The Connecticut Housing Coalition (CHC), an NLIHC State Coalition Partner, has joined with the National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials’ (NAHRO) state chapter to raise awareness of sequestration’s damaging impact on those with the greatest housing needs in the state. Released in July, the results of a state survey project dramatic increases in affordable housing needs due to the across-the-board federal budget cuts that took effect in March 2013. Advocates are using the findings to educate state and local officials about the crisis and encourage their Congressional delegation to restore and increase housing program funds. Advocates surveyed Connecticut public housing agencies (PHA) about sequestration’s current and projected impact on their agency budgets, programs and services, and the strategies they will use to mitigate it. Responses from more than 40 agencies show a loss to the state of almost $11.5 million in Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) funds as a result of the cuts. Approximately 900 families that otherwise might have received housing assistance remain on the HCV 5-7 year waiting list as agencies are forced to freeze the program. Another 90,452 families are eligible for the program but do not receive assistance and they continue to live in inadequate and unaffordable housing. In the meantime, agencies report that landlords increasingly are unwilling to accept HCV residents due to the instability of the program’s funding.A mother of two spoke with CHC staff about her frustration with being on the HCV waiting list for more than five years. “All I really need is a decent and safe apartment for my family that I can afford, but there is nothing out there,” she reported. “There are no options.”PHAs reported sequestration will mean more than $6.5 million in lost public housing funds in the state. Following nearly a decade of receiving less money than needed to operate, agencies now must deplete their already scarce funding reserves to shield families from the brunt of the cuts. PHAs project major job losses (26 employees have been laid off thus far) and continued delays with maintenance and capital improvements. In addition, units will not be leased, and important resident service programs will be eliminated. “On the one hand, there is talk of ending of homelessness; on the other, we let apartment after apartment become abandoned,” said Peter Hance of the Waterbury Housing Authority. “How does that make sense?”Advocates report that members of the state’s Congressional delegation have found the survey helpful in seeing how sequestration directly impacts their lowest income constituents. The findings also have gained the interest of Governor Dannel Malloy (D), who has invested significant state funds and administrative resources to address Connecticut’s affordable housing crisis. CHC and the Partnership for Strong Communities, an NLIHC member, plan to publicize the increased need for affordable housing through op-eds and other media. In addition, CHC will work with the New England Housing Network to administer the survey in surrounding states, in an effort to create a regional conversation about sequestration.“We need to find ways to put a face on sequestration,” said Betsy Crum, CHC’s executive director. “There is a general perception that no one has been hurt, but we know better. It’s time to get the story out.” For more information, contact Betsy Crum, Executive Director of Connecticut Housing Coalition, at [email protected].