CCEH is committed to providing guidance for realtors and landlords interested in helping us house our clients. Here are some responses to questions frequently posed by property owners.

Who are our clients?

Our clients come from many different backgrounds. Some of our clients struggle with disabilities; many are hard-working individuals or families derailed by one-time crises. Our goal as a coalition is to quickly match all of our clients with housing. We believe that all of our clients are better off in homes than in shelter, and are eager to work with landlords willing to go the extra mile to house our clients.

What kind of financial assistance do we provide?

Our clients have access to financial resources to help with the housing process. Below is a schematic of different types of housing assistance available:

Types of assistance available to our clients

Here is a description of these five types of housing assistance:

  • Eviction prevention funds refer to financial assistance available to clients prior to eviction. Currently there is no statewide source of eviction prevention funds available.
  • Shelter diversion funds refer to financial assistance available to clients who are at the front door of shelter. These funds are available exclusively to clients referred by 2-1-1. CCEH has some limited funds available for this purpose.
  • Rapid exit funds refer to one-time financial assistance available to clients who have recently entered shelter. These funds assistance with one-time expenses such as first month’s rent and security deposit.
  • Rapid re-housing is a more intensive program available to higher-need clients in shelter. Rapid re-housing financial assistance covers the first few months of rent and is typically structured to taper off as the client’s financial situation stabilizes. Rapid re-housing often comes with case management.
  • Permanent supportive housing is typically available to clients with disabilities that prevent them from supporting themselves financially. Permanent supportive housing includes vouchers that cover 70% of the rent, with the other 30% covered by employment, social security, veterans benefits, or other sources of income. Permanent supportive housing also includes case management.

Please note that availability and eligibility for these resources varies by region.

What kind of case management do we offer?

Types and duration of case management is available for most rapid re-housing and permanent supportive housing and varies by region. It is reasonable to ask the client’s case worker what sort of case management will be available. Watch this video to hear from a case worker explaining how she assists clients who she has helped house clients:

[Insert video of case worker testimonial here]

How do I know that clients understand their responsibilities as tenants?

Our shelters clients to participate in a client certification program. Clients are asked to watch a short video produced by CCEH and CT REALTORS Association outlining their rights and responsibilities and answer some basic questions based on the video’s content. Here is the video we ask clients to watch as part of their certification process:

[Insert video of tenant rights and responsibilities produced by CCEH and CTR here]

How do your clients understand the landlord’s role?

Here is a video outlining the rights and responsibilities of landlords. We ask our clients and partner realtors and landlords to watch it to make sure that everybody is on the same page:

[Insert video of landlord rights and responsibilities produced by CCEH and CTR here]

What are the benefits of working with our clients?

Don’t take it from us! Watch several testimonials from realtors and landlords who have had positive experiences working with our clients.

[Insert video of case worker testimonial here]

Above all, you can rest assured that you have made Connecticut a better place when you help one of our clients return home. Thank you for helping our coalition make sure every one of our clients can experience the comfort and dignity of a place to stay safe at home.