Opening Doors Initiative Impact Report
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“The Housing Collective’s support has been really vital to everything that we do here in the Northwest Coordinated Access Network and has really been the glue that's been keeping us together and moving our systems forward in a real tangible way.” - Jared Bruzas, Chief Impact Officer, United Way of Greater Waterbury”
Highlights
Responding to Federal Cuts
After the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development proposed eliminating up to 70% of Connecticut’s homelessness response, the Housing Collective fought back. We encouraged coordination between CT Attorney General William Tong and AGs from 19 other states who filed lawsuits to stop the cuts. In response to these lawsuits, U.S. HUD revoked the cuts. Meanwhile, CT Governor Ned Lamont announced the state would cover rental assistance for the first half of 2026 in response to sustained outreach from ODI and our state and regional partners.
Securing Cold Weather Resources
Alongside state and regional partners, our team successfully pressured Governor Lamont and the General Assembly to set aside $5 million annually in the state budget for cold weather assistance for the homeless emergency response system. We helped secure this funding through a mixture of public awareness, media outreach, and government relations efforts including roundtables with lawmakers, a joint op-ed in the Connecticut Post with Central Connecticut Coast YMCA, and direct outreach to decision makers.
Leveraging Strategic Communications
ODI continued to leverage strategic communications to change the narrative around homelessness and build public will for solutions. We coordinated deeply with media outlets to ensure our initiative and our partners were represented in two investigative series from CT Insider, Two Connecticuts and 48 Hours of Homelessness. These series uplifted the stories of unhoused people in Connecticut and impacted decisionmaking at the state level. In addition, we published three op-eds, two co-authored with partners, to further shape the conversation.
Providing Peer Support
In direct response to feedback from our partner network, ODI prioritized providing peer-to-peer learning opportunities for partners in 2025. We hosted 11 trainings between Fairfield County and Northwest Connecticut on topics including tenants rights, housing problem solving, motivational interviewing, de-escalation and difficult conversations, and more. These trainings brought in local and national experts from the National Association to End Homelessness, Central CT State University, Pollack Peacebuilding Systems, and the CT Fair Housing Center.
Equipping Landlord Partners
ODI partnered with United Way of Greater Waterbury to host a three-part Landlord Learning Series designed to equip landlords and property owners with the knowledge and resources needed to create mutually beneficial relationships between them and their tenants. During these webinars, participants learned how to take advantage of rental subsidies and how to better understand tenants who have experienced homelessness, while hearing directly from landlords who have experience working with at-risk populations.
Collaborating to Find Housing Solutions
The ODI team continued to facilitate bi-weekly, in-person meetings within greater Bridgeport, Danbury, Norwalk, Stamdofrd, and Northwest CT where service providers came together to identify housing solutions for people experiencing homelessness. Relying on a list maintained by the ODI team, together providers would identify a housing solution for every person in the region experiencing homelessness, while prioritizing resources for people facing the greatest barriers to housing.
Strategic Planning in Northwest CT
The ODI team developed a strategic plan with the Northwest CT Coordinated Access Network through a series of intensive, in-person strategy sessions with the partner network, conducted in partnership with organizational transformation consultants Abby Miller and Jen Miller Cribbs. The strategic plan includes a vision, and set of 5 primary goals for focus.
“I help support the front entry operations of the homeless response system for Northwest and Fairfield County regions. I come from a family of social workers; the passion to want to help others feels very natural. When I lived in Ohio; I worked at a community health agency. I had to learn very quickly the resources available to me in a community I didn’t know. Learning how to navigate systems and understand the differences in which they operated is what drives me.” - Gabrielle Gauvin, Director, Opening Doors Initiative ”
By the Numbers
Tracking Progress, Driving Results
- 4,304 people engaged through the homelessness response system
- 2,514 people housed
- 2,004 people diverted from homelessness
- 1,688 people placed into shelter
- 446 people placed into rapid rehousing
- 360 people placed into permanent housing
- 26 trainings & events for frontline staff
- 21 news stories
Looking Ahead
Expanding Impact, Strengthening Partnerships
The Opening Doors Initiative will continue to remain adaptable as we navigate uncertainty from the federal government, while strengthening our day-to-day operations as a backbone for the homeless response system in Western Connecticut. As U.S. HUD de-prioritizes permanent housing, we will strive to move our system to a model based more on transitional housing while doing the least amount of harm to the population. We will focus on securing full funding for the system from U.S. HUD, preserving the existing Permanent Supportive Housing resources that do exist in Connecticut, and restructuring our team to be flexible and efficient in the face of potential future funding changes from U.S. HUD. At the state level, we will advocate for additional resources for prevention, including flexible funding and additional staff capacity for the system.
