Events

Litchfield County 2026 Housing Affordability Summit

Hosted By

At the fifth annual Litchfield County Housing Affordability Summit, local housing organizations, town leaders, legislators, and housing advocates from throughout Litchfield County come together to share success stories, hear from the Connecticut Department of Housing Commissioner, and tour a local housing site. 

  • A visit to Kent Affordable Housing’s current affordable rental properties and their next one! (optional)
  • An exhibit of local artists' works on the theme of “Home”
  • Good local food
  • Information on how State and Federal legislation will impact housing affordability in our region
  • An update from the CT Dept. of Housing Commissioner
  • Opportunity to meet and hear from local housing groups – celebrate their successes and hear how they overcame challenges
  • Opportunities to share ideas about how we can do this better, cheaper, and more sustainably!

Who should attend? Members of local housing non-profits, area legislators, First Selectmen, town housing committees, and others who care about creating housing opportunity for those who live and work in our communities are all welcome.

During this year's special Litchfield County Housing Affordability Summit: Ideas Edition, we want to hear more from you! We’re adding more opportunities for attendees to share your ideas about creating affordable housing more cost efficiently, sustainably, and/or by involving more community members. 

Check out out call for IDEAS! below and share yours before August 21.

This event will kick off our webinar series the following week, where attendees will have the opportunity to learn and share even more. Stay tuned for updates. 

Want to know what to expect? See highlights from the 2025 Summit.

Engage Your Community 3

2025 Litchfield County Housing Affordability Summit in Sharon, CT (Credit: Pig Iron Films)

Call For IDEAS!

Do you have an idea for how we can create more affordable housing in our region more cost efficiently, more sustainably, and/or by involving more community members? If so, we’d love to hear them. Below, quickly and easily submit your ideas to us by Friday, August 21. At this year’s Summit we’ll have two ways to share your ideas: 

  1. An interactive IDEAS display wall 
  2. We’ll pick three ideas to be presented as IDEAS talks at the event

Guidelines

The Litchfield County Center for Housing Opportunity (LCCHO) invites anyone with an idea to submit a proposal. We are looking for ideas that provoke learning and inspiration, that contribute meaningfully to the conversation on affordable housing in Litchfield County, and that represent a diversity of voices and experiences. We seek to build consensus and provide outside-the-box thinking, not to revisit familiar, unresolvable disputes on these topics. Specifically we’d like to hear your ideas for how we can create more affordable housing in our region—cheaper (while maintaining quality and durability), faster, more sustainably, or involving more community members. We want to recognize that our local housing non-profits already have these goals in mind AND that there are also new ideas worth exploring on these topics. 

The IDEAS and Talks presented at the Summit will not include inflammatory language, political or religious agendas, or “us vs. them” language. The three selected speakers will have the opportunity to have their talks published as op-eds (edited for space) in The Lakeville Journal after the event. Talks should be between three and eight minutes and can include audiovisual elements. 

submit

Submissions are due Friday, August 21. A panel including the LCCHO Director, a representative of the Foundation for Community Health, and a local housing non-profit representative will review submissions and notify speakers of their selection by August 28. Final speech and audiovisual materials (optional) are due for review by September 10. Speakers will attend the summit on September 24 to deliver their talks. 

Please submit by completing the form below. Proposal materials may also be submitted via email to jennifer@thehousingcollective.org.

Use ctrl + click or command + click to select multiple options

Provide a brief bio and tell us about yourself.

Please list and upload (if available) any additional materials that would be displayed during your talk.

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Lead Sponsor

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Hosted in partnership with

  • Foundation for Community Health

    Foundation for Community Health is a private, not-for-profit foundation serving the greater Harlem Valley of New York and the northern Litchfield Hills of Connecticut, FCH works to create the conditions required for health, well-being, and equity. To accomplish their mission, FCH makes grants, conducts research, provides technical assistance, and supports collaboration and advocacy.

  • The Lakeville Journal

    Founded in 1897, The Lakeville Journal is a nonprofit community newspaper serving northwest Connecticut and the surrounding region. It is published by LJMN Media, Inc., a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization formed in 2021 and based in Falls Village, Connecticut. LJMN Media also publishes The Millerton News, founded in 1932 and serving eastern Dutchess County, New York.

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