As a member of the Connecticut Coalition to End Homelessness, DESK helps lead statewide conversations with policymakers about how we can best serve our guests. In fact, our Client Engagement Specialist, Claudette Kidd, spoke at the Capitol this February with CCEH! This year, we have budget and non-budget requests for the session that will end on May 6.

We are making several policy requests so that the state has a more robust response, including:

SB 364: A mandate for the state to establish stable, year-round extreme weather protocols (so we don’t keep getting caught off-guard every time it snows or is hot!) taking effect in October 2026 in preparation for next winter.

HB 5260: Anti-criminalization legislation, requiring municipalities to prioritize a services-based response to people in crisis, as opposed to a law enforcement response, also taking effect by October 2026.

Budget requests go in front of the state’s Appropriations Committee. This year, we are asking for:

$10 million annually to provide services that prevent people from slipping into homelessness in the first place — Prevention.

$12.3 million annually for emergency shelter and warming/cooling centers during extreme weather conditions — Response.

$15.8 million annually to pay for the people who are staffing outreach, drop-in centers, diversion, intake, and shelter — Response.

$32.3 million to fund case management for people who have been housed through the state Rental Assistance Program — House.

Interested in getting involved?

Find out who your state representative and your state senator are.  Go here and enter your address.

Figure out if your state representative or senator serves on the Appropriations Committee by going here: click on the “Committee Membership” bar at the top, and look at the list of names.

If your state representative or senator is on the committee, that means they’re powerful! They decide what goes into the budget. So you should call them up.  Find their phone number by navigating to their webpage from the list of House members or Senate members.  Here’s a phone script you can use.  (You’ll probably just get a staffer or an answering machine — but that’s OK!  Leave your message regardless.)

If they are not on the Appropriations Committee, they still hold some influence over their colleagues who are on the committee.  You should feel free to call them (using the same details above), or you can send them an email.  Find their email address by navigating to their webpage from the list of House members or Senate members.  Here’s an email template you can use.

Spread the word to colleagues, friends, family, or anyone else who (a) lives in Connecticut, (b) wants to do more for their community, and (c) thinks we don’t do enough to end homelessness in our state. April showers are going to bring May flowers sooner than we think – don’t wait to raise your voice for our neighbors.

Our policy work amplifies the work that we – and our 3,000 yearly volunteers – do on the ground, every day. Join in the solution on the ground by volunteering, hosting a drive, or donating.