Photos from Cathedral Green Supportive Housing Tour
Cathedral Green, in Hartford, will feature 28 affordable 2- and 3-bedroom affordable apartments for families, including 14 supportive housing apartments. It was developed by Catholic Charities and the Archdiocese of Hartford. The newly renovated building will open to tenants in late summer.
NeighborWorks New Horizons Celebrates Canterbury Gardens Ribbon Cutting
Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro joined Neighborworks New Horizons for a ribbon cutting ceremony at Canterbury Gardens in New Haven on June 22, 2009. The renovated apartment complex includes nine supportive housing apartments among thirty-four 1-, 2-, and 3-bedroom affordable apartments for families and individuals. NeighborWorks New Horizons will provide the property management to the complex and Leeway, Inc. will provide the on site support services. The renovation was funded in part by the State of Connecticut through the Next Steps Initiative.
At the grand opening ceremony, NeighborWorks New Horizons presented awards to individuals who helped make the project possible, including U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro. Diane Randall, Director of the Partnership for Strong Communities, also received an award honoring the advocacy work of the Reaching Home Campaign.
Reaching Home Dinner Honors Supportive Housing Heroes and Draws Record Attendance
Last Thursday's Reaching Home Celebration Dinner & Awards was attended by over 380 state agency leaders, advocates, tenants, sponsors, funders developers, and service providers and was a great success. Although we face a pull back in the state's commitment to create new supportive housing, the event gave us all the chance to reflect on this year's many highlights in the supportive housing movement. We were reminded that the commitment to end long term homelessness in Connecticut is alive because we know that supportive housing works.
The evening was a wonderful opportunity to honor the heroes of the supportive housing movement. The awards were presented by Fran Martin of CSH, Bob Hohler of the Melville Charitable Trust, Commissioner Pat Mayfield of the Dept. of Labor, Commissioner Mike Starkowski of the Dept. of Social Services, Linda Kelly of the Hartford Foundation of Public Giving and Commissioner Tom Kirk of the Dept. of Mental Health and Addiction Services were able to present the awards to the seven winners.
CT Dept. of Economic and Community Development Commissioner Joan McDonald and Tim Bannon, Executive Director/President of the Connecticut Housing Finance Authority did an excellent job as our Masters of Ceremony for the evening. Click here for a list of the supporters who generously funded the event - thank you!
Channel 8 Features Supportive Housing and Celebration Dinner
Fran Martin of the Corporation for Supportive Housing and Emily Robinson of Columbus House were in the studios at Channel 8 WTIC News to explain how supportive housing is an effective solution to ending homelessness. They discussed how supportive housing offers individuals living with disabilities the stability they need to rebuild their lives. Emily Robinson reported that over the past 12 years, Columbus House has had an over 97% success rate in keeping tenants housed.
The June 11 Supportive Housing Celebration Dinner paid tribute to the success of supportive housing and the seven award winners being honored that evening. Fran Martin said the dinner is “an opportunity for this broad-based coalition of partners to also recognize one another and to celebrate the accomplishments of the campaign.”
Leeway Supportive Housing Groundbreaking in Hamden
Leeway, Inc. broke ground in a ceremony for its newest supportive housing development, Leeway-Putnam, in Hamden. Leeway-Putnam will feature 17 1-bedroom apartments, along with community spaces, meeting rooms and offices and is funded by the State of Connecticut Next Steps Program, with capital financing from the Connecticut Housing Finance Authority (CHFA); annual service dollars from the Connecticut Department of Mental Health & Addiction Services (DHMAS); and rental subsidies from The Connecticut Department of Social Services (DSS). Read more here.
HEARTH Act Reauthorizing McKinney-Vento Passes Congress
After years of hard work to pass legislation reauthorizing the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Program, advocates are celebrating. The HEARTH Act that reauthorizes McKinney-Vento for the first time in 20 years was signed by President Obama May 20 after overwhelming passage in Congress as part of S896 Helping Families Save Their Homes Act. U.S. Sen. Christopher Dodd championed the legislation and all members of Connecticut’s congressional delegation supported the HEARTH Act that represents a significant advancement in the movement to end homelessness.
The HEARTH Act will make the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Program more flexible and streamline the process for competitive grants. This legislation increases resources for homeless families with children, enhances Emergency Shelter Grant programs to prevent homelessness, expands the definition of homelessness to include families with children as well as people who are about to lose their housing in the next 14 days, provides incentives to create supportive housing, and gives more flexibility to rural communities. For more information, please visit the National Alliance to End Homelessness’ website.
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