Homelessness Increases in CT For 3rd Year In A Row
Clothes on a fence near Route 72 indicate recent activity at a homeless encampment in New Britain. Credit: Shahrzad Rasekh / CT Mirror
Amid climbing housing costs and inflation, the number of people experiencing homelessness in Connecticut rose another 13% from January 2023 to January 2024 — the third year of continued increases, according to the latest annual count of the population.
The annual point-in-time count, which is a census of the population of people experiencing homelessness statewide, found that there were 3,410 unhoused people in the state on a single night in January. Last year’s count showed that there were 3,015.
Providers and experts say that people are staying in shelters for longer periods of time, there are scant shelter beds, and a lack of affordable housing makes it hard for people to exit homelessness.
“We’ve had a continuing rise across the state as cost of living continues to impact people’s housing stability,” said Michele Condorino, chief executive officer at Open Doors in Norwalk. “The lack of livable wage employment is driving more and more households into the experience of homelessness.”
Condorino, who is also the board president for the Connecticut Coalition to End Homelessness, said it’s disappointing to see continued increases in the population after several years of decreases. The state had cut down on its homeless population, she said, after significant investment.
