Has someone you know lost their home?

More than one in 10 CT residents let someone live with them last year when they had nowhere else to go

In Connecticut, we care for and support each other. But people need a place to call home, and right now, when the cost of living is too high, more people are being pushed out without anywhere else to go.

In the last year, more than one in 10 (13%) people in Connecticut said they let someone live with them for at least two weeks when the person had nowhere else to go, according to recently released data from Connecticut Project grantee DataHaven. It’s even higher in some areas, like cities and in wealthy towns.

You probably know someone who is considering moving, or has moved, because their rent or mortgage got too high. As the cost of groceries, utilities, and rent increases, people are forced into making tough decisions about how to make ends meet. Using coupons, shopping sales, and cutting back on nonessentials only goes so far. Connecticut needs real change.

“I often think about leaving the state entirely, but CT is the only place I can call home,” B., in Southington, told us. “I’ve lived in other states. It’s not the same.”

According to DataHaven, 35% of people in the state – about one in three people – said they are just getting by, or worse. 

People are afraid they’re going to fall behind. Almost one in 20 people are behind on their mortgage or rent. Of those who are behind, 28% think they’re going to be evicted or go into foreclosure within the next two months.

Rent isn’t affordable, and buying a house is getting more difficult. Prices are going up, but wages aren’t, which makes it hard to save for a home or to afford emergencies.

Janel in New Britain, told us she paid $900 a month for a three-bedroom apartment three years ago. Now, she pays $1,450 a month for a two-bedroom apartment.

“I can’t afford to move even with my Section 8 because the financial demands to post a security deposit are unreasonable and unrealistic, so I’m stuck in a too small place, with no real hope to do better,” she said. “The state and economy are not kind to single parents, or really to any parent who wants to work and still be able to see their kids.”

Without a place to stay, it’s harder to get a driver’s license, find a job, and enroll children in school. Being forced out because you can’t afford to renew a lease, moves people away from their support systems, takes children out of their schools, and can force workers to quit their jobs if they can no longer get to work. In some cases, people are separated from their families and have to give up their pets.

The data shows that many people in our communities are willing to open our doors for loved ones who need a place to stay and have nowhere else to go. But it shouldn’t have to be like this. Rent and homes should be affordable so that people don’t have to go from couch-to-couch to have a roof over their head.

The cost of living in Connecticut isn’t sustainable. Rent and home prices keep going up, but wages aren’t. Lifelong residents are being priced out of their communities, adult children can’t afford to move out of their parents’ homes, and buying a house is becoming more out of reach.

Join us in the fight for a better Connecticut so that everyone has the opportunity to thrive, no matter what their zip code is.