This week on the Wheelhouse.

Affordable housing in Connecticut and what the state's doing to help.

Plus, social Security.

Is it at risk?

For Connecticut Public.

I'm Frankie Graziano.

This is the Wheelhouse.

The show that connects politics to the people.

We got your weekly dose of politics in Connecticut and beyond.

Right here.

Homelessness rates are reaching record highs in Connecticut and across the country.

Meanwhile, housing costs remain unaffordable for many.

Both for owning and renting.

During this year's state legislative session.

Several solutions are being proposed.

But will any actually pass?

And just how big of an impact will they really have for people who need help now?

We'll get to that in a bit.

But first.

Congressman John Larson has gone viral.

Last week he called out Elon Musk, head of the Trump administration's new Department of Government Efficiency, or Doge, over concerns about the future of Social Security.

During a committee hearing.

And that's why I do not understand why you would relegate this committee to no longer being of significance and resort to saying you will do whatever Elon Musk and Donald Trump tell you to do.

Where's the independence of the committee?

Where's the legislature?

We're an equal branch of government.

And you start off with a blather and yet look at the empty seats here.

Where is Elon Musk?

That's the face of somebody who wants accountability.

And there he is here to talk about his challenge to Elon Musk is Congressman John Larson.

Congressman Larson, thank you so much for coming on the show today.

Happy to be with you, Frankie.

We got the congressman on the show right now.

We'd like to get you on the line now, folks, if you're listening and have a question just like our friend Denise Trembley did about Social Security benefits last week.

Give us a call if you want to talk to the congressman.

(888) 720-9677, (888) 720-9677.

Congressman, you want answers.

Americans want answers.

It sounds like you're hoping to get them to, Do you feel like you are not?

Frankly, no.

And I think it's, a little more frightening than that.

I think that this administration has to be exposed for what it's attempting to do.

This is nothing short of the privatization of Social Security and the American people.

And you and I may have been born at night, but not last night.

And when you're not going to bring someone who is in charge of finding $2 trillion to cut, who goes on television and The Larry Kudlow Show and tells everybody how he's going to privatize Social Security and Medicare, and then the Trump administration denies it and says, we're not going to touch Social Security.

That demands answers and that demands the Ways and Means Committee, the Committee of Cognizance over Social Security ring Mr. Musk and also the Social Security administrator that Trump has temporarily appointed before the committee and say, why are you getting rid of all of these employees and these regional offices, including the inspector general's?

Why is Trump saying he's not going to touch it?

And yet and frankly, in honesty, Musk says no, he's going to privatize it because 70% of the budget federal budget is made up of Social Security, Medicare and defense.

And that's where he's going.

And what is their goal?

Privatization.

When you say privatization, could you just spell that out a little bit more in terms of the ramifications that that could have for Americans?

Well, as you know, Frank, you know, I think most of the viewers do as well.

Social Security is not an entitlement.

Number one, it's something you've paid for.

It's an earned benefit.

All Americans have to do is look at their pay stub and it says figure that stands for federal insurance contribution.

Who's yours?

Because this is a program that's paid for and entrusted that their government will return to them a benefit.

And in the case of Social Security, not just a pension, but also spousal widow's dependent children and disability benefits.

In fact, more veterans rely on Social Security disability than they do on the V.A., though it's the number one anti-poverty program for the elderly and for the children in this country long sought after in previous times by Ronald Reagan at 82 to privatize it was stopped by George Bush in 2005.

It was stopped.

This time, though, they're being a little more clever.

What they're trying to do is decimate the agency.

Because whether anything is done or not, frankly, in 2034, everyone will see a 20% cut in Social Security because Congress hasn't taken action to enhance the program since Richard Nixon was president of the United States.

That's how dire the situation is and what they hope to do is make the case to the public that Social Security isn't working.

People aren't returning your calls.

You're not able to visit them.

You're not able to see them.

And oh my God, look what's happening here.

You're going to be losing all of these benefits.

Unless, of course, we privatize it.

It's all about them trying to get their hands on.

Not, coincidentally, the Social Security trust fund, which contains 2 trillion, 700 billion in trust funds already paid for.

Insider reported last week that Social Security office in Torrington was actually briefly listed for sale by Doge.

