President Donald Trump鈥檚 calls for the institutionalization or imprisonment of people found sleeping outdoors. It also forces treatment on unhoused individuals suffering from mental illness and addiction.
黑料吃瓜网 Gov. Ned Lamont denounced the executive order Monday.
鈥淧resident Trump: Homelessness is not a crime, not here in 黑料吃瓜网 and not in America,鈥� Lamont said.
But 黑料吃瓜网 Housing Advocates, a coalition of housing nonprofits, says Lamont鈥檚 condemnation of the order isn鈥檛 enough action.
鈥淲e appreciate Governor Lamont鈥檚 words but will not be heartened until we see him act,鈥� the advocates said in a statement. 鈥淲e cannot address homelessness without housing and we cannot build enough housing until we start to tear down the red tape and regulatory barriers purposefully erected by many local officials who choose not to permit home construction in their towns.鈥�
Homelessness service providers, lawmakers and housing advocates are rallying around the unhoused community, appeasing fears regarding the order.
鈥淥nly about 30% of those experiencing homelessness in 黑料吃瓜网 report serious mental illness, and fewer than one in five report a substance use disorder,鈥� according to Nancy Navaretta, commissioner of the state Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services. 鈥淭hat means the vast majority are simply people facing poverty, housing shortages and systemic inequities.鈥�
Democratic U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney says there won鈥檛 be an immediate change in 黑料吃瓜网 law.
鈥淩eading the law of this executive order ... it's premised on the notion that somehow he has the right to federalize and criminalize regardless of the fact that most of the issues are really subject to state and local control,鈥� Courtney said.
Trump has drafted more than 170 executive orders during his current term, a third of which are tied up in court, according to Courtney.
Courtney says the most imminent state impact of the executive order is the loss of millions of dollars in federal funding from the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to support shelters and housing programs.
The order also shifts away from a 鈥渉ousing first鈥� policy, which puts a focus on housing people before addressing potential causes of homelessness like addiction or mental illness.
A 2018 study of the state鈥檚 鈥渉ousing first鈥� policy, produced for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, found prioritizing shelter before treatment or employment does work.
The model also saves taxpayers money, as it costs less to get an unhoused person into shelter than it costs to care for someone chronically unhoused and in need of medical intervention, according to Kara Capone, chief executive officer of Community Housing Advocates.
鈥淎 recent study looked at implementation of housing first for chronically homeless individuals, and found that once enrolled in housing, healthcare costs declined by almost $10,500 per person per year,鈥� Capone said. 鈥淣ow, multiply that by 5,000 people that we serve in 黑料吃瓜网 alone.鈥�
