Testimony to the Connecticut General Assembly Appropriations Subcommittee on Conservation & Development

Senator Osten, Representative Walter, Senator Hartley, Senator Kushner, Representative Exum, Representative Paris, Senator Somers, Representative Nuccio, and distinguished members of the Appropriations Committee:

My name is David Rich. I am the President & CEO of The Housing Collective, a non-profit organization based in Bridgeport. We provide backbone support for the homelessness emergency response system in western Connecticut, and respond to the affordable housing crisis in Fairfield County, Litchfield County and the three counties in Eastern Connecticut. I am also a resident of Salisbury, CT.

I respectfully request that the Appropriations Committee increase and annualize approximately $33.5 million for Connecticut’s emergency homeless response system, as outlined in H.B. 6864: An Act Concerning the State Budget for the Biennium Ending June Thirtieth, 2027. This includes $33.5 million allocation for the state’s emergency homeless response system includes $6.2 million for housing, $7.8 million for homelessness prevention, and $19.5 million for crisis response. 

I also respectfully request that the Appropriations Committee increase funding for the State Rental Assistance Program (RAP) by $20 million, as outlined in H.B. 6864. The $20 million allocation for the State Rental Assistance Program includes $11.5 million just to keep pace with soaring rental costs and serve families already receiving rental assistance, and $8.5 million to expand the program. 

This proposed support comes at a critical time. The federal government has been a key partner in our efforts to prevent homelessness. Their partnership is no longer guaranteed, however, and the consequences of even modest federal cuts to the social safety net would be significant. 

Homeless Response System

My job at the Housing Collective is to help keep hard-working individuals and families out of the shelter system, and off of the streets. After doing this work for two decades, I know Connecticut has the resources and the capabilities to prevent homelessness because I have seen it.

In 2014, my organization and several partners helped establish Connecticut’s eight Coordinated Access Networks (CANs) which represent the state’s coordinated emergency homeless response system. Afterwards, we drove down homelessness for seven years in a row, ended veteran homelessness, and earned recognition as a national model from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The system was working well.  

In 2020, the pandemic caused an unprecedented disruption in the real estate market. Rents and home prices soared, and homelessness has increased every year since, rising 13% last year alone. Meanwhile, budget allocations have remained the same, not even keeping pace with inflation. As a result, today, 1 in 4 people is being turned away from services because the system does not have enough capacity. 

Again, our state has the capability to prevent and solve homelessness. The Connecticut CAN system works when it receives resources that meet the scale of the challenge. I urge the Appropriations Committee to help Connecticut embrace our role as a national leader in the homelessness prevention space, and invest in our capabilities by allocating $33.5 for the homelessness response system, as outlined in H.B. 6864. 

Rental Assistance Program

The $20 million allocation for the State Rental Assistance Program includes $11.5 million just to keep pace with soaring rental costs and serve families already receiving rental assistance, and $8.5 million to expand the program. 

Since 2021, rent in Connecticut has increased 29% but RAPs have not kept pace. Current funding for RAP is insufficient, with a $5.6 million deficit so far this year due to rising rents. It is clear that  additional funding is urgently needed just to keep the program running. 

Further, the last time the program’s waitlist was opened, more than 10 years ago, 86,000 households applied for assistance and just 3,000 were selected by lottery for the waitlist. With thousands of households still waiting for assistance, it is clear that additional funding is also urgently needed to expand the program.

In our state and across the country there is a false narrative that homelessness is the result of people’s poor choices. In other words, if you lost your apartment or your home, it’s your own fault. Yet in 2024, homelessness increased 13% in Connecticut. So what happened? Did 13% of Connecticut residents suddenly decide to start making poor choices last year? Did 13% of Connecticut residents stop working? Of course not. 

In order to afford a two-bedroom apartment in CT, you need to make $34.54 per hour.

In order to afford a one-bedroom apartment in CT, you need to make $27.98 per hour.

The average hourly wage for renters in CT is $22.50 per hour. 

More than half of the families and individuals who come into the homelessness response system in Fairfield County are working, and many are working two or even three jobs. We’re also seeing more and more seniors (65+) in our homeless shelters. From 2023 to 2024, we saw a 35% increase in seniors experiencing homelessness in Fairfield County, and seniors now account for 9% of all individuals coming into the system. 

So many hard working residents in Connecticut are doing everything they can to stay housed and are still falling short, and falling into homelessness. That’s because homelessness is a systemic problem driven by the unaffordable cost of housing. It requires systemic solutions. The RAP allocation in H.B. 6864 represents a meaningful step in that direction.

I know everyone on the Appropriations Committee wants Connecticut to be a place where everyone can enjoy health, well-being and stability. Research soundly demonstrates that housing vouchers increase housing stability, household income, reduce racial disparities, and improve health and educational outcomes. This means you have an opportunity to take a meaningful step towards making Connecticut a better place for all residents by increasing funding for the State Rental Assistance Program (RAP) by $20 million, as outlined in H.B. 6864. 

Please seize this opportunity. 

Federal Cuts

By all metrics, Connecticut is already experiencing a housing crisis. It is now taking place against a backdrop of deep cuts to the social safety net at the federal level. 

In January, the Trump Administration paused all federal grants. Although this was immediately rescinded, it offered a preview of a “worst-case scenario” which could still come to pass. 

Earlier this month, the Trump Administration announced intentions to cut approximately half the staff of the Department of Housing and Urban Development. 

The Department The federal government has been a stalwart partner to Connecticut in the effort to end homelessness, but that partnership can no longer be counted on.

The majority of the state’s homeless response system is funded by the federal government through HUD. If the federal government withdraws even a portion of its support, the system–which is already strained–could break. 

In Fairfield County alone, where my organization provides backbone support to the system through Opening Doors Fairfield County (ODFC), we are set to receive more than $26 million from HUD for FY 2025-2026. ODFC passes this funding on to dozens of shelters, housing agencies and social service providers. This includes:

• $18,392,830 million that supports 327 units of rapid re-housing and 800 units of permanent supportive housing
• $6,103,135 which supports 81 staff (full-time equivalents) who help manage coordinated entry into the system and provide support services
• $1.1 million in "planning funds" to support community wide efforts that facilitate coordinated strategies to end homelessness at a regional level by optimizing resource allocation and service delivery
• $463,000 to operate the Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) which allows the community to collect and analyze data on individuals experiencing homelessness, enabling coordination and progress tracking

Even a modest cut to Connecticut’s federal allocation would equate to a significant increase in homelessness. Against this backdrop, the state of Connecticut has an opportunity to step into the breach, and step into our role as a national leader in preventing homelessness, by supporting the proposed increases for RAPs and the homeless response system in H.B. 6864.

Thank you for the chance to present this testimony.