Donor Briefing Recap: Housing Instability and COVID-19
During a donor briefing on July 24, a panel of Connecticut housing advocates discussed the current crisis within the larger context of preexisting disparities and segregation.
July 31, 2020
With:
Erin Kemple, Executive Director, Connecticut Fair Housing Center
Alexis Smith, Executive Director, New Haven Legal Assistance
Facilitated by:
Christina Ciociola, Senior Vice President for Grantmaking and Strategy, The Community Foundation
Kellyann Day, CEO, New Reach, Board Member, The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven
What We Heard
- The housing crisis existed prior to COVID-19 and is mushrooming.
- In previous years, CT averaged 20,000 evictions, or 18 per week.
- In 2020, eviction filings in CT are predicted to double to 40,000.
- A moratorium on evictions is offering a temporary reprieve but set to expire in August. When the moratorium ends, the housing court will be overwhelmed.
- Legal representation is essential to effectively fight an eviction.
- The crisis is falling hardest on people of color, who are more likely to be renters and at risk for income loss.
- Housing costs are rising because of a recent influx of people moving to Connecticut.
- Applying to government housing assistance programs is cumbersome and inaccessible because of application requirements, limited staff to handle requests, and long wait times.
- The cancel rent movement does not advocate for landlords to not be paid. Rather, advocates are seeking to put the burden for applying for aid on the landlords.
- Every municipality needs to increase its amount of affordable housing.
What We Can Do
- Support affordable housing in your community.
- Support the efforts of affordable housing advocates.
Stay Informed
- Desegregate Connecticut
- COVID-19 in Connecticut: Data Analysis. DataHaven
- Judge: Will Evictions Cause Covid Spike? New Haven Independent
- As $600 weekly unemployment benefits end, a wave of evictions is expected in CT. CT Mirror
- The Community Foundation's COVID-19 Resource Page
- The Greater New Haven COVID-19 Community Fund