The President released his fiscal year (FY) 2013 Budget Proposal, which included a proposed funding level of $2.231 billion for HUD’s McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Grants – 17 percent higher than the final FY 2012 level. The $2.231 billion would include:
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$286 million for the Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG) program;
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$5 million for the Rural Housing Stability Assistance program; and
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$1.94 billion for the Continuum of Care program, including:
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Renewing existing projects;
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$8 million for HMIS; and
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$22 million for new projects and CoC planning.
Congress will also hold hearings on the proposal and will begin drafting its own appropriations proposals. The National Alliance to End Homelessness will kick off the FY 2013 McKinney Appropriations Campaign with a massive letter-writing effort to Members of Congress urging their support for the Administration’s request. We hope you will participate!
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Protect the homeless crisis response system. Maintain funding for the Housing/Homeless Services Line item in the Department of Social Services Budget. The Department of Social Services has proposed cuts to the Children in Shelters program (which provides child care assistance to families attempting to get out of shelter); and cuts to Connecticut’s Homelessness Management Information System, a U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development-mandated system which collects data from state funded shelters, transitional and permanent support housing. This line also includes operating funds for homeless and domestic violence shelters, residences for persons with AIDS, rental assistance, security deposit guarantees, and homelessness prevention interventions.
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Expand the number of state-funded rental assistance certificates. Housing subsidies are the single most effective intervention to prevent and end family homelessness. Recent studies show that half of federal subsidies go to elderly and disabled people, thereby exacerbating the need for vouchers for homeless, low-income and working families. The rental assistance program (RAP) is only serving approximately 2,776 Connecticut households, and about 2,000 more are on the waiting list which is closed.
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Invest in new supportive housing and save state dollars. Supportive housing is a proven, cost-effective solution to long term homelessness that matches supportive services with affordable housing. Investing state dollars in supportive housing for frequent users of expensive state services reduces the number of people who rely on more costly emergency and crisis services and saves money.
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Preserve and revitalize the state public housing portfolio. It is critical to preserve and upgrade our current affordable housing infrastructure and to build new affordable housing units for elderly, disabled and very low-income families. Governor Malloy’s proposal would provide $30 million in bond funds and $1.5 million in project-based rental assistance per year over ten years to transform their current portfolio, affecting potentially more than 14,000 public housing units. This is especially critical at a time when Congress is proposing reducing federal housing resources.
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Increase economic security among Connecticut’s poorest residents by:
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Extending cash assistance time limits to allow parents to complete job training and education programs.
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Increasing investments in the youth employment program to help to build a workforce pipeline, and preventing housing crises and homelessness among youth, a growing sector.
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Building employability of low-skill adults through paid work experience combined with education, training, transportation and child care assistance.
The Connecticut Coalition to End Homelessness seeks to prevent and end homelessness in Connecticut. For more information, contact Lisa P. Sementilli, Deputy Director.
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For the first time in decades, the State of Connecticut is making a historic investment in revitalizing over 14,000 units of public housing. In addition, the Governor has proposed funding for 150 additional rental assistance certificates for scattered site supportive housing.
“Updating the state’s housing portfolio will help to bring market pressures to bear to make housing more affordable…and not only for public housing residents, but for entire neighborhoods”, says Carol Walter, Executive Director of the Coalition. “This is a pivotal time for Connecticut, as we desperately need the jobs that this investment would create.”
It is estimated that this proposal may yield some 6,700 construction, trade and related service jobs. Some individuals in emergency shelter are unemployed or underemployed construction workers. “This measure could help to stabilize household income, which means putting some folks back to work and potentially preventing some families living on the edge from becoming homeless” Walter states. The economic downturn has led to significant job losses in Connecticut, particularly among construction and service workers.
“The Governor is putting a down payment on economic vitality in our communities. Now its up to mayors, business people, public housing authorities and community leaders to maximize these investments and creatively finance them to get the lowest possible cost per unit so that this has the greatest impact,” Walter adds, “what happens on the ground is critical.” The Connecticut Coalition to End Homelessness intends to work with community plans to end homelessness to ensure that state investments are targeted wisely and brought on-line as quickly as possible.
The reorganization of housing assistance programs within the new State Office of Housing within DECD is intended to streamline and coordinate such services. Rental assistance, emergency and domestic violence shelters, Residences for Persons with AIDS and others would be consolidated. CCEH will work with the administration to make sure that this goes smoothly and results in a housing-based system response to homelessness in Connecticut.
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Would you lke to participate in our legislative advocacy efforts?
Check out our 2012 Legislative meet-up and activity schedule.
For more information contact Lisa P. Sementilli, lsementilli@cceh.org
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