Winter is coming, and advocates fear that the Trump administration's cuts could force thousands more Connecticut residents into homelessness as federal housing aid is slashed by 70%.
The administration announced this week that it will redirect most of its state aid away from permanent housing and toward things like substance abuse and mental health treatment.
Sarah Fox runs the Connecticut Coalition to End Homelessness. She said that would leave thousands of Connecticut residents newly homeless as cold weather sets in.
“Housing is health," she said. "Housing ensures people can live with dignity. Without housing, people die. That is not the nation I want to live in. It is not the nation that I believe we are, and I know that we can and must do better.”
Connecticut currently gets about $100,000 from the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Continuum of Care. HUD Chair Scott Turner called the program a "slush fund" that incentivizes government dependency this week.
