Advocate
Columbus House has joined the Connecticut Coalition to End Homelessness and our many partners across the state* to ask our legislators to stabilize and strengthen Connecticut’s Homeless Response System. We must convince our legislators and Governor that the critical services we provide – which save lives and public dollars – can only happen with reliable yearly funding.
ACTION ITEMS:
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Email your legislators, our governor, and municipal leaders – ask them to fight for an adequate and permanent investment in homeless services in our state.
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Encourage your friends, family and colleagues to take action!
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Keep up-to-date on important news and pending legislation that impacts Columbus House by following us on social media or sign-up for our e-newsletter.
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Find supporting talking points and data in these resources:
"Opinion: CT must address housing and homelessness"
Our partners at CCEH have an array of fact sheets and other helpful advocacy tools on their website.
Updates from Connecticut's 2024 legislative session which ran from February 7 - May 8:
Update: May 8, 2024
Our emotions are strong, yet mixed as the Connecticut legislative session closes today. We are deeply grateful for the steadfast dedication of our supporters and partners who've been fighting for a permanent investment in our life-saving services. Your efforts have put us at top of mind and garnered the support of many of our lawmakers, resulting in a one-time allocation of $4.5M for our homeless services sector. Without your letters, calls, and conversations with senators and representatives, this money would not have been made available to us.
Unfortunately, this is not a permanent investment, nor is it nearly enough to make up for the many years of underfunding for our vital programs. Today is not just the end of a session, but the beginning of our continued push for state leaders to recognize the indispensable value our sector provides to the community.
We ask that you look at the Action Items above and continue your advocacy as we prepare for next year's legislative session. Now is the time to keep our work at the top of legislators' priorities!
Read "Opinion: CT must address housing and homelessness" by Jennifer Paradis - Beth-El Center, Tim Maguire - Youth Continuum, and Cathleen Meaden - Columbus House COO (pictured at left in photo above).
Update: March 27, 2024
Homelessness is skyrocketing – there are currently over 5,000 people without homes in our state – but lawmakers have yet to include increased funds for our vital work in the budget. This legislative session runs through May 8, and we can’t give up now. Together, we must continue to push for these crucial investments in our historically underfunded homeless response system.
Please visit cceh.org/advocacy to learn more about our 2024 legislative priorities; reach out to your legislators and ask them to support $20M annualized funding to combat the rise in homelessness; and stay tuned for advocacy alerts via email, on our website, and on social media.
Thank you to all who have contacted your legislators, submitted testimony, and testified in person. Your impactful efforts continue to keep this critical issue at the forefront of their minds.
*Learn more about Coordinated Access Networks here.