Connecticut social service providers are trying to find better ways to address homelessness while also seeking more resources to do the job.
The number of unhoused people in the state has increased in recent years, but the funding hasn’t increased sufficiently to meet the demand, according to homeless aid groups.
Hartford Police Officer Jim Barrett, the capital city’s homeless outreach officer, said it’s more difficult to do his job when the nonprofits he works alongside don’t receive adequate funding.
“I'm trying to help them out, because we want to get this person into housing, but I still have to cater to the residents and business owners of the city,” Barrett said. “I pretty much walk a tightrope, a fine line to help both sides.”
Barrett was among several people who gathered in Hartford Thursday to discuss ways to address homelessness in Connecticut. Last month, more than 4,800 Connecticut residents were experiencing homelessness, officials said. Over the last couple years, there’s been a roughly 14% increase in the state’s homeless population. Some advocates describe the situation as a crisis.
In Hartford, shelter beds are often full, forcing people to sleep outdoors until another becomes available, while Barrett said he scrambles to find an alternative.
“I have residents and business owners complaining,” Barrett said. “They’re walking their dogs out in Bushnell Park or wherever and you have guys shooting up in needles. It's just an eyesore.”
Homelessness criminalized nationwide
U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal used a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision allowing communities to criminalize homelessness as a catalyst for a broader conversation on ways to handle the increase.
Blumenthal and several other Congressmembers wrote to President Joe Biden this month, requesting he declare homelessness a national priority, as the rates of unhoused people rise across the county, Blumenthal said.
“We ask that all underused federal buildings be adapted to housing a set of measures that offer a positive approach, rather than the punitive approach in the United States Supreme Court decision and the criminal laws that will follow,” Blumenthal said.
Following the Supreme Court decision, 17 states have begun the process of making it illegal to sleep outdoors, effectively criminalizing homelessness, Blumenthal said.
Blumenthal requested input on Thursday at the gathering at Hartford Public Library, which featured local homeless service providers.
Hartford’s increased need
Homelessness in the Greater Hartford area has risen by 10% over last year, while the number of available shelter beds has decreased, according to Journey Home, a housing advocacy nonprofit.
People in Connecticut are experiencing homelessness in different ways, according to Sarah Fox, chief executive officer of the Connecticut Coalition to End Homelessness. Some may be staying in a domestic violence shelter or homeless shelter, while others are sleeping in their cars, Fox said. Of the nearly 5,000 people considered homeless, about 2,000 of them are typically sleeping outside on any given night.
Providers say their methods of securing housing and getting residents sheltered are successful, but they need more funding to keep the work going.
The state is relying too much on emergency services and shelters instead of programs that get people permanently housed, Fox said.
“It appears as though we're leaning away from humanity and compassion for people who are our most vulnerable,” Fox said.
