In Hartford, in the chapel of the transitional housing center St. Elizabeth House, half a dozen state legislators gathered Friday to lament over insufficient funding for the homeless population as winter approaches.
The homeless population in Connecticut has risen 13%year-over-year, according to Connecticut Coalition to End Homelessness Chief Executive Officer Sarah Fox.
During the last legislative session, homelessness service providers sought $50 million to aid Connecticut’s steep increase in homelessness.
Ultimately, $5 million was awarded for this winter’s services and to boost the state’s 2-1-1 response system. The funds have not yet been released by the state Department of Housing.
State leaders said the existing homeless support funds are insufficient to last through the upcoming winter.
Republican State Rep. Jay Case who represents Connecticut’s 63rd District of Winchester, Colebrook and Torrington, is on the board of his local winter shelter. The unreleased $5 million is impeding the Torrington area cold weather shelter from preparing for its November opening, Case said.
“We're less than two months away from opening, and we don't have money to rent the place yet,” Case said. “We still have to put that place together. We have to get the fire inspections. We have to get the health inspector. We have a lot of inspections that take a long time to do.”
A date for the funds release has not yet been announced, and legislators aren’t sure what the state will do when the $5 million runs out.
The funds will be released soon, but had to go through a lengthy governmental process, Department of Housing Deputy Commissioner Brandon McGee said. To bolster the state’s homelessness response, the state is releasing several hundred additional housing vouchers to provide aid for qualifying families.
There are currently an estimated 40 families and 500 individuals are currently sleeping outdoors according to Fox. More than 3,800 Connecticut residents are experiencing homelessness, including 480 children.
