It was winter and Kiera Marrero lived in a house with no heat.
Her four young children struggled with the cold and became sick from the cold, even as the family donned gloves and sweaters to stay warm.
The property owner didn’t want to help, Marrero explained to Ashley Sandoval, family engagement coordinator at the Human Resources Agency of New Britain, who translated her story.
After HRA heard about Marrero’s situation, Sandoval said the nonprofit got to work “right away.” Sandoval explained how the city of Hartford placed Marrero and her children in a hotel for two weeks before the family received a voucher for the Head Start on Housing pilot program – a first-in-the-nation initiative to provide permanent supportive housing to families experiencing homelessness. whose children are enrolled in Head Start.
Today, Marrero’s family is one of 144 households that have received vouchers and homes since the program launched in 2022. According to Gov. Ned Lamont’s administration, the program will expand this year with a new annual allocation of 50 federal vouchers from the Connecticut Department. of Housing.
The number of children experiencing homelessness in Connecticut has increased more than 75% since 2021, according to the state’s most recent Point-In-Time Count data. In January 2024, the annual statewide count found that children under the age of 18 made up 20% of the state’s homeless population.
To date, 85 K-12 students and 232 children under age 5, who qualify for free early childhood education through Head Start, have benefited from the Head Start on Housing program.
“Those early years are absolutely critical when it comes to young children’s brain development, and we know that housing instability and homelessness can have a real negative impact on our children and their health and development,” said Elena Trueworthy, Connecticut’s acting commissioner. Office of Early Childhood, said. “Placing a safe roof over a child and a child’s family is absolutely crucial and it truly lays the foundation for all future learning and success.”
Lamont said the joint effort between the Department of Housing and the Office of Early Childhood Education means so much more “just the roof.”
“What we have here is a program that we put together that integrates child care and home, and those two are absolutely invaluable,” Lamont said. “We need to expand this statewide.”
According to data from the Connecticut State Department of Education, 5,463 students experienced homelessness in the 2023-2024 school year. According to the data, more than 60% of students were considered “doubled-up” and living with family or friends, while 20% lived in hotel or motel rooms and about 14% lived in shelters. The department reported that 122 students were “unsheltered, living in cars, parks, public spaces, abandoned buildings, substandard housing, bus or train stations, or similar environments.”
Housing Commissioner Seila Mosquera-Bruno said the Ministry of Housing provides homelessness support and prevention to 25,000 families and individuals every year.
Mosquera-Bruno said the goal is to “not have children in a shelter.”
“We can’t keep doing the same thing and expect a different outcome. We have to think differently and try to be more efficient (and) remove barriers,” Mosquera-Bruno said.
She explained that the Head Start on Housing model “allows Head Start partners to identify the families who may need a home so they don’t have to be on a waiting list.”
“That will help them in real time,” Mosquera-Bruno said.
“By reducing the red tape that often comes with obtaining permanent housing vouchers, we are giving Connecticut children and their families a greater opportunity for economic and educational success that might not otherwise be possible,” Mosquera-Bruno said in a news release. the expansion. “We are leveraging our existing resources to provide comprehensive services, reiterating that continued collaboration is essential for effective programs that help our children and families.”
Before she was approved for a Head Start on Housing voucher, Lisamar Candelaria and her six children were homeless.
Candelaria described moving her family between different hotels and motels, sometimes paying more than $2,000 to keep a roof over her children’s heads while earning minimum wage.
When Candelaria signed up for the program, she said she was left with “no hope” and “nothing left.” Now she has ‘a beautiful house’.
“I have never lived a stress-free life. I’ve always worked. I never had help. So I’m very lucky to have this kind of help that I have now, and my children are very happy,” Candelaria said. “Not only did my daughter get an education, I was able to get help for me and my children at the same time.”
