HARTFORD, Conn. -- In the General Assembly, the Appropriations Committee has been getting an earful about the need for more funding for affordable housing and fighting homelessness.

The pandemic is just one factor in Connecticut's affordable-housing crisis.

Public testimony on Senate Bill 340, which aims to ensure adequate funding for housing services, pointed to the lack of a living wage and Connecticut's high cost of living.

There has also been less money from the state and charitable groups.

Mike Van Vlaenderen, chief operating officer for Reliance Health, Inc., said nonprofits want to be able to cover their staff members' cost-of-living increases, but their budgets are too low.

"And the challenge is, even though we haven't been given adequate funding, we keep doing it," Van Vlaenderen explained. "That's sort of the struggle we always have: If we're going to keep doing it, why would anybody give us more?"

The Connecticut Coalition to End Homelessness said it's working to provide content for the General Assembly as it crafts the bill for funding housing needs.

The National Low-Income Housing Coalition said about two-thirds of the lowest-income rental households in Connecticut spend at least 30% of their income on rent.

Van Vlaenderen added the services provided to people who are homeless include more than finding living space. He argued it takes a holistic approach to get their needs met, and that can't happen without staff.

"It's not just finding somebody on the streets, putting them in an apartment and wishing them luck," Van Vlaenderen asserted. "It's, 'What really are their needs, what are their goals, what strengths can we build off of?' so that they can get back on their feet and get to the next phase of their lives, and not just be off the streets and call it a day."

Groups like the Alliance Voice of Community Nonprofits are also asking the state to invest about $461 million they say have been lost by nonprofit services in Connecticut since the 2007 recession.


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Since February, 66 fair-housing groups across the country have been in limbo while their federal grants were cut, temporarily restored, then tied in with a case that went to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Now, the decision is back in a federal district court.

Since the Fair Housing Act of 1968, these groups have investigated housing discrimination cases and counseled victims. That includes Montana Fair Housing, which relies on a federal grant of $425,000 for about 83% of its annual budget. Advocates for cuts argue they want housing laws to return to a pre-DEI era.

Erin Kemple, vice president for fair housing services with the National Fair Housing Alliance, noted that antidiscrimination laws go back much further.

"The fair-housing laws have been on the books for a long time. And the administration doesn't seem to understand that as a result of that, they have obligations and requirements that they must uphold," she explained. "It's not a policy, it's the law."

Kemple said briefs are due to the district court Friday, April 11. According to the Alliance, there were more than 33,000 reported complaints of housing discrimination in the U.S. in 2023.

Kemple calls housing a "hub" around which almost everything in a person's life revolves.

"It's going to determine where your kids go to school, where you get a job, your access to transportation, your access to food, and even where you go to church on the weekends. All of that is impacted by where you live," she continued.

She added that interruptions to housing services can impact people who use shelters, older Americans moving in or out of nursing homes and access to fresh food.


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Black residents in Illinois are almost eight times more likely to be homeless than white people, with lack of livable wages and affordable housing among the primary drivers.

Researchers from the University of Illinois Chicago said homelessness is an issue of equity with Blacks disproportionately represented across the state. Rent burdens and economic hardship are both driving factors. In 2022, about 63% of Black renters spent more than 30% of their paycheck on housing.

Chama St. Louis, director of organizing and network expansion at the National Black Worker Center, experienced homelessness in the winter of 2011. Even though she was working full-time, she said she could not afford to pay for housing and basic needs for her and her family.

"I felt like I was doing everything right," St. Louis recounted. "You can do everything right and still end up in a place where you don't have a home, because the system is failing us."

One in four Black residents is living in poverty in Illinois and one in seven is in deep poverty. St. Louis argued the Trump administration's dismantling of DEI efforts will only further compound matters.

The state has increased investment in programs such as Home Illinois to address the significant rise in homelessness. St. Louis pointed out even though she registered her and her family as homeless, many programs required her to travel based on the availability at shelters on any given day.

"When we had no gas, then we were sleeping in Walmart parking lots," St. Louis explained. "And on days it was really cold, I would take the kids inside of Walmart and make pallets for them at the bottom of a cart and push them around Walmart for seven hours until the sun came up."

St. Louis added she is now dedicated to helping others who experience homelessness. Along with advocating for improved conditions and wages for Black workers, she stressed she tries to humanize the crisis.

"Outside of the real work that we have to do around policy and making sure that people from a systemic standpoint are being treated fairly, we still have to make sure that we are human beings who care about one another and want to see each other do well," St. Louis emphasized.

The state has earmarked $290 million for homeless services this year but advocates are asking for an additional $100 million for emergency housing, assistance and prevention programs.

The North Dakota Legislature is considering bolstering funding to help military veterans facing homelessness. Key voices say more details need to be sorted out. The state Senate this week unanimously approved a bill that, under its original intent, directed gaming tax proceeds from support organizations, such as pull tabs at an American Legion, to programs and funds for veterans with specific needs. Stable housing is among them.

Christopher Deery, veterans service director leads veterans services for Cass County, said during recent testimony that offices like his want to get a roof over the head of all past servicemembers. But challenges still get in the way, such as pandemic relief drying up.

"We have a lot of veterans with a lot of needs. We're slowly running out of options here, and we just need a little bit of help so we can get that number to zero," he explained.

The bill has cleared both legislative chambers without opposition. But a primary sponsor says because of changes during the voting process, there's still discussion about final language - namely what the funding levels should look like. That suggests additional votes this session. There was chatter during debate about opening the floodgates for support groups for other causes.

Through its Supportive Services for Veteran Families program, Community Action Partnership of North Dakota says it handled an additional 70 cases last year. Of those seeking help, all were either on the brink of homelessness, or already without a home.

Max Pontenila, program specialist veteran and program specialist for the group's Minot office, said as they cobble together resources, they're balancing the need of building trust with clients.

"As veterans, and this is true even on a personal level, raising your hand saying, 'Hey, I need help,' that is a hard experience," he said.

Advocates suggest that hard experience could become more common if the resources aren't there. Nationally, the number of veterans experiencing homelessness declined last year. But there was a 7% increase the previous year, marking the first such spike in a while.