Connecticut is failing to provide affordable housing for essential workers and new public investment is needed, according to a report prepared for two state agencies. And without better regional planning, the prioritization of housing based on need and “proactive” investment, Connecticut’s housing problems will surely get worse, the study’s authors predict.
The $500,000 report shows that Connecticut workers making 50 to 81 percent of county median income — janitors, administrative assistants, carpenters and others — can afford to live in many of the state’s nearly 2.2 million housing units.
But cashiers, child care workers and many of the state’s unemployed laborers who fall in the low-income (31 to 50 percent of county median income) and very low-income (30 percent or less of county median income) categories struggle to find affordable housing statewide.
“Housing Connecticut’s Future: Meeting the State’s Affordable and Accessible Housing Needs,” released Thursday and commissioned by the Department of Housing and the Department of Social Service, also shows huge disparities in home-ownership between racial and ethnic groups.
While two-thirds of all Connecticut households own their homes, only 57% of Asians, 40% of Native Americans, 39% of Blacks and 34% of Latinos fall into that category — compared with 76% of whites.
Connecticut is failing to provide affordable housing for cashiers, child care workers and many of the state’s unemployed laborers, Michael Hamad, The Hartford Courant, Feb. 4th, 2021, available here