Ending Veteran Homelessness in Connecticut

Zero: 2016 Summit participants

Connecticut Governor Dannel Malloy

On October 28, 2015, Suzanne Piacentini, HUD Field Office Director, and Alanna Kabel, HUD Community Planning and Development Director, joined community leaders in attending the state of Connecticut Zero: 2016 (www.cceh.org/provider-resources/zero-2016/) Summit in Hartford to celebrate the success of ending Veteran homelessness. Zero: 2016 is an initiative adopted by states and cities with the goal of eliminating Veteran homelessness by the end of 2015 and chronic homelessness by the end of 2016. Connecticut was recently recognized as the first state in the nation to end chronic Veteran homelessness and is on track to end all Veteran's homelessness by the end of 2015.

The Summit provided a statewide exchange to review challenges, opportunities and to develop a plan for moving forward. The objectives of the meeting were to help the Coordinated Access Networks (CAN) (www.cceh.org/work/coordinated-access/) understand how their local work fits into the larger picture, create clear unified goals and action plans towards ending chronic homelessness across the state.

Participants included Connecticut Governor Dannel Malloy, Department of Mental Health & Addiction Services Commissioner Miriam Delphin-Rittmon, Department of Housing Commissioner Evonne Klein, U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness Regional Coordinator Bob Pulster, U.S. Department Housing and Urban Development Senior Advisor Marcy Thompson, and staff from Partnership for Strong Communities, Connecticut Coalition to End Homelessness, Community Solutions and the Rapid Results Institute.

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