Recommendations To Improve Affordable Housing Efforts in Connecticut
Mark J. Nolan, Chair, Danbury Housing Partnership
Since returning from the National Forum on Ending Veterans
Homelessness co-hosted by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and the
United States Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH), I have had the
opportunity to discuss the information and recommendations shared at the forum
with our local partners and community representatives. This presents Danbury and Connecticut
with an opportunity to learn about and implement successful strategies to
address homelessness and affordable housing employed not just at the Federal
level but by States and local communities throughout the country.
Based on my experiences at the National Forum and
discussions with community representatives, I will be making a request to the Danbury Housing Partnership to
authorize me to forward a recommendation to incoming Governor Dannel Malloy to
re-establish and re-invigorate the State Interagency Council on Homelessness to
provide Connecticut with the same degree of cooperation and collaboration on
the part of State departments currently being implemented on the Federal
level. The State Interagency
Council can not only insure that affordable housing and homelessness receive
the priority required on the State level, but can also serve as the lead entity
for coordination with housing efforts being implemented by Connecticut
communities implementing Ten-Year Plans
to End Homelessness.
A robust State Interagency Council is needed to support and
implement the following recommended State initiatives:
1. Invest
State funding and resources in affordable housing initiatives as part of a
coordinated State economic recovery and growth strategy. Investment in housing, even in
difficult economic times, is not just the decent thing to do- it makes good
economic sense. Investment in
affordable housing will bolster local economies, create good paying jobs,
address social needs and ensure that Connecticut will maintain the diverse
workforce needed to support economic expansion. Coordination of effort by the State Interagency Council will
ensure that scarce State funding will be effectively invested and reduce the
possibility of duplication of services that can occur when agencies compete
rather than cooperate.
2. Ensure
that a proportion of funds invested in affordable housing goes to supportive
housing efforts as recommended by the best-practices studies undertaken by the
United States Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH). Supportive housing programs, which
combine affordable housing with needed services for clients, have been found to
not only be most effective for addressing the needs of homeless persons, but
also to be most cost-effective for States and municipalities. Well-run supportive housing programs
break the inefficient “revolving door cycle” of individuals’ excessive
utilization of costly emergency care that places an unnecessary financial
burden on local communities and taxpayers.
3. Ensure
that there is effective communication and coordination between local
communities and the State with respect to efforts to address homelessness and
provide affordable housing. The
State Council could be a great resource for ensuring that local efforts are
supported, for reducing duplication of efforts and for disseminating current
information on the extent of homelessness and effective strategies employing
best practice models.
At a time when local and State resources are limited and
taxpayers strained to the max, it makes sense to do all that we can to ensure
that State and local efforts to address urgent social and economic needs are
coordinated and implemented in the most effective and cost-effective
manner.
To learn more about the Danbury Housing Partnership and our efforts
to address the issues of homelessness and affordable housing please visit our
website at www.danburyhousingpartnership.org. I also invite you to volunteer to join
us in this community-wide effort to strengthen the Danbury region through the
provision of affordable housing, workforce housing and senior housing for area
residents.
For more information, please contact Chairman Mark J. Nolan
at 203-797-8255.
Please click on the link to see Chairman Nolan's Comments on the National Forum To End Veterans Homelessness.