I want to talk to you about potential for sale signs that are coming up and whether or not this is happening in other buildings in Connecticut.

And a little more to that Torrington situation.

Well, it certainly is happening in Connecticut.

It's happening all across the country.

And again.

For what purpose is the purpose here?

Because they're trying to make Social Security efficient.

How do you make Social Security efficient?

By closing a regional office.

Here's what the public needs to know.

We live in an insurance capital of the world.

You know what administrative costs are, on average for an insurance company?

Between 16 and 24%.

Social security operates after cuts from Republicans at an all time low of under 1%.

And they're decimating that even further.

And here's the bottom line.

We don't have to go back to 1929.

You can go back to 2008 when people saw their 401 K become a one on one K, and they lost money during that time, social security, never missed a payment, never has and never will.

As long as Congress does its job, what they'd like to do is get their hands on that trust fund and privatize it.

Eliminate the bureaucracy both of Medicaid, Medicare and Medicaid and Social Security, and therefore say they claim that they're saving the American people money.

Trump's whole focus, he's a master of distraction, sending out all kinds of junk every single day.

But focus on this.

What he's after is his legacy, his tax cut of 2017, Frank, that that actually sunsets this year.

And that was a $2 trillion tax cut.

And that's the assignment he's given to the billionaire Elon Musk, who apparently thinks he knows better than the American people and is above the law.

And doesn't have to come before the United States Congress, the media, or the general public.

Or he does go before the media, but only on Fox News or with Larry Kudlow.

And they never ask him any questions about how he's going to do this.

Congressman Larsen, we have a phone call right now.

I believe this is Marsha from, Long Island.

And I believe she wants to applaud your efforts.

Let's hear from Marsha.

What do you got this morning?

I surely do.

I'm so glad.

I am so glad I.

If I could hug you, I would.

Sad for Larsen, but you too, Frankie.

Oh, thank you, Marsha.

Big radio hug out to you out there on Long Island.

Go ahead.

Yes.

I know you're always sending radio hugs, and, And I just can't tell you how much I appreciate, and, honor and respect.

You know, the way you spoke, you spoke clearly, loudly and so.

So, honestly, to to protect us.

I'm on Social Security.

I'm a retired, independent minister, and I. I'm doing my best.

I'm out there.

I'm going to rallies.

I was at a musk rally last week and a women's rights and I, we were in front of our, representatives, offices because he won't come out and do a town hall.

And we need people like you, Senator, who stand up and say what's really going on and fight for us.

I mean, I, I just my heart broke.

Senator Schumer did what he did, and I don't think he's the person to to really represent us.

Where are our Democratic leaders?

You are one of them.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Marsha.

Congressman Larson, you better soak up that love because we know it's fleeting, in this society.

But my grandfather, Nolan always used to say, I remember this peacock one day, feather duster the next.

God bless your grandfather.

Thank you for that.

I just want to.

I do want to, I'm glad that Marsha gave you that praise so that you could hear it here on the on the air, but, I want to I want to get back to the serious nature of this and that.

This is why Marsha's calling.

Because she's really supportive of your efforts.

Because this is something that she cares about.

Something that a lot of people care about.

People are wondering if they're going to have someone to call a place to go if they have questions about their Social Security.

That's why we asked you about that.

Torrington office, other offices.

What do you say to folks who rely on Social Security about potential office closures?

What would I say to them is be vocal, and continue to keep the pressure on all across the country.

We were at a rally yesterday and, people were saying, hey, look what you have to do.

I don't the entire Connecticut delegation is supportive.

And so they say, well, we know our members.

Well, you got to reach out beyond Connecticut.

This has become something.

Well, apparently, from this video, every single we got calls from every single state in the nation and people saying, what can we do?

What can we do?

And it's voice, your representative, but also voice the Republican leadership.

Also voice Trump minimally, so that Elon Musk comes before the committees and tells the truth.

How big an ask is that?

And also to let them know that you care deeply about your Social Security and don't want to privatize it.

They're going to tell you and sell you a bill of goods down the roll that, you know what?

We could even produce more in terms of the return and monies that you receive if we invested this in the private sector and, you know what?

They could make a case for that, except when you ask them the question, is it guaranteed?

And then the answer is always no.

And as I said earlier, you saw it happen in 2008.

That could very easily happen again.

