The rising cost of food, compounded by Fairfield County’s cost of living being significantly higher than the state average and rising (Nation Low Income Housing Coalition), means that people in our surrounding towns are suffering. In many cases, families are having to decide between food or rent. “Making choices about food or rent in one …
Westport Lifestyle, “The First Step to Housing Stability: Eat.” Read More »
Managing money well takes training. There are so many financial decisions to make – rent, mortgages, student loans and saving for that rainy day. There’s a lot to know. But where can people go to develop sound financial skills? This week on The Full Story we’re exploring local programs and online resources that educate people …
WSHU’s The Full Story: Good with Money – Developing Financial Literacy Read More »
During the height of the pandemic, federal funding, eviction moratoriums, and housing services helped individuals and families who were at extreme risk of losing a secure place to live. Today those support systems are gone. Affordable housing is scarce in our region, and, in Connecticut, the number of people who don’t have homes is on …
WSHU’s The Full Story: Staying Housed and Healthy Read More »
Samm Williams of Open Doors worked with the National Alliance to End Homelessness to answer the question: “How do we assist homeless services staff, so they can continue to assist the individuals we serve?” Read her blog post to get a provider’s perspective at https://endhomelessness.org/blog/how-to-value-frontline-staff
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 …
Norwalk’s approach to ending homelessness could be model for rest of CT Read More »
The first graduates of the Savings Match Program at Open Doors’ Financial Opportunity Center (FOC) celebrated their successes on Friday, July 22. Each client works with FOC financial coach Eddy Agyeman to create a plan with their budget to save at least $400 over six months. Open Doors initially planned to match each dollar saved, …
Open Doors FOC celebrates first Savings Match Program graduates Read More »
On May 17th, 2022, LISC was joined by over 70 community partners at the Financial Opportunity Center (FOC) Network 2nd Annual Virtual Open House. LISC presenters included Michele Conderino, Executive Director and Eddy Agyeman, Financial Coach & Digital Literacy from Open Doors. Michele Conderino, Executive Director at Open Doors, highlighted the impact of the pandemic on …
Open Doors Presents at LISC CT Financial Opportunity Center open house Read More »
Evictions are devastating, and increasing rents across the state are making it harder for our neighbors to be able to stay in their homes. “Average rents in Connecticut have increased by more than 15% year over year… Meanwhile, more than 50% of renters are cost-burdened, or pay more than 30% of their income on housing costs.” Connecticut …
Evictions could top pre-COVID numbers, hit vulnerable communities hardest Read More »
The cost of living, particularly in Fairfield County is increasing at a significant rate and debt can quickly snowball if you’re unprepared. “Sometimes changes such as divorce, major medical expenses, or the loss of a job can upend your budget and if you don’t have the savings; that’s how it can all start,” says Open …
More than a shelter: Open Doors hopes to end homelessness Read More »
Each year, homeless service providers across the country coordinate a Point In Time (PIT) count. Typically, volunteers go out and survey people experiencing unsheltered homelessness for that one day. However, the methodology had to change due to safety concerns. Outreach case managers Samm Williams and JP Rossi were among the outreach teams and homeless specialists …
Outreach workers seek out homeless CT residents in annual count Read More »
