Big Don McDaniel. On a bone-chilling night, Talia Cardoba spooned spicy chicken onto a heaping plate and handed it to an elf who scurried out of the kitchen.“Careful, it’s hot,” she said, as the conversation of 16 mothers and their children floated in from the dining room of Life Haven, a 40-bed Ferry Street facility that provides temporary shelter to homeless pregnant women and women with young children. The occasion was the second iteration of ​“Dinner & A Movie” hosted by Best Video and Newhallville’s Fresh Starts, a nonprofit founded on the belief that the first step toward helping someone realize their aspirations is nutritional sustenance.“These families are learning to make it out of adversity, and we’re here to celebrate with them,” said Fresh Starts founder Marcus Harvin, dressed as Santa Claus, as another of his six elves hurried back into the brightly lit kitchen for another plate of food. Life Haven is among the area shelters and warming centers where Harvin’s Fresh Starts team has been providing thrice-weekly meals since the city closed the brick-and-mortar Freshtaurant in February for lack of a food service license. The meals, numbering 800 – 1,000 a week, according to Harvin, come from excess dining hall food from area universities. Recently, Fresh Starts has started delivering breakfasts to Life Haven. Harvin said the idea of pairing a movie with dinner arose in the midst of discussions about screening a documentary about his life. Julie Smith, Best Video’s executive director, immediately signed on.The meals, the breakfast, and the dinner & movie nights are all an enormous help, according to Joanne Sciulli, director of development at New Reach, Life Haven’s parent organization. Since 2021, homelessness in Connecticut has increased 32 percent, and rents have gone up 22 percent, the result, she said, of inflation, stagnant wages, and lack of affordable housing. “Whether you are on a living wage or you’re a mom who can’t afford to work and provide child care, there’s just not enough housing,” she said. She said New Reach has the ability to provide a safe place for people to stay and provide resources to help them afford to live independently, but public dollars only fund 58 percent of the cost to run the shelter.“Folks like Marcus and his group step into that gap,” she said. ​“They keep us going.” For Bradley Woodworth, one of the elves, as well as Harvin’s history professor at the University of New Haven, it’s simple.“Being a part of this lets me make a contribution to the lives of people I might never have met and that’s very satisfying,” he said, as he cleared two plates from a mother and her young son. “This was amazing,” she told him. Her son nodded. Woodworth’s son, Axel, 19, brought a can of soda to a client. “Bringing people together, you feel like you’re helping the world,” he said, as a baby squealed. ​“It’s hard to feel that way a lot of the time.” By then, dinner was wrapping up. Harvin brought his team into the dining room.“We get inspired by you because you’re learning to put your best foot forward,” he said. ​“There’s nothing wrong with being unhoused for a fraction of your life, but don’t let that get inside of you, don’t let that define you.” “This is just a pit-stop,” he went on. ​“This is a chance to have a reset.” With that, Harvin announced it was time for ​“Home Alone,” which would be shown on a theater-quality projection screen in the conference room, with popcorn and candy.“I love this,” said a young girl as she followed her mother out of the dining room. New Reach's Joanne Sciulli with Marcus Harvin, founder of Fresh Starts. Talia Cardoba in action.