CT CAN End Homelessness 

2026 Legislative Session Update

Progress Worth Building On 

Now that the 2026 legislative session is behind us, one thing is clear: Connecticut’s homeless response system is being asked to do more despite increasing pressure and growing complexity. 

Across our state, homelessness continues to rise. Unsheltered homelessness has increased sharply. More families, youth, older adults, and individuals with complex health and behavioral health needs are entering homelessness. Providers are navigating workforce shortages, rising operating costs, and growing demand with limited resources. 

These pressures are unfolding alongside a broader housing affordability crisis. Rents remain high, unaffordable for too many households. Far too many people are living one unexpected expense away from losing their housing. Federal funding and policy changes and economic instability are already colliding to prevent access to healthcare and food assistance, which will increase homelessness in the months ahead. 

That is the reality we brought into this legislative session. 

CT CAN End Homelessness entered session with a clear message: Connecticut must invest in prevention, crisis response, and housing if we want to stop managing homelessness and begin solving it. 

Our documented statewide need exceeded $121 million, reflecting what communities are experiencing every day across homelessness prevention, emergency shelter capacity, street outreach, workforce stabilization, permanent housing exits, and stronger crisis response infrastructure. 

We knew this was an ambitious ask. We also knew this was not a traditional budget year, and that major new investments would be difficult to secure. Still, we were grateful for the bipartisan coalition we have built that wants to help. In a legislative session where relatively few major bills advanced, this coalition helped move meaningful progress forward while continuing to push Connecticut toward a more coordinated and humane response to homelessness. 

A Meaningful Step on Housing Crisis Response 

While Connecticut did not invest at the scale this moment requires, one of the most meaningful late-session developments was Governor Ned Lamont’s announcement of $5 million in flexible funding through the Governor’s Emergency Response Fund to help communities respond to immediate housing crises amid growing federal uncertainty. 

These dollars closely mirror CT CAN End Homelessness’ proposed Housing Crisis Response Fund and can be deployed quickly to resolve housing crises before they escalate further. 

That flexibility matters. 

Communities can use these resources to address rental arrears, security deposits, utility costs, transportation needs, document recovery, and other urgent barriers that often determine whether someone remains housed, exits shelter quickly, or falls deeper into homelessness. 



This investment does not meet the full scale of need, but it reflects meaningful progress toward building the kind of responsive, flexible housing crisis system Connecticut needs.  

Protecting Core System Infrastructure 

Beyond new flexible funding, preserving the infrastructure that communities rely on every day was critical this session. The final budget includes an overall $13 million increase to the FY27 Department of Housing budget, representing a 9 percent increase over the initial biennial allocation.  

The budget also includes additional staffing resources within the Department of Housing. While the Governor initially proposed a larger staffing expansion, the final budget reflects a more modest increase that will support additional fiscal oversight positions while helping the agency continue to implement recent housing legislation (see below). As new state investments and responsibilities grow, administrative capacity matters. 

Most importantly, the Department of Housing’s Housing/Homeless Services line item was preserved at a time when many providers were deeply concerned about cuts. That line now reflects a $29.5 million balance, down from prior years largely because the Rental Assistance Program (RAP) now has its own standalone budget line. 

The funding allocated in the FY26 budget cycle will continue to support critical homelessness response infrastructure, including: 

• $5 million for CAN Hubs and eviction prevention efforts  
• $5 million for cold weather response  
• $610,000 for shelter operations  

Preserving these resources matters because they support the day-to-day infrastructure communities rely on to respond to homelessness across Connecticut. The budget also included several targeted investments designed to address specific gaps across the system: 

• $250,000 transferred from Department of Children and Families (DCF) to DOH to support youth housing outreach through Thames River Community Service  
• $1 million for Connecticut Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services Housing Supports and Services to help transition CHESS participants from a federally funded supportive housing model into Connecticut’s permanent supportive housing system using RAP vouchers  
• $480,000 through the Connecticut Department of Veterans Affairs to support housing and supportive services for veterans in Rocky Hill  
• $150,000 for Connecticut Department of Social Services to continue a portable showers pilot program for individuals experiencing homelessness  
• $500,000 for Connecticut Department of Transportation related to encampment response activities  

The Connecticut Nonprofit Alliance also helped secure cost-of-living increases of 6 to 6.5 percent for many human service contracts. This is an important step in supporting a workforce that continues to carry enormous pressure. The budget also created a dedicated Rental Assistance Program (RAP) line item totaling $94.1 million for FY27, including: 

• $17 million in FY26  
• $9.1 million in FY27  

These investments help maintain existing voucher capacity as rents continue to rise. While this was not part of CT CAN’s primary legislative agenda, housing resources remain essential because housing solves homelessness. We are grateful to partners across the housing field who helped move this work forward.  

Finally, the state also added $50 million to the Federal Crisis Response Fund in anticipation of continued federal instability. While that planning is important, housing programs were not explicitly included in the state’s mitigation framework despite the clear connection between federal resources and housing stability. 

We are still awaiting additional details through the release of the state budget book and will continue sharing updates as we better understand how certain allocations will be implemented. 

Moving Policy Toward Coordination, Safety, and Dignity 

In a session where relatively few major bills advanced, Connecticut made meaningful progress in codifying a more coordinated and humane response to homelessness. 

Connecticut strengthened its life-saving response during extreme weather. H.B. 5514, now Public Act 26-13, requires the Division of Emergency Management and Homeland Security, in consultation with the Departments of Housing, Social Services, and Mental Health and Addiction Services, United Way 2-1-1, CCEH, municipal leaders, and the Office of the Governor to develop statewide guidance related to extreme weather response. The law focuses on activation standards for dangerous heat and cold, public communication improvements, and stronger statewide coordination when weather conditions put lives at risk. This represents an important step toward creating a more consistent, year-round life-safety response. 

Connecticut created stronger planning expectations for responses on state property. H.B. 5464, now Public Act 26-63, incorporates provisions from H.B. 5235 and requires the Connecticut Department of Transportation to develop clearer protocols when individuals are living on state property. The law strengthens coordination between state agencies, municipalities, and service providers and requires greater planning around communication, engagement, and housing-focused responses. While implementation will matter, it reflects an important shift away from fragmented responses, and toward greater coordination. 

Connecticut advanced greater stability for children and families experiencing homelessness. H.B. 5259 has passed both chambers and now awaits Governor Lamont’s signature. The legislation codifies federal McKinney-Vento protections into state law and helps ensure children and youth experiencing homelessness remain connected to their schools through school stability, transportation protections, and clearer rights for families. This comes at a time when more than 5,400 students in Connecticut are experiencing homelessness. 

Taken together, these policy changes do not solve homelessness. 

But they do reflect something meaningful: Connecticut is increasingly moving away from fragmented, reactive responses and toward systems built around coordination, safety, stability, and dignity. 

That progress matters.

More Work to Do 

Even with meaningful progress, this session also made clear how much work remains. 

H.B. 5260, which would have prohibited municipalities from penalizing people experiencing homelessness for basic activities of daily living, did not advance to final passage despite strong advocacy. At a time when communities across the country are grappling with increased criminalization following Johnson v. Grants Pass, this remains unfinished work. 

Connecticut also did not make the broader housing investments or enact policies necessary to reduce homelessness at scale. We still need significantly more affordable housing, stronger tenant protections, and additional pathways to permanent housing for people exiting homelessness. 

And while the state created a Federal Cuts Response Fund, housing programs were not explicitly included despite the very real risks posed by instability in federal homelessness and safety net funding. 

This all reminds us of what we already know: homelessness cannot be solved through crisis response alone. Housing solves homelessness. Prevention matters. And sustained investment remains essential. 

What Comes Next 

The end of legislative session is not the end of this work. In many ways, the months ahead may be even more challenging. Federal Continuum of Care resources remain uncertain. We are already seeing the impacts of changes to Medicaid and SNAP. New work requirements and administrative barriers are making it harder for people to access healthcare, food assistance, and other supports that help keep households stable. 

When those systems fail, homelessness rises. Those pressures will show up in our shelters, outreach systems, schools, healthcare systems, and communities already stretched thin. 

That is why our advocacy cannot slow down. 

This session showed what is possible when providers, advocates, people with lived expertise, legislators, and community partners move together. We protected critical infrastructure. We advanced meaningful policy reforms. We moved resources that will help communities respond to crisis more effectively. 

Now we build. Together. 

We continue pushing for the housing resources Connecticut needs. We protect critical federal and state investments. And we ensure people experiencing homelessness are not left behind during a period of growing uncertainty. 

Together, we made meaningful progress this year. Together, we can prevent homelessness, respond to crisis with dignity, and ensure more people move quickly back into stable housing. 

Together, we can solve homelessness.

Have questions or need help? Email kwhitney@cceh.org