The Connecticut Coalition to End Homelessness and legislators took to the state Capitol on Friday to discuss the state’s housing crisis.
The coalition called on the state to invest $33.5 million for the 2026 fiscal year.
They are asking the state to create a strategic pathway forward to solving homelessness.
The coalition says its budget will cover three priorities: prevention of homelessness, crisis response and sustainable housing for people experiencing homelessness.
"Regardless of where you are across the state, there are many families who today are experiencing something that many of you will never experience,” Sarah Fox, CCEH’s CEO said. “It's the moment when the crisis hit, it's the moment when you don't know what your next step is going to be, it causes trauma and we lose productivity, we lose impact as a state."
According to data released by the Department of Housing and Urban Development, homelessness increased by 13% from 2023 to 2024.