About
The Opening Doors Initiative manages the homelessness emergency response system throughout western Connecticut.
The Housing Collective’s Opening Doors Initiative (ODI) manages the homelessness emergency response system throughout western Connecticut, including Fairfield County, Litchfield County, and greater Waterbury. The Opening Doors Initiative is made up of Opening Doors Fairfield County (ODFC), and the Northwest Connecticut Coordinated Access Network.
Opening Doors Fairfield County is a regional network of more than 100 agencies committed to solving homelessness in the Greater Bridgeport, Danbury, Norwalk, and Stamford areas.
ODFC is one of two Continuums of Care (CoC) in Connecticut. A CoC is a regional or local planning body designated by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to coordinate housing and services for people experiencing homelessness. ODFC is also one of seven Coordinated Access Networks (CAN) in Connecticut originally established by the CT Department of Housing and partner groups in 2014 to manage homelessness response at the regional level.
The Northwest Connecticut Coordinated Access Network is a regional network of more than 50 agencies committed to solving homelessness in Litchfield County and the greater Waterbury area. This network is also one of seven Coordinated Access Networks (CAN) in Connecticut.
Through the Opening Doors Initiative, the Housing Collective serves as the designated backbone organization for the homeless response system in Western Connecticut. This means we provide dedicated staff and administrative support to align, coordinate, and measure the impact of individual partners within the system like shelters, landlords, and social service providers. We ensure the entire system is operating efficiently and effectively, so that individuals and families can find and keep permanent housing.
The Opening Doors Initiative operates through a framework known as collective impact, where multiple organizations from different sectors collaborate to solve complex problems. We work from a common agenda, use shared metrics and measurements, ensure coordinated action and communication, and rely on dedicated backbone support staff from the Housing Collective to advance housing accessibility at the system-level.