It's not that Social Security in the trust fund can't be fixed and enhanced.

It should be.

But that takes Congress rolling up his sleeves and getting to work on Social Security.

Something, again, as we said earlier, frankly, hasn't been adjusted since 1971.

The program has not been enhanced.

I want to get into a little reporting we've been able to do thanks to some, folks we spoke to last week.

It was Jory Heckman at the Federal News Network that has said that Social Security Administration is looking at reductions in office space.

We talked about that a little bit earlier.

They're doing this and offering buyouts already.

They're looking at reductions in workforce.

And then you had what Martin O'Malley said the former Social Security Administration had essentially, what you're saying is that they're looking to privatize Social Security.

They're going to try to go after the trust fund.

He's really saying that it's not a matter of if, but when payments are going to be missed.

And then I spoke to somebody last week, a listener, Denise Trombley of Farmington, who said this.

I live in a community of, people 62 and older, and most people that live here rely on their Social Security every month.

And like me, they're all concerned and worried that next month may be our checkpoint.

What can you offer to Denise at this time?

What can you offer to people that are worried about miss payments?

I think the checks will come.

And the reason the checks will come is because the Social Security trust fund, again noting the genius of Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

Is there.

It's intact.

It's 2 trillion, $700 billion.

And it will continue to pay out.

But checks might be delayed, checks might be slowed up.

This is what they're doing.

This is their thinking is to demonstrate that Social Security doesn't work in amongst the 62 year olds and people like us.

I don't think you're a baby boomer, Frankie, but, I'm not some but generation.

They're the ones that are very concerned.

But there are whole generations that believe that Social Security might not be there for them.

That's who they're making their pitch to.

And that's why they're also trying to indicate that whoa, whoa, whoa.

We told you this bureaucracy was messed up and not working.

It's like the, false.

We are still in the committee.

Could we just agree on one thing that nobody 350 years old, receive the Social Security check?

That's the kind of blatant ness of the lies that are being spread.

And Trump reiterated again during the state of the Union message that people at Social Security, even his own appointees, said that's not true.

Along with the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times and anyone who's done any research in it knows that that's not the case.

But Social Security hasn't been adjusted and has been operating off of a Kobalt system.

That's Antiqua, and it needs to be changed.

It needs the effort of Congress to go in there and make it work.

Congressman, we we're we're already over time.

But I want to get this last question in just about 30 minutes for your response or less.

This is what I think, we're thinking about the future of this just in case the money does go away.

Would the state have to pick up any of this tab, or at least try to pay in, to Social Security beyond whatever is in the trust fund?

Is that something.

That is not a state?

Is not a state, it's not a state fund.

And so this is totally and this is the other thing.

And I think your listeners know this.

Don't ever let anyone kid.

This is not an entitlement.

These are earned benefits that you have paid for.

And you should be demanding of your government that they return to you that investment.

And it should be we got 5 million people.

Frankly, they get below poverty level checks from the federal government.

Because Congress has an adjusted the system 5 million, most of them woman, because there wasn't pay equity back then or they were home taking care of their children.

But that is absolutely cruel and unnecessary in the wealthiest nation in the world, in a program that's solid and all it needs is Congress.

And oh, by the way, how about having billionaires pay their fair share?

People who pay nothing are done paying in January, where the rest of us pay throughout the year.

Quite simply, Congressman John Larson is on one at this moment, and he is targeting, the federal government.

He wants to make sure that his Ways and Means Committee actually gets to do some work.

And, we look forward to hearing if there will be a response coming, forward here.

John Larson, thank you so much for coming on the show.

Thank you for ranking my pleasure.

Appreciate you coming on now to have some a little analysis on what we just talked about.

Alex Peterman, reporter for Hearst Connecticut Media Group and CT insider.

Thank you so much for coming on, Alex.

You've been covering the story.

You talked to John Larson directly.

Did you hear anything new?

And what we just heard?

From the congressman?

No, I think, Congressman Larson has been, pretty consistent in his message.

She thinks that this is a really dire moment for Social Security.

You know, as people may know, he's the top Democrat on the Social Security subcommittee, in the House of Representatives.

So.

So he would know, I mean, one thing I asked him was, I think we've heard over the years, you know, he mentioned going all the way back to Reagan.

