CTMirror | By Sean Ghio, Policy Director
In his recent essay in CT Mirror, Melvin Medina asked: whose voices matter to Connecticut policymakers when we talk about housing? I hope it’s clear to anyone listening that the voices of those who need affordable, accessible, and safe housing are being drowned out by what Mel calls the “No-Growth, No-Opportunity Coalition.”
Connecticut once welcomed newcomers, young families, and growing businesses as essential to our civic and economic life. My own family benefited from growth-friendly policies in 1971, when my young parents were able to buy a small ranch-style home in Waterbury to raise their growing family. I want my kids to have the same opportunities in Connecticut, but that’s unlikely if we keep ignoring what young people are telling us.
Still, I feel a shift. Have you noticed it too? Connecticut’s foundations are shifting. Too many young people don’t see a future for them in Connecticut. We’ve ignored this growing problem for too long. Like so many of life’s challenges, the longer we delay facing our housing affordability crisis, the harder it becomes to solve. It’s simply too expensive to afford a home in Connecticut, and the consequences of denial are becoming more severe.
I work in housing policy, and I hear heartbreaking stories every day from people struggling to find or keep a home. But something unusual is happening more often — maybe it’s happening to you, too. More and more people in my personal life are sharing how Connecticut’s housing problems — high costs, limited options, aging and unsafe homes — are making their lives less secure, less affordable, and less successful.