Online Forum to Address Affordable Housing

The Windham Region Interfaith Working Group will sponsor an online forum at 3 p.m. Monday, June 14.

Entitled, "Homelessness and Housing Insecurity Forum: What is Happening in Our Towns?" the program will focus on improving the availability of decent, affordable housing in the area.

Those interested in attending may register and receive a Zoom link by visiting https://zoom.us/.../tJModuysqjgoH9C-8FWd1g442_Hd7BtHd8il

“We’re inviting the community to join together to rethink neighborhoods, housing, and outreach, to meet those who have experienced homelessness, and to learn how they can make a difference,” said Sheila Amdur, chair of the Windham Region Interfaith Working Group. “We hope that the outcome of the forum will be to spur a concerted regional effort to address homelessness and housing insecurity.”

The housing forum will include presentations by four experts in homelessness and housing affordability:

Carl Asikainen, project manager for field mobilization for the CT Coalition to End Homelessness, is working with Sustainable CT to help towns address issues related to people at risk of homelessness. He will discuss measures that can be taken locally to curb homelessness.

Sean Ghio, public policy director for The Partnership for Strong Communities (PSC), will present an overview of homelessness and housing insecurity in Windham-region communities. He will outline risk factors for homelessness in the region and methods for preventing it.

Avery Lenhart will lend her perspective as executive director of the No-Freeze Program, which operates a homeless shelter, to talk about obstacles to addressing the needs of those experiencing homelessness.

Alyssa Norwood, program manager for certification and innovation for Sustainable CT, will discuss the organization’s new program, “Effective, Compassionate Homelessness Prevention.” The initiative provides a step-by-step guide to help towns become aware of housing inequality and assist people who are at risk of homelessness.

While the region has long suffered from a lack of affordable housing, the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the problem. The PSC, which tracks housing costs and availability in the region, notes in its 2021 affordable housing survey that widespread job losses due to the pandemic have greatly increased housing insecurity. In the survey, 28 percent of Connecticut respondents (34 percent of Black respondents) reported they had slight or no confidence that they could make next month’s rent payment.

The high cost of housing is another issue facing the region. According to the PSC data, about half of all renters in Windham and Tolland Counties are “cost-burdened,” that is, they spend more than 30 percent of their income on rent and associated costs.