EDITORIAL NOTE: The following opinion piece is from Rafael Pagan Jr., executive director of Stamford-based Shelter for the Homeless. The nonprofit serves the lower Fairfield County community by providing temporary housing to those in need and helping clients attain self-sufficiency.-- FH
Why Supportive Housing is Important ... to the Homeless and to You
Last month, Gov. Dannel Malloy presented the 2012-13 budget along with a pledge that he would seek shared sacrifices from individuals and businesses to fix that which is broken in Connecticut. I was surprised and impressed with the governors decision to include a significant allocation of $30 million in capital expenditures and operational expenses to create supportive housing for the homeless and those most at risk of homelessness.
Funding will be administered through the Department of Social Services and the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services, two state agencies that over the past 10 years have done an extraordinary job of addressing the needs of homeless individuals and families throughout the state. This is an important step forward in the ongoing campaign to reduce and, ultimately, end homelessness in Connecticut.
According to Portraits of Homelessness in Connecticut, a study published last month by the Connecticut Coalition to End Homeless, or CCEH, emergency shelters in the state served 11,700 people last year, including more than 1,500 children. Also, 3,800 men, women and children are staying in Connecticut emergency shelters and transitional housing programs on any given day. And if those statistics alone arent alarming, the study says, "Half of all families and 40 percent of single adults in shelters reported that this was their first homeless experience.
There are many reasons for homelessness poverty, isolation, substance abuse and mental illness. The recent recession has had a significant impact as well, because people lost their jobs or suffered a reduction in income, while state and local governments cut budgets for many of the safety-net programs and initiatives designed to address these problems.
But regardless of the reasons for homelessness, there are ways to eliminate it by building permanent housing combined with access to support services for employment, education and health and community inclusion.
Supportive housing saves tax dollars and makes sense. Stable housing gets people out of emergency shelters and back into the community. Nonprofit organizations in Stamford such as St. Lukes LifeWorks, Laurel House, the Mutual Housing Association and the Shelter for the Homeless have significantly reduced the level of homelessness by developing permanent, affordable housing together with the supports people need to maintain their housing and recover their lives.
Cities and towns throughout the state that have developed supportive housing have realized significant savings through the reduction in use of public services by the homeless. Construction of supportive housing units helps stimulate local economies by providing jobs for people who build and maintain the structures. Neighborhoods with supportive housing are more attractive to developers and businesses.
All of which combines to benefit the larger community and you.
Rafael Pagan Jr.
Executive Director
Shelter for the Homeless
137 Henry Street, Suite 205
Stamford CT 06902-5801
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