During the last year, Fairfield County saw a significant rise in homelessness, and housing advocates and providers are looking for ways to boost affordable options.
New homelessness rates paint a picture of the area’s need for more affordable housing. Fairfield County saw a 19% increase in homelessness during the last fiscal year, according to Jessica Kubicki, Chief Initiative Officer of Bridgeport-based nonprofit The Housing Collective.
Kubicki was one of four housing experts who spoke at a panel regarding homelessness in Fairfield County, hosted by Fairfield County’s Center for Housing Opportunity.
Fairfield County has more than 20 families suffering from homelessness with children under the age of 18, Kubicki said.
“I'm referring to the actual families that are living in their cars because, single mom, with multiple children, and it's impossible to afford with the income that they have,” Kubicki said. “That has been the biggest, significant change that we've seen over the last couple years.”
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, Kubicki said, unhoused families were virtually unheard of, as they would immediately receive shelter. Now, there isn’t enough space.
In Fairfield County’s Coordinated Access Network, run by Kubicki’s team, there are currently a total of 94 men, 40 women and 23 families experiencing homelessness and on the shelter waitlist. Within the families are 36 children under the age of 18.
“We actually now have more than 25% of those on our shelter wait list that are over 62 and recently we've had people in their 80s accessing emergency shelter,” Kubicki said.
Statewide, there are more than 4,300 individuals and families seeking shelter, according to a list of aid recipients gathered by the state Department of Housing (DOH).
“People of color are widely over represented in the homeless numbers, even though the white population technically has more by flat out numbers, it's relatively close,” DOH’s Steve DiLella said.
More than half of Fairfield County’s homeless population are in the greater Bridgeport area, and the county is lacking about 25,000 affordable homes.
Several communities in Fairfield County have affordable housing and land trust funds, which allow developers to donate to the funds, rather than construct affordable housing.
Carmen Colon, executive director of Stamford-based emergency shelter and affordable housing group Pacific House, believes that practice should be changed.
“I really don't think that we should let them off the hook that easily by paying X amount of dollars instead. I want the units, not the money,” Colon said.
Housing experts, like Colon, said focusing on deeply affordable housing, targeting residents earning a fraction of the area’s average income, and changing zoning codes to permit more multi-family housing, would help solve the housing crisis.
“Enforcing inclusionary zoning definitely would benefit all of us,” Colon said. “We really need to get into some rental caps. These trends are just astronomical, and I just don't see a way out.”
