CT homelessness is up, and federal support remains uncertain

[Excerpt from news coverage by Sasha Allen and Ginny Monk, Connecticut Mirror, 2/27/26]

Homelessness in Connecticut is on the rise, but attempts to change federal housing policy leave the future of critical funding uncertain.

In Connecticut, homelessness has increased steadily over the past four years, according to Connecticut point in time homelessness count data. A recent report from DataHaven, a state-wide data organization, analyzed the potential impact from attempted federal policy change as well as future funding instability on an already growing population.

In November, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development attempted to shift funding away from the Continuum of Care budget, jeopardizing permanent supportive housing programs in the nation. While a court order halted the funding shift, the change would have impacted more than 6,000 Connecticut residents, and the state would have lost up to $98 million annually in homelessness response funding.

Continuums of care coordinate regional systems that serve the unhoused population. Funding flows from HUD to service providers either through these continuums or the state government. Gov. Ned Lamont in December announced that he’d allocate $5.2 million of his emergency fund, approved by the legislature, to help the continuums of care after federal cuts.

In Connecticut, there are thousands of residents relying on this permanent housing all across the state. The programs typically serve people who were formerly homeless by offering them a place to live. Much of this support goes to people with disabilities who need ongoing services in addition to housing.

The Trump administration has indicated that it will continue trying to change the way federal housing dollars are spent, and the DataHaven report looks at the potential results if that were to happen.

For years, HUD has favored a “Housing First” approach to homelessness, meaning that other problems can be more easily addressed once someone has housing. The Trump administration has taken a different approach, saying in November that the approach fails to address “the root causes of homelessness, including illicit drugs and mental illness.”

But national research has tied increased rates of homelessness more to increased housing costs and a lack of available housing than substance abuse or mental illness.

The DataHaven report supports those findings.

During a Housing Committee public hearing on Tuesday, homelessness service providers referenced the DataHaven report as they testified on a bill that would ban landlords from requiring more than one month’s rent as a security deposit.

Sarah Fox, chief executive officer of the Connecticut Coalition to End Homelessness, said in her written testimony that the barriers to housing are too high for many people.

“That is prevention in plain language: when the front door to housing is too expensive, instability grows, and our homelessness response system becomes the backstop,” Fox said.