Residents of 52 towns in central and northeastern Connecticut may be eligible for direct cash assistance this winter, which United Way staffers said Monday aims to keep people from losing their homes as temperatures drop.
The United Way of Central and Northeastern Connecticut is, for the second year in a row, opening up its Rapid Response Fund for Homelessness and Housing for families struggling to make ends meet. The United Way is putting $100,000 into the fund and anticipates that it’ll be able to help about 150 families.
The cash can be used for a wide range of expenses including past-due bills, food or transportation, officials said. The towns include many in the 860 area code region, including the Hartford area and stretching to the northeast corner of the state.
“As the cold weather approaches — it’s already here somewhat — we need to act to keep individuals and families in safe and stable housing with this diversion funding,” said Eric Harrison, president and chief executive officer of the United Way of Central and Northeastern Connecticut, during a press conference Monday.
The organization is opening the fund in the face of a rising homeless population that has shelters stretched thin. Homelessness has increased in Connecticut for the past three years, and the last count showed that there were 3,410 people experiencing homelessness on a single night in January.
Providers say the number has risen since then, particularly among senior citizens who are losing their housing to rising rents.
“Too many Connecticut residents, too many of our kids, our families and our seniors, they find themselves this Thanksgiving without a home,” said Rep. Kate Farrar, D-West Hartford.
Gov. Ned Lamont spoke at Monday’s press conference, and said he was supportive of the effort to keep people in their homes, although the state isn’t contributing money to the United Way’s fund.
“The not-for-profits hit the ground,” Lamont said. “They’re right there, providing immediate support for people when they need it. Sometimes, government is still revving up their engines, and there’s United Way.”
Housing advocates and service providers have criticized Lamont’s administration and the legislature for not putting more state money into housing and homelessness programs. Lamont has limited spending in an effort to improve the state’s fiscal health.
It’s likely this policy will create tension with advocates who want to see more spending on social services in the upcoming legislative session.
Lamont said Monday the state supports efforts to keep people in their homes in other ways, including by providing rental assistance through the state Department of Housing, aid for child care and offering programs to help people with addiction treatment.
Russell Hansen, director of impact and engagement operations at the United Way, said that helping people with additional expenses such as transportation or food can help keep them housed because they aren’t forced to choose between necessities such as paying rent or buying gas.
Hansen said most people receive a maximum of about $1,000 through the program, and that United Way hopes to expand the fund’s impact through private donations.
People in need can be referred to the program through their town governments.
Matt Hellman, director of social services in Vernon, said he’s seeing more people at risk of losing their homes as out-of-state landlords buy properties and increase rents.
“Tenants who have been at the same location for years are then faced with trying to figure out a way to make up the difference,” Hellman said. “This is extremely challenging, particularly for seniors or persons with disabilities who are on a fixed income. The other option is to find a new place to live. But as we all know, with the current housing shortage, this is also difficult.”
He said the United Way program offers a new way for towns to connect people to services.
Cassandra Gates, a Vernon resident, said she was a participant in the program at the start of the year after a house fire left her and her teenage son with nothing. They lost their clothes, her car and their belongings, she said.
Her son’s mental health declined, and Gates said the money helped her have fewer things to worry about. She could get transportation and new clothes.
“I was able to focus on my family and my son’s mental health,” Gates said. “It changed my life.”
She and her son are set to move into a permanent apartment later this week.