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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Construction will begin early next year on new affordable housing dedicated to low-income Oregon farmworkers. This project is the latest by the Farmworker Housing Development Corporation, a nonprofit that is partnering with Energy Trust of Oregon to make their housing more energy efficient. This year, the FHDC hosted workshops teaching more than 200 families how to save energy at home.
Ramon Martinez, communications and advocacy coordinator with the FHDC, said the payoffs are significant. Along with receiving more than $20,000 in incentives to help reduce energy use across their properties, residents' bills are down.
"During the cold months, some people are afraid to turn on the heater, right? But its been great because I've heard successful stories about residents seeing $200, $300 bills, lowering it down to the $100 range," he explained.
Research shows that most farmworkers in Oregon do not have access to affordable housing and often live in over-crowded conditions.
In Oregon and Washington, 32% of farmworker households live in poverty, which is more than twice as much as the general U.S. population. The Farmworker Housing Development Corporation manages 460 units across the central Willamette Valley, providing affordable housing to more than 2,000 people. Along with rental housing, it also helps farmworkers who are interested in becoming homeowners.
Christian Meneses-Zurita, senior asset manager with the FHDC, said it has hosted homebuyer resource fairs and recently started a fund to help farmworkers find housing and pay for education.
"Our affordable housing options can be a stepping stone," Meneses-Zurita said.
More information about the Ramon Ramirez Fund is at www.FHDC.org.
In early 2025, construction will begin on new affordable housing dedicated to low-income Oregon farmworkers.
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One life-altering situation turned a North Carolina woman's stability into homelessness and now, she is sharing her journey to humanize homelessness and advocate for solutions to affordable housing.
Tonya Adams-Ruffin, 54, never imagined she would end up on the streets. A combination of domestic violence and a work accident left her without a home, a situation from which she is still recovering as she transitions into new housing.
"That was one of the hardest things that I had to do," Adams-Ruffin explained. "Not knowing if someone is going to try and hurt you, not feeling safe."
With support from the Interfaith Council for Social Services, Adams-Ruffin is using her experience to lead and advocate for change. After receiving leadership training from the council, she has taken on roles such as working the polls in her community and raising awareness about the realities of being unhoused.
Another way Adams-Ruffin is raising her voice to dispel myths about homelessness involves creating signs to raise awareness, with messages like "We may be homeless, but we're not helpless." The signs are part of her larger effort to spotlight the struggles faced by homeless individuals, challenges extending beyond appearances to include barriers in accessing essential resources such as safety, food and shelter, even from organizations designed to provide them.
"Just because you're homeless, you don't want to have to be in a situation where you can't bathe, eat, lie down when you need to and feel safe," Adams-Ruffin pointed out. "What I would do is say, 'Look, we need to do more with affordable housing.'"
Adams-Ruffin stressed her advocacy thrives through partnership with the council, which helps her amplify her vision for community impact. She is also raising awareness about a national grant to support those facing homelessness.
Alyssa Hinton, voter engagement project lead for the council, said the organization is providing the resources and support Adams-Ruffin needs to make a difference.
"There is a national grant that is up for $25,000 for anyone who has faced or is facing homelessness right now," Hinton noted. "We are priming and prepping our members to be able to apply for that grant. We have ideas. We can get this money. We have a place to do this. Let's do it together."
In 2023, nearly 10,000 people in North Carolina were homeless on any given night.
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Low-income Montana residents are getting help accessing legal aid online.
In some cases, updates to automated legal forms could help residents facing eviction stay in their homes, and also assist people who need help with family law issues.
Montana Legal Services Association will use the $275,000 technology assistance grant to overhaul and redesign its most-used automated, online legal forms.
MLSA's Community Legal Education Coordinator Linden Howard-Murphy said the information from those forms will be integrated into the state's court systems.
"We know that not everyone can afford a lawyer, and we also know that navigating the court system on your own can be extremely overwhelming," said Howard-Murphy. "One of the cornerstones of our work here at MLSA is empowering Montanans with the tools they need to handle their civil legal problems pro se. Pro se means without a lawyer."
MLSA data show there is only one legal aid attorney for every 8,900 Montanans who need civil legal help. Howard-Murphy said upgrading the online forms will help improve those numbers.
Ron Flagg - president of the Washington, D.C.-based Legal Services Corporation, which awarded the grant - said streamlining the online help low-income Montanans can access could be the difference between staying in their home and being evicted.
"And if you're living on the edge, that means you're one medical expense, one fender-bender from not being able to pay your rent," said Flagg. "And having legal assistance available in those cases is a game changer."
The Legal Services Corporation funds 130 nonprofit legal aid programs nationwide.
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