Funds and Protections Demanded in Housing Crisis

As the housing and homeless crisis grows, tenants and advocates are raising their voices for immediate funding of services and protections for tenants. According to the Connecticut Coalition to End Homelessness (CCEH) over 3,000 people including 500 children are without housing in the state.

It is “a moral failure,” said State Sen. Saud Anwar during a press conference last month calling for $20 million in ongoing “stable, consistent funding,” a small part of the $300 million needed to fully address homelessness according to CCEH.

Gov. Lamont, who does not support allocating funds, citing his strict interpretation of the spending cap, has formed a Connecticut Interagency Council on Homelessness to bring all relevant agencies together in collaboration and draw upon successful initiatives..

While greeting this development, advocates say that for the Council to be effective it will take funding.

“We are concerned that Governor Lamont’s rigid application of the spending cap will prevent the Council from offering any real solutions.,” said the State Employees Bargaining Agent Coalition (SEBAC) made up of 15 public sector unions.

“Solutions require services and services require spending.” they said citing under funding and under staffing at the Department of Social Services (DSS) and the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services (DMHAS) both vital to the new Council.

Lack of funding has a disproportionate impact on communities of color, warned the Connecticut for All coalition saying, “Governor Lamont's unwavering commitment to fiscal guardrails neglects the urgent need for targeted investments in racial justice initiatives to combat homelessness effectively and ensure a better future for Connecticut."

At a public forum held by the Connecticut Black and Puerto Rican Caucus of the State Legislature, over 100 testimonies addressed a wide array of issues including funding for services and expanding protections for renters from evictions.

Addressing the need to curb the greed of corporate landlords who are evicting families in order to raise the rent, members of the Connecticut Tenants Union testified in favor of expanding “no cause” eviction protections to all renters. Legislators responded favorably to the proposal that protections now covering disabled and senior tenants be expanded to cover everyone.

This proposal builds on advances made in recent legislative sessions in response to public demands, including the right-to-council requiring legal representation for tenants in housing court, requiring fair rent commissions in municipalities and establishing an Eviction Prevention Fund that stopped nearly 3,800 evictions in its first year.