The Housing Collective

10/14/2026

If you are heading to the Connecticut Department of Housing Annual Conference this week, don't miss our Litchfield County Centers for Housing Opportunity Director Jocelyn Ayer moderating a panel about modular homes.

Our Litchfield County team have been delivering housing more quickly in rural areas through modular housing. Stop by the panel to learn how from Jocelyn plus from Signature Building Systems, Capitol Region Council of Governments - CRCOG, and the Foundation for Norfolk Living.

📍 When Speed Matters: Modular Homes MythBusters
🕐 10:30 AM-12:00 PM
🔗 https://cthousingconference.com

10/14/2026

Thank you to everyone who joined our Centers for Housing Opportunity Eastern Connecticut (CHO-EC) and Pro-Homes CT in New London on Saturday to learn about how the city is preparing through the future with housing and development near transit.

“I think that developing areas around transit is better, because that means less people have to own a car, that means less pollution for the community,” Connecticut College student and CHO-EC intern Joshua Caskey told the The Day. “I’m also interested in the transit aspect, because to be able to use transit you have to have adequate transit services, and right now I don’t think that’s the case in New London.”

Among the sites were the the apartments being built above the Day building, and on the former church collapse site.

10/13/2026

Older adults are the fastest growing demographic experiencing homelessness in the U.S. The documentary "No Place to Grow Old" follows their stories.

Join us in Stratford next month to watch the film, connect with community members, and discuss how to address this issue in Connecticut.

We're proud to host this event with
Town of Stratford Town Hall and the resident-led Stratford Housing Collaborative.

📅 November 12 | 5:30 - 7:30 PM
📍Stratford High School
🔗 Register: tinyurl.com/NoPlaceToGrowOldNov2026

10/10/2026

From 2014 to 2021, Connecticut invested heavily in new supportive housing for people experiencing homelessness. If you were homeless, the network got you into housing, then focused on getting you back on your feet.

Fairfield County reduced homelessness by 49% during that time. Connecticut became one of the first states to effectively end veteran homelessness in 2016, and we nearly ended chronic homelessness in Fairfield County.

Since 2021, the pandemic disrupted the real estate market. Rents and home prices soared. Investment in supportive housing decreased, and homelessness has increased every year since.

By 2025, unsheltered homelessness increased by 45% in Connecticut in one year alone. Among older adults, homelessness increased by 33%.

Why such a sharp increase in such a short time? Did 45% of residents and 33% of older adults suddenly start making bad choices last year. Of course not, because bad choices are not the root cause of homelessness.

Homelessness can take many faces, but there's one reliable common denominator for everyone experiencing homelessness: they can't afford a home.

Data shows the main driver of homelessness is housing affordability—when expenses exceed income, people lose housing, double up, and face eviction or foreclosure.

Now, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) wants to further cut investment in supportive housing, and cut off funding for states like Connecticut that have actually done great work to solve homelessness.

Homelessness continues to rise in Connecticut and across the United States because of too little investment in supportive housing and affordable housing more broadly, not because of too much investment.

The tools HUD wants to prioritize–transitional housing, supportive services, sober housing and partnerships with law enforcement–all have a critical role to play. These tools work well as complements to permanent supportive housing, however, not replacements for it.

Today, on , we submitted comments today to HUD outlining this reality. Peer organizations are encouraged to submit as well. Read our full comments:

🔗 https://thehousingcollective.org/news/comments-hud-notice-justifying-additional-incentives-reduce-homelessness
📸 Pacific House supportive housing in Stamford, CT

10/09/2026

We wrapped up our tours of Fairfield County homeless shelters last month in Stamford with Pacific House, Inc. and Inspirica, Inc.

We have been inviting lawmakers inside shelters in order to demonstrate how they work, and where they fit within the larger network of health, workforce, and social services that we call “the homelessness response system.”

As the backbone organization supporting the homelessness response system in Fairfield County, The Housing Collective’s Opening Doors Fairfield County is here to bring together shelters, service providers, people, and policy makers to solve homelessness together.

Thanks to State Representative Eilish Collins Main for joining us. You can ensure our communities remain safe and strong by growing investments in the homeless response system.

10/09/2026

10/05/2026

Thank you to the 150+ partners, friends, allies, and officials who joined us in Bridgeport on Thursday to celebrate 20 years of service from our Founding Executive Director David Rich, and launch the third decade of the Housing Collective under our new President & CEO Jessica Kubicki.

As the "collective," we would be nothing without our partners and our community. This was our first time bringing everyone together under one roof. The experience reminded our team how grateful we are to have such a strong community to collaborate with. We hope you all enjoyed it as much as we did!

10/02/2026

Don't miss this upcoming substance use training for frontline providers located in Northwest CT!

Providers will learn to recognize potential substance use during home visits and client interactions by learning street names, appearance, odor, and other observable indicators of common substances. Participants will also learn how to recognize signs of substance use disorder and overdose, including when and how to respond to a potential overdose and connect individuals to appropriate support and resources.

📍 EdAdvance
📅 October 8
⏰ 10 AM – 1 PM

10/01/2026

🏡 How communities use land has significant implications for housing, affordability and long-term community development.

Our Center for Housing Opportunity Eastern Connecticut recently partnered with Eastern Connecticut State University to explore the connections between land use, zoning and housing with David Dickson, Director of the UConn Center for Land Use Education and Research.

Dickson discussed how zoning requirements can affect opportunities to develop more diverse and affordable housing options in our communities. Thank you to David Dickson, Eastern Connecticut State University and everyone who joined us!

You have two more chances to stop by our Housing Justice conversations during ECSU's Open Classroom series:

🎙Open Classroom: Housing Justice & Civil Rights
📅 October 20, 11am-12pm
🔗 https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/ev/reg/jtsf6nv

🎙 Open Classroom: Housing Justice & Urban Planning
📅 November 9, 4-5pm
🔗 https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/ev/reg/v42skc5

09/30/2026

Thank you to everyone who joined our fifth annual Litchfield County Housing Affordability Summit, hosted by our Litchfield County Centers for Housing Opportunity.

The event brought together the nonprofit housing developers in the region, along with local and state officials and community members. "You are catalysts for housing in northwest Connecticut," our outgoing CEO David Rich told attendees.

KENT — Since 2019, 583 affordable homes have been completed or are under construction in Litchfield County, state housing officials said Thursday, Sept. 24, at the fifth Litchfield County Housing Affordability Summit.The summit brought volunteers from affordable housing groups in 12 towns to the K...