Advocates Warn Funding Shifts Could Push Thousands Out of Housing and into Life-Threatening Conditions
John Chapman, 62, headed for a nearby emergency shelter when it became too cold for him to stay in his tent. When he arrived, there were no beds left for him. He slept on the floor as others openly used drugs around him. He later told his sister, Madelyn Chapman, that the shelter was frightening and that he would return to his tent. John later froze to death. His body was not found for weeks.
Benjamin Perri Sr., 58, decided six years ago that if he couldn’t find a place he could afford to rent, he’d go outside. He lost his 18-year-old son to a hit-and-run, which left him broken, his daughter Elizabeth Delage said. After sleeping outside for six years, the harsh winter took his life.
Abdulah Kanchero, 65, wouldn’t go to a shelter because it reminded him too much of prison, according to his friend Tammy Varney. “They’re like jails,” Varney said. “They tell you when to shower. They tell you when to eat. They tell you everything.” Kanchero may have been turned away from a nearby overnight shelter, which reached capacity that night. An autopsy found he died from hypothermia.
Chapman, Perri, and Kanchero were three of the 197 people experiencing homelessness who died in Connecticut in 2025. A majority died from hypothermia or other extreme-weather-related causes. Only three lived long enough to reach the state’s average life expectancy.
Homelessness Steadily Rising in Connecticut
The experience of homelessness cuts lives short. In Connecticut, deaths among people experiencing homelessness are increasing as homelessness itself continues to rise.
According to the annual Point-in-Time counts, homelessness has increased steadily each year from 2021 through 2025. Because homeless services have failed to keep pace, unsheltered homelessness has increased by 183% since 2022. Just this past year, it’s risen a startling 45%.
Even more concerning, homelessness could nearly triple in Connecticut due to proposed federal policy changes. Under a recent policy shift, more than 6,000 residents currently living in permanent supportive housing could have lost their homes. Thankfully, Connecticut’s swift response prevented this from happening by using state dollars to fill federal funding gaps left by homelessness service cuts.
States Can’t Carry Us Through This Homelessness Crisis
Connecticut’s use of state funds to fill federal funding gaps is only a short-term solution. For one, it won’t last all year. According to Department of Housing Commissioner Seila Mosquera-Bruno, the state dollars will only carry Connecticut’s contracts with local service providers and housing groups until May.
“So many families, veterans, older adults, and people with disabilities depend on the federal government’s Continuum of Care program to stay in their homes,” Gov. Ned Lamont said. “It is essential that these grants continue so that people do not fall into homelessness and create a potential crisis situation.”
An Ongoing Fight for Continuum of Care (COC) Funds
The federal funding that Connecticut relies on to provide housing to thousands of residents remains uncertain. Here is what we know so far:
On November 13, 2025, HUD issued the Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO), which would shift billions of dollars away from permanent housing programs. NOFO sought to modify the Continuum of Care (COC) budget, which supports permanent housing and housing-first initiatives. A policy shift like this would have devastating consequences.
It would put “approximately 170,000 formerly homeless people, including families with children, people with disabilities, veterans, and older adults, at risk of returning to homelessness,” according to Renee M. Willis of the National Low Income Housing Coalition.
While states and advocacy groups forced HUD to postpone any abrupt changes to the program, the fight continues. As of early February, advocacy efforts successfully pushed Congress to include provisions in the final 2026 Consolidated Appropriations Act (P.L. 119-75). This ensures the swift renewal of 2025 CoC funding, which all states have been anxiously awaiting. However, funding gaps still remain. For example, CoC funding between 2024 and 2025 did not account for inflation and rising housing costs.
Decreased Housing Affordability in Connecticut
According to results from the DataHaven Community Wellbeing Survey (DCWS), housing insecurity in Connecticut is at an all-time high. In 2025, over 300,000 people said they ran out of money for housing costs. Furthermore, while new census data shows that the state increased housing production and gained 40,000 new housing units from 2020 – 2025, more supply has not helped reduce rent prices. In fact, Connecticut saw a 34% increase in the cost of rent for an average two-bedroom apartment, and a 35% increase for a one-bedroom apartment since 2020.
The primary cause of homelessness in Connecticut is decreased housing affordability. With CoC funding not keeping pace with rising housing costs, service providers are expected to struggle to meet funding needs.
Any Future HUD Policy Shifts Will Drastically Increase Homelessness in Connecticut
Future funding and policy changes continue to hang in the balance. Even a pause in funding could be devastating. The potential cost to communities and individuals is enormous. That cost, as noted above, could be death.
Consider the fact that these deaths occurred before HUD issued the Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) – before the fight for funding really became a life-or-death situation. Homelessness has always been a life-or-death issue. Now the question is how many more lives will be lost.
We must demand better.
“We grieve for all who have died experiencing homelessness,” the Rev. Cleo Graham of Faith Congregational Church in Hartford, Connecticut, spoke for a memorial service, honoring the 197 lives lost in Connecticut this past year.
“No one should die without a home. We ask for your forgiveness.”