Testimony to the Connecticut General Assembly Housing Committee
Senator Marx, Representative Felipe, and members of the Housing Committee:
My name is Angel Bermudez. I’m a resident of Waterbury, CT and Program Coordinator for the Housing Collective, a non-profit based in Bridgeport. The Housing Collective manages the homeless response system in both Fairfield County and Northwest Connecticut, including Litchfield County and Greater Waterbury, and supports regional housing affordability initiatives in western and eastern Connecticut.
I am testifying in support of House Bill 05160 An Act Appropriating Funds to Assist Homeless Persons, and Senate Bill 151: An Act Prohibiting Certain Land Use and Zoning Limitations on Housing.
Unsheltered homelessness - meaning people living outside - increased by 45% in Connecticut in 2025. Among older adults, homelessness increased by 33%. Did 45% of residents and 33% of older adults all the sudden start making bad choices last year, and that’s why they became homeless? Of course not. That’s because homelessness is more about the cost of housing than about individual choices.
I work on what we call the “entry” side of the homeless system. That means I engage with people who are entering the homeless response system right after losing their home. Based on my experience, the most effective and cost-efficient way to address homelessness is to prevent it before it starts.
You can prevent homelessness by helping people keep their homes. You help people keep their homes in many ways. For example, you can make sure the cost of housing does not grow beyond people’s ability to afford it. Or, you can also intervene and support someone before they’re about to lose their home.
That’s why we support increased funding for the homeless response system through House Bill 05160. In particular, we are calling for a $10 million Homeless Crisis Response Fund. This would provide what we call “flexible funding” for the system or “flex funds.”
Flexible funding provides fast, targeted financial assistance that is tailored to a household’s immediate needs. That could mean covering a car payment, utilities, legal services, or a short-term housing gap.
Flex funding works because it offers support during the narrow window of time before someone loses their home. It catches people before they’re pushed over the edge into homelessness. And trust me, this is far less expensive, and far more effective than the alternatives.
By waiting until homelessness occurs to provide support, we lock ourselves into the most expensive possible interventions: shelter beds, emergency rooms, and crisis services.
Instead, let’s make targeted, timely investments to address a temporary setback before it becomes a permanent crisis.
I also want to voice support for S.B. 151: An Act Prohibiting Certain Land Use and Zoning Limitations on Housing. As I mentioned, another way to help people keep their homes is to ensure the cost of housing does not grow beyond what regular people can afford.
S.B. 151 will make it easier for builders to produce smaller, attainable starter homes that Connecticut's housing market desperately lacks. This is an essential step towards building better communities, allowing first-time homebuyers to establish themselves in our towns and cities.