We've heard, that various Republicans want to cut or privatize, Social Security.

And what makes this moment different?

And his response and what I think a lot of people are feeling is that the the rhetoric has just gotten a little bit bolder.

Some of Elon Musk's comments, I think, have maybe gone a little bit further.

And they're the, current administration is putting some action behind behind this with the closing of the offices that you mentioned and also, some changes to the policy, that, are going to limit what you can do over the phone, which is going to have a big impact on a lot of people.

Is the most dire part of this, because it sounds like he's not worried about payments coming.

And I think that's the big question that a lot of people have.

So he's not necessarily worried about that.

But it's the most dire part about this, as you mentioned, the rhetoric, but the fact that we're not going to see Social Security have the future that many Democrats and many Americans would like to see where there is more money put into Social Security by, say, 20, 34.

Yeah, I think it's hard to know.

I mean, anyone who has tried guessing along with Donald Trump over the past ten years, has probably been wrong.

More than a few times.

You know, this stuff can be can be hard to predict.

I think in the immediate future, a concern is that if the administration is cutting back on some of the infrastructure, laying off employees of the Social Security Administration, limiting what you can do over the phone.

So you would have to verify your Social Security number, either in person or online.

These things are just going to make the program not work as well.

They're going to make life a little bit more complicated for a lot of the recipients of Social Security.

Who knows what the long term plan maybe.

What are you and your colleagues hearing about regional field offices and staff associated with the federal Social Security Administration?

We cited that in our question to John Larson.

We had seen it in one of the, Hearst articles published a few weeks ago regarding a for sale sign outside of a Torrington business.

Actually, I think it was a metaphorical one, as it was listed on some online website.

Yes.

So yes, you're referring to an article that we published, about, that, Torrington Social Security office was briefly listed for sale.

I mean, it sort of was representative, I think of, sort of the chaos of the last couple of months, at least, you know, from, from our perspective as news people.

Where, you know, a bunch of buildings were listed for sale and then they weren't anymore.

And what exactly does that mean?

And it's hard to, really get a straight answer.

You know, people rely on those field offices, including that one in Torrington.

If if it were to be to close or and be sold, you know, I think that would that would probably make, you know, I think there would be some unhappy people in northwest Connecticut.

Is this something that I should have asked this question a little different to the congressman we were running to try to get off the air, but is this something that this is my last question to Alex, is this something the state has to think about?

Is this something they may have to supplement in the future?

Is this something that lawmakers are talking about right now at the state Capitol?

Yeah, I.

Think with Social Security, because, there isn't as much of a concern about the checks not coming.

I'm not sure what the state's role in stepping in would be, as opposed to something like Medicaid, where the conversation is similar.

But where there is concern that eligibility requirements could change or, you know, payments could be capped and then the state would have to replace that money.

I think, you know, in the immediate term, I don't think we're looking at that kind of situation.

You know, it's in the longer term, there were a situation where people weren't receiving their benefits.

And, you know, elderly people were were unable to feed themselves or, you know, afford places to live or had no income coming in, then maybe that would be something the state would have to, step in on.

I don't think that like at this moment, that is a big subject of conversation, unlike with something like Medicaid, where where it might be a little bit more direct.

Very serious situation with Social Security right now, but at least, maybe some folks might be able to breathe easy after hearing that their checks will still come.

Alex Peterman is a reporter at CT insider.com.

Thank you so much for joining us on The Wheelhouse.

Thanks for having me.

So great to have you on.

Up next, the stress of housing insecurity.

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This is the Wheelhouse from Connecticut Public Radio.

I'm Frankie Graziano.

Connecticut has a housing problem.

Aren't enough rental units or starter homes to meet the need?

And many families are priced out of the market.

Feeling desperate to find housing they can't afford.

So how are advocates and legislators responding to the state's housing crisis?

With me now, Abby Brone, housing reporter for Connecticut Public.

Abby, great to have you here.

Good morning.

Frankie.

Good to see you this morning.

Also with us, Ginny Monk.

Children's issues and housing reporter for the Connecticut Mirror.

Also the author of Home State.

Jenny, thank you so much for coming on the show.

Thanks for having me.

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Abby is housing a main focus for legislators during this year's session, and have debates over how to solve the issue.

Gotten heated?

Yes.

Yeah.

