A Foundation for Growth: Deeply Affordable Housing as Economic Strategy

By: Alysha Gardner, Senior Policy Analyst

“We need to start thinking about housing as an investment that has a return. It’s not an investment that wastes money, because in reality you’re investing in people. And when you invest in people, they do good things, and they go to school, and they get better jobs. That brings a return for the cities, for the state, and we do better as a society.” – Tomas Olivo

Last week the Partnership hosted their first IForum of 2025, “A Foundation for Growth: Deeply Affordable Housing as Economic Strategy.” The speakers, including CT residents, government officials, and a national housing policy researcher, provided a masterclass lesson on how the state’s workforce is transformed when they have access to stable and affordable housing – and the long term economic benefits from investing in our residents.

Opening Remarks: Joe Gianni, President of Bank of America of Greater Hartford

Housing as Economic Development: DECD Deputy Commissioner Matt Pugliese, DOH Commissioner Seila Mosquera-Bruno

Keynote Presentation, “Exploring the Affordable Housing Shortage’s Impact on American Workers, Jobs, and the Economy”: Kristen Klurfield, Senior Policy Analyst at the Bipartisan Policy Center

Panelist of CT Residents and Community Leaders: Allyx Schiavone, Executive Director at Friends Center for Children; Eric Gil, Educator at Friends Center for Children; Teona Martin, Student at Charter Oak State College; and Tomas Olivo, Initiative Director of Riba Aspira Career Academy.

Intergenerational Mobility through Vouchers

Tomas Olivo, Initiative Director of Waterbury’s adult continuing education center Riba Aspira Career Academy, shared his story of intergenerational mobility. As a youth, Olivo watched his mother secure housing security for her children through a Section 8 voucher that brought their family to Waterbury; as an adult, he empowers and uplifts members of his community who are unemployed and underemployed by providing them with support and skills training to step into well-paying jobs. Unfortunately, he sees a lot of folks at their education center who come in saying that they need to find a second job to be able to afford their house or apartment for their kids and family. Olivo shared how housing affordability is critical, not only for families and children, but for the neighborhoods themselves – how a neighborhood can benefit when people know they won’t be priced out because the people will come and take responsibility for where they live.

“I think stability is everything. If you don’t have stability, how can you have children focusing in the classroom? How can you have parents thinking about, ‘I want to go to school’, or ‘I want to get a better job’ or ‘I want to advance my career,’ if you don’t have that safety net. So I think everything kind of revolves around housing and having a stable home. If you don’t have that, how can you really think about anything else?” – Tomas Olivo

Educational Advancement through Rental Assistance

Teona Martin, student at Charter Oak State College and a single mother, told her story of how she moved from under-employed to IT professional with support from the state’s Unite CT program. The Unite CT program, supported by federal era pandemic relief dollars that are expiring this September provides up to 12 months of rental assistance for individuals pausing paid work to engage in (frequently unpaid) job training and education programs. Martin worked two jobs to care of herself and her daughter; on the brink of homelessness, she applied to the Unite CT program and enrolled in a cybersecurity certification program. With a bright future ahead of her, Martin begins her paid internship with Traveler’s this summer and will be returning to Charter Oak in the fall to complete her dream of earning her bachelor’s degree.

“I always wanted to go back to school, but I couldn’t afford to go back to school because I had to work these two jobs for me to afford my apartment. I think if we have more housing programs, more people would be able to do what they wanted – I’m doing my dream job. I’m going to school doing what I’ve dreamed of doing… Now I feel that I can be successful and provide my daughter the best life.” – Teona Martin

Hidden Costs of Housing Inaccessibility

Eric Gil, early childhood educator at Friends Center for Children, eloquently described the uncounted costs of our state’s failing housing market. While housing advocates and policymakers focus on homelessness rates, rent increases, and eviction notices, Gil shared his story of living in an overcrowded apartment, commuting 50 minutes each way from his home in Waterbury to his job in New Haven. Gil vulnerably explained that, while teaching has always been his dream job, he nearly left the field entirely in the face of low pay and high costs of living. Through the Center’s Teacher Housing Initiative, Gil and his brother will now be living rent-free in a home 2 minutes away from his school.

