housing

Johanna Vasquez, 19, and her 4-month-old baby ended up at Malta House in Norwalk as a result of an abusive relationship. Vasquez’s boyfriend hit her, she said, because he was home without a job and “was stressed.”

A broadening coalition of affordable-housing advocates gathered outside the State Capitol on Tuesday to insist that the time has come to tackle housing segregation in Connecticut. But that time will not be this month.

Members of the Black and Puerto Rican Caucus added their voices Tuesday to the growing calls for systemic reforms that would make life safer and more equitable for Connecticut’s residents of color.

Real estate agents say the fight over homes on the market in Fairfield County is heating up as millennials who lived in New York City want out due to COVID-19.

This article was produced in partnership with the Propublica Local Reporting Network.

On a recent Sunday, protesters marched through the center of Weston, a small, wealthy town in southwest Connecticut. They chanted “no justice, no peace” and raised handwritten signs that read “Black Lives Matter” and “Silence is Violence.” 

Somewhere in the crowd, Brian Murray hoisted his own message.

“Fact check: Weston, CT. No Black teachers. No Black police officers. No Black board members. No Black town of Weston government office members.”

Protests against police brutality have put systemic racism in the spotlight. But how do the written and unwritten rules in communities perpetuate racial inequality?

The beginning of the month means the rent is due. But what if you lost your job during the COVID-19 pandemic?

This hour, we talk to a housing advocate about what protections exist for Connecticut residents who can’t afford housing costs right now. And we learn about the lasting consequences for residents who are at risk for eviction if the state and federal governments don’t provide additional protections.

A total of 1,665 Connecticut children under age 6 had lead poisoning in 2017, a drop of almost 17% from the year before and the largest one-year decrease in five years, according to a just-released report from the state Department of Public Health (DPH).

The 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act introduced a new initiative, the Opportunity Zones Program, to spur investment in the nation’s most distressed communities. The state of Connecticut is home to 72 Opportunity Zones. What efforts are being made to attract investors to these regions? This hour, we find out, and we also hear from you. Do you live in or near an Opportunity Zone? 

Connecticut’s major cities have some of the highest eviction rates in the nation, and one lawmaker says it’s time to take action on the issue. 

A 2016 study by The Eviction Lab at Princeton University lists the top 100 evicting cities in the United States. Four out of the five cities listed in the Northeast are in Connecticut -- Waterbury, Hartford, Bridgeport and New Haven. 

The New Haven Board of Alders unanimously passed an amendment to a city ordinance Monday night that requires the Health Department to take action when a child under 6 years old has a blood lead level of 5 micrograms per deciliter or greater.

On the need for new affordable housing, some Connecticut municipalities say "not in my backyard." But why this NIMBY approach?

This hour, we take an in-depth look with the author of a ProPublica-Connecticut Mirror investigation into local housing policies. We also check in with a town in southwest Connecticut, and with the policy director for the nonprofit Partnership for Strong Communities. 

The 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act introduced a new initiative, the Opportunity Zones Program, to spur investment in the nation’s most distressed communities. The state of Connecticut is home to 72 Opportunity Zones. What efforts are being made to attract investors to these regions? This hour, we find out, and we also hear from you. Do you live in or near an Opportunity Zone? 

Dozens of Connecticut homes have been hoisted off the ground as the state helps pay homeowners to repair ruined concrete foundations. 

This hour, we check in on the crumbling foundations crisis that is impacting homes and homeowners. We talk with the Hartford Courant journalist behind a yearlong series on Connecticut’s ruined concrete foundations. 

Abandoned factories tagged with graffiti. Vacant properties marked by broken windows and overgrown lawns. This hour, we consider the impact of urban blight on communities and hear how some local municipalities are working to improve quality of life.

We check in with the cities of Waterbury and Hartford, where significant strides have been made to survey and address blight.

We also talk with Laura Bliss of CityLab and with a housing official in Baltimore. How effective has the Maryland city’s Vacants to Value program been at reducing the number of vacant, blighted properties? We find out. 

Money that almost went back to the state is now in the hands of survivors of Hurricane Maria.

In the Farmington Valley, a nonprofit organization aims to break down silos and build bridges in the community through apartment housing. This hour, we learn about Favarh and its unique initiative to build a more integrated living experience for those with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

Plus, at Quinnipiac University, students can apply to live not in a dorm but with residents at a Masonicare assisted living facility. We learn about the Students in Residence program, and we also hear from you. 

New Haven is about to get tougher on its lead poisoning standards. The mayor outlined a plan Monday following multiple lawsuits against the city for not enforcing existing lead laws.

What efforts are underway -- both locally and nationally -- to help improve individuals’ access to housing?

This hour, we listen back to a panel moderated by Lucy Nalpathanchil in Hartford recently for the Connecticut Coalition to End Homelessness. We hear from policy and advocacy experts.

Later, we also learn about a "Net Zero" affordable housing proposal in the town of Norfolk.

It's been a half-century since the torture and eventual murder of wrongly suspected FBI informant Alex Rackney by members of the Black Panther Party. The racial tensions in New Haven that followed when party leaders were put on trial for Rackney's death led to the National Guard patrolling its streets.

In some ways, the city has changed a lot since then. But many of the social problems that provoked New Haven's angst during that period--injustices by police, substandard housing, gentrificaton, and racial disparity--remain unsolved.

The owner of an apartment complex in the North End of Hartford has twice been called into court to answer for housing violations, but the New York-based landlord has dodged both appearances. The latest was Tuesday.

A dirt field overgrown with weeds is the incongruous entrance to one of America’s wealthiest towns, a short walk to a Rodeo Drive-like stretch replete with upscale stores such as Tiffany & Co.