It's been a very, big issue.

There have been a lot of bills in different committees that all touch on different aspects of housing.

There have been some heated, discussions during public hearings.

Mostly I've found between legislators.

There's been some times when the legislators, whether they're on the same committee or, when legislators speaking at a public hearing to a committee, they're sparring, they're going back and forth about different, housing issues.

And it's gotten a little bit heated at times this session.

Yes.

What happened last year, Jenny?

And, help me understand to, a big concern that people had last year was that regular people, tenants, people that were most impacted by this didn't really get a say in hearings last year.

It was more like, people that were in, landlord unions or something like that that had a say in lawmakers and things like that.

So what did we get out of last year's session and kind of set the stage for where we're at now?

Yeah.

So last year, the state legislature passed kind of an omnibus bill that largely, focused on tenant rights, although it notably did not include an eviction reform, which was one of the big things advocates were asking for last year and are asking for again this year.

It also included a measure to require a study of a fair share policy, which where we're seeing some discussion on again this year.

The this, House Majority leader likes to call it, painfully incremental process.

So, we kind of saw that last year, you know, these little steps, when advocates are saying we need big, bold steps.

What do we know about who's bearing the the brunt of this, Abby, this housing crisis.

Does it impact all of us, or are there certain communities that are impacted more than others?

I mean, it's definitely impacting all of us to a degree just by virtue of supply and demand.

Of course, there's not enough housing.

So anyone who's looking for housing or, you know, has, a rental of their own, they're seeing rent hikes and things like that as far as areas of the state that are most impacted.

That's kind of what the the fair share study that Jenny mentioned is, is targeting is getting at, making sure that different parts of the state are supplying their fair share of affordable housing.

Because historically, the larger cities are taking the brunt of the affordable housing, demand, and they are doing the most construction.

And that's for a number of different reasons.

But, it has mostly fallen, fallen on the shoulders of, of Stanford and Bridgeport and Norwalk and Hartford.

I spoke with, Sarah Fox, actually, it was, the great, Chloe Wynn, our producer, that spoke with Sarah Fox, chief executive officer, for the Connecticut Coalition to End Homelessness.

She told Chloe that we've seen a 13% increase in homelessness across the state in 2024, with multiple years of increases.

She also shared some information on who is most impacted.

Take a listen.

We're facing an affordable housing crisis and an affordability, housing and affordability crisis, which directly impacts our neighbors.

So seniors who are falling into homelessness for the first time ever after working their entire lives, we're seeing many more seniors in cars or in and in our emergency shelters.

We have families with children falling into homelessness.

And, and it's really hard to find places to live across the state.

And so we're seeing people with full time jobs either sleeping outside in their cars or using our services as well.

Do you know, a lack of housing has been an issue in Connecticut for a long time, but it sounds like Sarah is saying that things have gotten worse recently.

Yeah.

So I what Sarah's referring to is, is these increases in the homeless population that Connecticut has seen over the past few years.

A lot of that has been centered on families and on, our elderly residents, particularly people with fixed incomes who were just talking about Social Security.

So a lot of folks on social Security are struggling to keep up with rent hikes.

And this is particularly significant for Connecticut because the state was seeing real progress toward ending homelessness for so many years.

And then the pandemic happened and all these housing costs started going up and the opposite became true.

We're seeing increases.

And these are legit, counts, too.

I mean, the point in time counts is, is one of the things I've always marveled at is they actually go out in the community and count people one by one.

So I think that's pretty legit.

State legislators.

Abby taking a new address, approach to addressing homelessness.

They formed a group called the End Homelessness Caucus.

Who are some of the key players in this group and what will the caucus do?

Yeah.

So the two chairs are, two state lawmakers.

Kadeem Roberts, who is representing Norwalk, and Larry Sweet, who represents Hamden.

And they are both also on the housing committee.

And they are leading this effort.

The goal is essentially to kind of streamline the way that homelessness is approached statewide, because, Robert said, there's been a lot of, this tactic is working in this part of the state, and this is working in this part of the state, but they're not really communicating.

So the goal is kind of to make a more, cohesive look at, what's working and what's not in, homeless services is a group.

It's a caucus of, largely state lawmakers for now, but they plan to bring on different housing advocates.

Earlier we heard Sarah Fox say in the clip that more and more people experiencing homelessness are sleeping in their cars or outside.

But currently, some towns can actually ticket or even arrest people who sleep outside.

Is that correct?

Is that coming up in the session this year as well?

Yes.

So a Supreme Court ruling over the summer, decided that towns could enforce ordinances, ticketing or even arresting people for sleeping outside.

In Connecticut.

I think some of the higher profile things that we've seen have been sweeps, clearing of, homeless encampments.

So we're seeing some discussion about that this session, this bill would mean that towns can't arrest or fine people for for doing things like sleeping outside.

Does the end Homelessness Caucus support the bill that would decriminalize sleeping outside?

The short answer is yes.

The caucus is bipartisan.

There are Republican and Democratic lawmakers on the caucus.

The bill when it was discussed, the bill that would prevent communities from criminalizing homelessness when it was discussed in the housing committee, had nominal bipartisan support.

But some lawmakers had reservations about the way the bill was worded.

There just concerns about what constituted public property, because basically the bill says that, people are allowed to perform life sustaining activities, on public property.

They mean, you know, you can you can take out your, your hot pot and make yourself a meal if you need to.

And you can sleep in certain spaces.

And so some lawmakers just kind of want to refine that further.

But the short answer is yes.

And the caucus is in support of this bill.

That might be good news in terms of passage.

Jenny, can you highlight some of the more long term solutions to homelessness being offered during this year's session?

Is there a legislation that would prevent know fault evictions on the table?

Is that on the table is here again.

It is on the table.

It would apply to, larger properties.

So not kind of the one and two family units.

But but some of those larger apartment complexes, and, and I think people think of this as one of the solutions to homelessness because it prevents homelessness.

I've had service providers say to me many times, the best way to end homelessness is to prevent it from happening in the first place.

Right?

Once you become homeless, you're more likely to become homeless again.

It's harder to get people rehoused than it is to keep them in their current housing.

So that's some of the reasons folks are looking at, this eviction law.

And then if if we're looking in the very long term, that's I think, where some of the increasing affordable housing supply comes into play.

Any other long term solutions that are being proposed out there?

Abby?

I mean, one of the big things that homeless service providers have been advocating for for a couple of years now, and that is getting more traction this year, is, an increase in about $33 million they're looking for this year, to support largely emergency homeless services.

And that means, you know, when you call the two one, one homeless, emergency hotline and it could you say, you know, I'm losing my housing, next week, they could provide you with a bus ticket to get to a relative's house.

They could provide you with money for a security deposit on a different apartment.

Some of this kind of flexible money.

They are getting more traction this year to fund more of that.

And that in the long run, as Jenny mentioned, would prevent homelessness, which is the ultimate goal and the most cost effective way to treat, and address homelessness.

Recently, Abigail Braun went national and I know her family and, and Adam Hudson are very proud of her as well.

But you were recently featured on National Public Radio talking about not just the people that bear the brunt of the crisis and are trying to find homes, but the people that are trying to find homes for people are really being stressed out right now.

Tell us more about that.

Yeah.

So, the story was about homeless service providers, the people that are answering these emergency calls from people who are experiencing homelessness.

And just the burnout that they face, particularly in recent years, the Covid 19 pandemic caused largely the spike in homelessness in Connecticut and nationwide.

And these people that are answering the calls are largely underfunded because a lot of them work for nonprofits or really small organizations.

And there aren't a lot of resources for them to kind of address the emotional turmoil that they sometimes go through answering these calls of, you know, a mother of three saying, we've been living in our car, but, we're going to lose that or I know it's not safe for my kids and we don't have anywhere to go.

And how do you tell that mother of three.

I don't have any more to send you.

We don't have any shelter beds available for you.

And so a lot of these caseworkers are taking that home with them, and it's having a toll on them.

So the story was just largely about what can we do to help the people helping our homeless population.

It really sounds devastating.

I'm glad that you covered that and, and brought that to light.

Thank you so much for that, Abby.

Abby and Jenny are not going anywhere.

We are going somewhere.

We're going to take a quick break.

Coming up, we'll look at where lawmakers suggest developers build more affordable housing.

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This is the Wheelhouse from Connecticut Public Radio.

I'm Frankie Graziano.