“When I was trying to decide what I wanted to do for a living, I decided to be an educator. I hesitated a lot with this decision because teachers are not recognized enough… So I was thinking, ‘Should I go with this path, or go for another path that is not what I like but is going to give me a better salary?’ … If everybody can have the opportunity to be in programs like this to have a voucher for housing, I think they will follow what they want to do. We will have better professionals that want to do the job they’re doing, and better cities with more people who are happier and working.” – Eric Gil

Housing as a Solution to our Childcare Crisis

Allyx Schiavone, Director of the Friends Center for Children, led the creation of a unique new model, the Teacher Housing Initiative. As Schiavone’s leadership team looked for ways to support their educators with higher salaries while keeping costs low for their students’ families, they discovered that only 1 of the 29 teachers surveyed owned their own home; in this survey, the cost of housing was the number one challenge the teachers faced. Through philanthropic partnerships, the Center is working towards housing 30% of its teachers rent-free – essentially providing a $20K raise overnight. Of those teachers participating in the program, 62% are now working on their degrees; with their newfound housing stability, these teachers now have the mental space to develop their skills and provide high-quality care to their students who will be the state’s future workforce. Absent the current housing crisis, Schiavone shared that she would have invested these funds back into the industry – raising teacher salaries and opening new childcare centers.

“How can investment in housing solve multiple crisis? For us it provides housing, it allows people to be their best selves, which then solves our workforce crisis, which then solves the child care crisis, which then allows people to work, which then increases our economic development. It is not hard to see the through line.” – Allyx Schiavone

Deeply Affordable Housing as a Bedrock for Our Economy

“I would tell the policymakers that low-income people, we’re here, we’re working, we’re trying to do our best every day. So please start thinking about us, because without us the economy won’t be same.” – Eric Gil

With one-third of our state residents renting, and nearly 50% of residents not making enough to cover basic living costs, it is imperative that CT policymakers prioritize investments in deeply affordable housing. Kristen Klurfield, Senior Policy Analyst at the Bipartisan Policy Center in Washington, DC, highlighted several known outcomes from recent research on affordable housing –

Families with young children can live in resource-rich neighborhoods near jobs

Workers could spend less time commuting

Employers could tap into a more diverse workforce

Labor markets would benefit through increased productivity

US real GDP would increase

This research reflects what local policymakers already know. In 2017, the National League of Cities conducted a survey highlighting that 40% of all city leaders listed “Affordable Housing Availability” as the top negative factor impacting their local economy. In 2022, the Boston University Initiative on Cities found that over 80% of mayors selected “Housing Costs” as one of their top two local economic challenges (above unemployment, poverty, and rising cost of living).

When we invest in deeply affordable housing, Connecticut residents rise to the occasion by paying this investment forward – investing in their careers, in their education, in the next generation, and in their communities.

The most sustainable economic plan for our state is to create the environment for better housing supply and housing stability. With this foundation, Connecticut can unlock its full potential by empowering people who already call this state home.

Where Do We Go From Here?

The Partnership is advocating to:

Improve and expand funding for the State Rental Assistance Program (RAP)

Invest in the creation and preservation of more affordable homes by maintaining investments in the Housing Trust Fund and the Affordable Housing Program (FLEX)

Support legislation that ensures a variety of housing types in all communities so more residents can choose where and how they live

Expand Just Cause Eviction Protections to ensure all Connecticut renters have quality, safe, stable places to call home.

To take action, please reach out to your state senators and representatives and share your personal story and perspective on why rental assistance is important to our state. Sign up for our legislative action alert emails to be notified ahead of crucial public hearings or votes related to RAP and other housing priorities. Finally, keep an eye out for future Partnership events on timely housing research and advocacy topics. 

Thank you to everyone that was able to join us for our January 2025 IForum. If you were not able to attend, we invite you to watch the recorded event at the Partnership’s YouTube channel.

Take a deeper dive into this topic with the following resources: