No municipality in the country has ended all forms of homelessness… But that’s exactly what Norwalk is trying to do. Not just for youth, not just for veterans, not just for individuals – for everyone.
And it may become a model for the rest of the state, according to officials from Opening Doors Fairfield County.
“We’re at a critical point in our work to end homelessness,” Suzanne Piacentini, director of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Connecticut office, said at Monday’s roundtable aimed ending homelessness in Fairfield County.
Norwalk’s program was the focus of the discussion, which was hosted by Opening Doors Fairfield County and HUD. It included officials from Norwalk, Westport, HUD and the Connecticut Department of Housing.
Data shows nearly 320 people, from nearly 225 different households, stayed at the Open Doors shelter in Norwalk from March 2020 to August 2022.
Only 4 percent of those discharged returned to homelessness, as compared to 11 percent at the state level, according to Monday’s presentations.
Learn more at https://www.thehour.com/westport/article/New-approach-to-ending-homelessness-could-be-17390547.php
