Impact

Dramatically Reducing Chronic Homelessness in Fairfield County

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For years, chronic homelessness was seen as one of the hardest problems in the homelessness response system — too persistent, too complex, and too deeply rooted to solve.

People experiencing chronic homelessness often faced overlapping barriers: disabling conditions, long histories of housing instability, trauma, poverty, and difficulty navigating fragmented systems. Providers across Fairfield County were working hard every day to meet immediate needs. But the system itself was not yet fully organized around a shared goal: ending chronic homelessness, person by person.

That began to change when Connecticut set a bold statewide expectation: homelessness should not be managed indefinitely. It should be solved.

During Governor Dannel Malloy’s administration, Connecticut challenged communities to think differently about what was possible. State leaders invested in ambitious efforts to reduce homelessness, including rapid-results “100-Day Challenges” that pushed communities to set urgent housing goals, remove barriers in real time, and coordinate across agencies and sectors.

But ambition alone was not enough. To turn a statewide goal into measurable local results, Fairfield County needed the infrastructure to act as one coordinated system.

That is where The Housing Collective — then known as Supportive Housing Works — played a critical role.

Staff from the Housing Collective and our partners participated in a "100 Days Challenge" in Fairfield County

Through Opening Doors Fairfield County, The Housing Collective served as the backbone organization for the region’s homelessness response system. HC did not replace the work of providers, outreach teams, housing agencies, public systems, or community partners. It helped align that work around a common goal, a shared set of data, and a structure for accountability.

HC helped bring partners into a coordinated operating structure focused on reducing chronic homelessness in Fairfield County. Partners used shared data to identify who was experiencing chronic homelessness. They came together through regular case conferencing to understand each person’s housing barriers. They clarified next steps, assigned responsibility, and worked across organizational lines to move people from homelessness into permanent housing.

This was the value of a regional backbone: keeping the work focused, organized, data-informed, and accountable.

The results were dramatic.

From August 2016 to August 2018, chronic homelessness in Fairfield County dropped from more than 200 people to just 16.

That reduction was not the result of a single program, agency, or funding stream. It was the result of a community-wide system working differently — with shared urgency, shared data, shared accountability, and a belief that even the most persistent forms of homelessness could be addressed.

For Fairfield County, the shift was profound. Chronic homelessness moved from something many believed could only be managed to something that could be measurably reduced.

“Getting chronic homelessness down to only 16 individuals was a huge accomplishment. For years, many people believed those numbers could never get that low. It showed what’s possible when an entire community commits to solving a problem together.”

Jessica Kubicki Chief Initiative Officer, Opening Doors Initiative

Fairfield County’s progress was part of a broader statewide moment. Connecticut became a national leader in reducing homelessness, including among veterans and people experiencing chronic homelessness. The state’s progress showed what could happen when public leadership, resources, data, and local coordination were aligned around measurable outcomes.

Fairfield County showed what that alignment looked like on the ground.

HC’s contribution was not simply that it participated in a statewide campaign. Its value was the regional infrastructure it provided — convening partners, organizing data, supporting accountability, and translating urgency into execution.

The lesson remains deeply relevant today.

These gains were difficult to sustain amid declining investment, rising housing costs, and the disruptions of the COVID-19 pandemic. But the achievement still matters. It proves that homelessness is not inevitable. It proves that systems can change outcomes when they are organized around people, data, and shared responsibility. And it proves that regional backbone organizations are essential to making ambitious public goals achievable.

Twenty years into its work, The Housing Collective continues to carry that lesson forward: when communities have the structure to act collectively, even the most complex housing challenges can move from impossible to achievable.

200+ people

Chronically homeless in Fairfield County, August 2016

16 people

Chronically homeless in Fairfield County, August 2018

2 years

Time required to dramatically reduce chronic homelessness

This demonstrates one of The Housing Collective’s core contributions: building the infrastructure that allows communities to move from fragmented response to collective impact. By aligning partners around shared data, shared goals, and shared accountability, HC helped Fairfield County prove that chronic homelessness could be dramatically reduced.