This hour we are looking at Connecticut's housing crisis with Ginny Monk, children's issues and housing reporter for the Connecticut Beer, and Abby Brone, housing reporter for Connecticut Public.

You can join the conversation.

Give us a call today.

(888)720-9677.

We want to talk about housing with you.

If you give us a call (888)720-9677.

Tell us your stories.

Maybe tell us about your own personal burnout.

It's impacting a lot of people.

It's not just about rent or buying a house.

There's just a lot going on right now.

So give us a call (888)720-9677 Abby.

When Chloe when spoke with Sarah Fox, chief executive officer for the Connecticut Coalition to End Homelessness, she talked about the need for more affordable housing units and options in Connecticut.

And she said the following.

We are lacking about 110,000 units of affordable housing.

We have a very high percentage of renters who are severe cost burden, and that means that they're paying more than 30% of their income towards rent.

And it's a challenge for everyone.

And we also have one of the lowest rental vacancy rates across the nation, which means that if you do lose your apartment or if you need to find another apartment, you're unable to because there's no openings where.

Abby are advocates suggesting that the state puts more affordable housing stock?

I mean, really, statewide, there are several kind of movements and bills in the works that weren't specifically address adding more affordable housing.

Like we mentioned before, the Share Fair, fair share study, looking to add affordable housing statewide?

There are some concerns by, some lawmakers, largely more conservative lawmakers, about adding more affordable housing and more housing in general, more dense housing in some of the more urban communities or rural communities.

The urban ones, like I mentioned, take the brunt.

And that's largely because they have the infrastructure in place needed to, handle more housing.

And by infrastructure, I mean water lines, sewer lines.

They have, public transportation.

And so there's the work live ride bill, which has been big in recent years, that is looking to kind of incentivize adding more, affordable housing along transportation corridors where there are bus stations and train stations.

But there are also bills looking to add it in more rural communities.

But they need to figure out a way to address that lack of sewer.

So the so the short answer is really they're looking statewide.

The long answer is there are challenges in place to doing that.

Jenny, can you address work live Ryan real quick.

Sure.

So we're at right.

So, like Abby mentioned, it's, a bill that would, use certain infrastructure funding to encourage towns to increase housing density near train and bus stations.

So it's aiming to build, walkable communities, particularly around these public transit hubs.

This we've seen versions of this bill for many years in the legislature.

There's been a lot of compromises, a lot of debate over it.

And the bill just went through committee recently.

And, you know, this has been something that legislative leaders have said is a priority.

And I think we're likely to see it on the House floor.

You talked about needing more sewer.

What are some other issues that we have in the state that is kind of getting in the way of building more affordable housing stock?

I'll open it up to both of you.

Well, I think one of the thing, is the need to remediate existing properties.

And by that I mean converting a lot of our old industrial sites into housing.

It's already existing.

Let's make use of it.

Right.

But there is often, pollutants in the soil or, health hazards that could be in some of these old buildings.

And it takes a lot of money to fix these up and make them usable.

But a lot of people, state lawmakers, advocates, housing advocates would rather do that than, just take up green space, and expand our housing footprint, basically.

So that that's another challenge.

What about zoning?

Yeah.

So zoning is the, the elephant in the room of every one of these conversations, dozens of studies, housing experts have pointed to the, the idea that, restrictive local zoning is what makes it hard to build apartments in Connecticut.

Most of the residential land in the state is zoned only for single family homes.

So a lot of the conversation has been around trying to zone areas for multifamily because obviously more people can live in a multifamily development than in a single family.

What about as of right.

I've been hearing that phrase a lot recently.

And I heard it in a, in a wonderful, e-newsletter that I get at, my email address, which is fgraziano@ctpublic.org.

It is home state with Ginny Monk.

Tell us about and it's fabulous because, you speak in plain language like I try to do here on the show where it's very understandable for people.

So first of all, how can people get home state in their inboxes and then second of all, what does as of right mean?

Sure.

So you can sign up for home state, ctmirror.org; and as of right, I think it's it's kind of been discussed as this big, complicated phrase, but it's really pretty straightforward.

It just means that the zoning in a particular area allows for development without needing special permission from the planning and zoning board.

So the the public hearings, the votes, if development is allowed as of right, you won't need that process.

And that's not to say that there is no process, right.

