Working as a Community to End Homelessness

Amy Robinson and Stephanie Corbin with Community Health Network of Connecticut

As part of the Greater Hartford Coordinated Access Network's 100-Day Rapid Results Campaign to end chronic homelessness in Connecticut, Coordinated Access Network (CAN) team members identified that one of the greatest impediments to getting someone to the "housing ready" stage is having the necessary identification and documents needed to successfully apply for housing. The 100-day initiative involves advocates, activists, service providers and others working to put existing resources together more effectively to advance the goal of ending homelessness.

To address this need, CAN team members coordinated the Greater Hartford Homeless Resource Fair on May 8, 2015. The fair was the first of its kind in Connecticut for people experiencing homelessness and needing access to identification and documents. HUD staff manned a booth and provided basic housing information and answered questions relative to HUD's homeless programs.

Nearly 180 homeless individuals attended the fair and were assisted with securing documents such as birth records, social security cards and photo identification. The event included other partners including the Department of Social Services, Department of Motor Vehicles, Social Security, City of Hartford, Department of Corrections, Department of Health, Community Health Network, Court Support Services Division and Department of Veterans Affairs.

Matthew Morgan, Journey Home (participating agency) Executive Director, with other fair volunteers

CT HUD Community Planning and Development and Field Policy and Management staff

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