Fairfield County is experiencing a significant increase in their homelessness, with a total of 3,410 people that are currently homeless in Connecticut, a record for the state.
There has been a 19% increase in homelessness from October 28th from 2023 to 2024, and the number continues to rise. Many families in Fairfield County are currently homeless, with most of these families having children under the age of 18.
Before COVID, homeless families received immediate shelter. However, now there is no longer enough space in shelters. Since 2023 Connecticut has also faced a shelter worker shortage, which has added to the problem. The rate of homelessness has been steadily rising since 2021.
“Homelessness is a terrible issue that we have and I think it is exceptionally worse when you have children,” NHS ACAD Support teacher, Colleen Kimball said.
According to CT News Junkie, there were 310 homeless households with children. In 2024, that number increased to 362. One of the contributing factors is the rising cost in housing in Connecticut, which makes it more difficult for people to find affordable housing. More than half of Fairfield County’s homeless population are in the Bridgeport area, and Fairfield County is in need of approximately 25,000 affordable homes.
“I purchased a house for $400,020 and that was right around the price range I had to have and luckily it was right before COVID. It was October before COVID, now my house would go for $600,000 after COVID,” Coldwell Banks Realtor Kate Greerer said.
As of 2023, and still rising during 2024, the US has about 580,000 people who become homeless every night. In Connecticut there are 3,015 people who become homeless every given night. In Fairfield county, 597 people become homeless every night. The average cost of living is around $47,000 a year for a single-person household.
The average income salary in Connecticut is $60,000 a year before taxes. After taxes, it would be $61,000 plus insurances and other payments,leaving the average person with about $60,000 yearly, a 27% difference from the average single person household cost.
“Homelessness is a big issue because rental situations costs are so high and the people living in rental situations are unable to stay where they are living. There is no affordable housing and rents are up,” Licensed social worker in the Department of Human services in Newtown, Alexa Griffin said.
In Norwalk the average 1 bedroom apartment costs $85,080 annually which is more than the average person in Connecticut’s yearly income. In a 4 bedroom apartment in Norwalk the average cost is $137,720 annually. There are 31% of households in Norwalk making less than $50,000 annually.
As specified by Connecticut Minor, recently people have been staying in shelters for a longer period of time. Inspirica, a homeless shelter in Stamford CT, has a waiting list of 6 months. According to locals in Stamford CT, when calling Inspirica, they instruct to get in contact with United Way to see if they are able to give a voucher for a hotel. Most homeless citizens in CT are told by United Way to apply to a shelter or move to NYC. According to CT Minor, Connecticut’s Nonprofit Journalism this is because of the inflation and interest rates being higher in CT.
In New Haven many more beds in homeless shelters have been added to a total of 75 new beds. According to the New Haven Register, there were 633 people on the Greater New Haven Coordinated Access Network's list of unsheltered individuals which is a 246 percent increase from last year at this time.
“I think better wages would make a big difference,” Greer said.
“If you are homeless the best thing to do is go into a shelter. You rarely can get into the shelter if you don’t call 211,” Griffin said.
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