There is still health and safety and environmental concerns that have to be addressed in order to get anything built or do significant renovations.

What about folks trying to enter the housing market right now here in Connecticut?

I know you just did recently.

Abby got God bless you for getting through there.

But what about folks who are entering, the housing market?

Are there enough affordable starter homes?

I think I know the answer to that.

What do lawmakers plan to do about that?

Yeah.

So there is a dearth of starter homes.

And there is one bill that, is new this year that is looking to address that.

It's pretty straightforward.

It has bipartisan support as well.

And it's called homes for CT.

Very you know, a fine could you name it basically would, provide low cost financing for developers to incentivize them building more starter homes and, you know, buy starter homes.

We mean, these single family homes that are 2 or 3 bedrooms, 1 or 2 baths on, you know, a half an acre little less.

And they, want to build more of these homes with this low cost financing and then make sure that they're affordable for families looking to enter the housing market by selling them through the Connecticut Housing Finance Authority, as it's sometimes called, which is like a quasi public, basically housing authority of sorts.

And they have a list of people that are looking to buy homes but need it to be affordable.

And they plan to kind of go through a process like that.

They can.

Yeah, I think so.

I mean, a house is a house and it they're, you know, getting if they're getting paid for the house.

Yeah.

It's on the same.

One of the things that you might have to put on my tombstone, one day, if I get a tombstone, that's another thing.

But, fiscal guardrails might up there be up there.

And then I think you have to put work live right on there, because we talk about it so much.

I'm going to circle back to it right now.

Who is this supposed to help?

Yeah.

So this is supposed to help towns that are looking to increase housing density, kind of offer them more of an incentive.

And, the idea is that they can use some of this money and help from the state to address issues like the ones Abby mentioned.

So infrastructure problems that might come along with increasing density in their downtown districts.

And also it's supposed to help people, right?

There are a lot of train stations around the state that are very expensive to buy housing close to them.

So the idea is that more people would be able to use public transportation, be able to afford to live close enough to walk to it.

And that would eventually, benefit the environment as well, because fewer people would be driving.

Like hole in the Wall Beach and Niantic/Old Lyme, which is right on Shoreline East.

That'd be a nice place to live.

Sure.

What do opponents of, work live, right?

Argue.

Why would you be against something like that?

Yeah.

So they argue that zoning control should stay at the local level.

They fear that this is the state kind of stepping in to their decision making process.

And they worry that towns that don't opt in would essentially be deprioritized for some of this funding that they already rely on for things like bridges, roads.

So there is some fierce opposition to this bill.

Is this something that's going to go through this year, though, do you think finally or or is it to be seen?

I'd say it's to be seen.

It did get through the house last year, which was a big win for advocates.

But it wasn't called on the Senate floor.

So we'll we'll just have to see how this session plays out.

You've been listening to Ginny Monk, children's issues and housing reporter for the Connecticut Mirror.

Jenny, always great to have you on the show.

Go, subscribe to homestead if you're out there.

Thank you so much.

I appreciate it.

Thanks, Frankie.

Tremendous job.

And of course, Abby Brone, housing reporter for Connecticut Public.

Thank you for joining The Wheelhouse.

Thank you.

CT public.org/people/abby-brown, Abigail, actually.

You'll see it on there on first reference.

And before we go, if housing is on your mind, which I know it is, please check out a new documentary on CPTV called “Where Then Shall We Go?” For two years, Connecticut Public's team followed the stories of joy and strength amidst hardship and struggle as people experiencing homelessness built a neighborhood together.

This was produced, filmed and edited by long time colleague of Frankie Graziano, Ryan, Karen King, with executive producer Julianne Varacchi.

Please then watch where then shall we go?

Today's show The Wheelhouse, produced by Chloe Wynn, edited by Robyn Doyon-Aitken.

Our technical producer is Dylan Reyes.

Thank you so much to Bradley O'Connor and the team.

Robyn Doyon-Aitken, Meg Dalton and Megan Fitzgerald got more time to thank everybody today, so I'm gonna do it.

Thank you to our staff including Sam Hockaday, some great graphics.

Thank you so much to everybody at Connecticut Public that supports the Wheelhouse.

And thank all of you out there.

I'm Frankie Graziano.

This is the Wheelhouse.

Thank you for listening!