(HARTFORD, CT) – Governor Ned Lamont today announced that his administration is releasing an additional $1.1 million in state funding to support the Connecticut Coalition to End Homelessness (CCEH) in the state’s ongoing efforts to prevent families and individuals from becoming homeless, particularly those who are on the verge of homelessness. The flexible assistance funding will complement a $2.5 million donation to the Hartford-based nonprofit that was announced late last year by the Day 1 Families Fund, a philanthropic effort led by Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos.
Last week, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development released its 2019 Annual Homeless Assessment Report to Congress, which shows that homelessness in Connecticut decreased 23.7 percent between January 2018 and January 2019.
Governor Lamont said that nonprofit organizations like CCEH are important partners to the state in the effort to strengthen communities and provide necessary support for residents.
“Increasing the availability of housing for those who are most vulnerable of becoming homeless results in stronger, safer, and more stable communities where families thrive and businesses grow,” Governor Lamont said. “By having supports in place for those who are on the verge of becoming homeless, we can rapidly respond to the situations they are facing. Connecticut’s state agencies and nonprofit providers have formed a solid partnership and collaborative approach on these efforts – and I applaud each of them because the work they are doing is turning lives around.”
The funding is being released by the Connecticut Department of Housing through its current operating budget.
“I believe my job extends beyond the four walls of my office,” Housing Commissioner Seila Mosquera-Bruno said. “I’ve been in my role close to year now and have traveled all over the state visiting developments and shelters, and meeting with housing and homeless advocates. I’ve taken a tour of the 2-1-1 system and as I continue to meet with the Coordinated Access Networks, we’ve discussed what works well and what can be done better. The number one item I hear about is that more dollars are needed to help households before they reach the crisis stage. We hope with this new commitment that we will continue to see a decline in the number of households enter into our system, especially as we look to our annual snapshot count.”
“Over the last few years, Connecticut has developed a range of tools to help local families avoid or quickly exit homelessness into stable housing,” Richard Cho, CEO of CCEH, said. “These sizeable investments enable us to scale-up our response so that we can reach every family that falls into homelessness. We applaud Governor Lamont and Commissioner Mosquera-Bruno for their leadership and financial commitment.”