The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
Reimaging pandemic housing policy
On June 29, amid pandemicinduced unemployment and economic uncertainty, the Lamont administration released a sweeping $33 million assistance program for renters, homeowners and local landlords. The relief package includes state and federal support, ranging from rental assistance for those experiencing income or job loss to mortgage relief programs for homeowners. Critically, the program augments patchwork policy at the federal level, supporting those who may not qualify for CARES Act benefits.
Connecticut has been lauded as a national leader in the housing policy response to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, making pandemic reopening and recovery equitable demands not only short-term support and relief programs for individuals, but also a reevaluation of the housing policies that have made Connecticut one of the most segregated states in the country. In a state where children born in wealthy towns have a life expectancy six years longer than those born in urban areas, our pandemic response must address the network of social factors — housing, access to health care, nutrition and economic stability — that reproduce and exacerbate inequality.
Connecticut has an unprecedented opportunity to pursue bold innovation and experimentation in housing policy, tackling long-standing issues such as housing affordability, housing insecurity and economic segregation. The far-reaching scope of the crisis unites a new coalition of renters, landlords and homeowners in desperate need of state support that will outlast the immediate relief package. State and local policymakers must capitalize on this newfound appetite for housing reform, coordinating short- and long-term policy responses.
Findings from DataHaven’s new report “Towards Health Equity in Connecticut” show the central role of stable housing in successfully reopening the state. Evicted adults and those who are made homeless are much more likely to experience unemployment than those with stable housing. Children in evicted families see drops in their performance at school — a trend that will only be amplified as reliable access to the internet becomes a staple of education under COVID-19. If recovery policy hopes to reunite people with jobs and return children to productive learning environments, combating evictions and prolonged housing insecurity must play a central role in state and local decision making.
Economic hardship is not distributed equally. The pandemic has strikingly illuminated and compounded the state’s existing inequalities, some of which — deep and abiding — were created by policy decisions made in a more explicitly racist past. Legislators cannot excise current policy decisions from this history; rather, policy must be informed by the contours of inequality COVID-19 has heartbreakingly put into focus and address them head on. Renters, who are more likely to be Black, Latino or female are also more likely than homeowners to experience severe housing cost burdens or spend more than half of their income on housing.
Income loss due to the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbates these pre-existing inequalities. Data from April and May show that 67 percent of Latino households and around 50 percent of Black and Asian households reported a loss of income from employment, compared to 43 percent of white households. In a DataHaven analysis of the Census Bureau’s new Household Pulse Survey, 47 percent of Latino and 33 percent of Black renters reported that they were not likely to be able to make their June rent payments, compared to 19 percent of white renters.
Through proper coordination and implementation, the governor’s relief programs can provide invaluable insight into what policies work best for our communities. Community members, activists, and policymakers have the rare opportunity to observe how innovative housing policy — from rethinking a hyper-local approach to affordable housing to block grants for improving communal well-being — can transform communities. For example, the package includes $10 million of CARES Act funding earmarked for cities to pursue previously cost-prohibitive local housing initiatives.
The honor of being celebrated as a leader in COVID-19 housing policy comes with responsibility. Building communal resilience — giving people what they need to recover from the pandemic and the shutdown — begins at home.
Local and state officials have a once-in-a-lifetime chance to tackle not merely the consequences but the causes of inequality. By evening the odds of achieving health and well-being, we can emerge from the pandemic as a stronger Connecticut for all residents, regardless of ZIP code.
Numi Katz is at DataHaven, a New Haven-based nonprofit organization with a 25-year history of public service to Connecticut communities. Its mission is to empower people to create thriving communities by collecting and ensuring access to data on well-being, equity and quality of life.