MAYOR BOUGHTON ANNOUNCES “HOUSING FOR HEROES” PLAN

Mayor Mark Boughton joined local, state and federal officials at a press conference in Danbury City Hall today to release the first details of a new plan that will attend to the long-term housing needs of veterans in our community.

Mayor Mark Boughton said, “This new plan is a comprehensive effort to address the need for veteran housing in Danbury. The new plan will focus on repaying veterans by helping them transition to safe and affordable home ownership. The plan will create self-sufficient individuals and bring them back into the community that they vowed to protect.”

This new plan for veterans is one of the first of its kind at the municipal level. In order to facilitate preparation of this comprehensive plan to create transitional and permanent housing opportunities for veterans in Danbury, an informal Veterans Housing Workgroup was formed. Headed by the Mayor’s Chief of Staff Michael McLachlan, the workgroup includes representatives of the Danbury Housing Partnership, The Housing Authority of the City of Danbury, the Non-Profit Development Corporation of Danbury (NPDCD), the Danbury Health, Housing & Welfare Department, the City of Danbury of Veterans Affairs, VA Connecticut Healthcare System and Catholic Charities.

The plan consists of three major elements designed to provide a continuum of housing and supportive services for veterans in our community. The first phase will consist of emergency housing and transitional housing. Veterans will have their needs evaluated by an assigned caseworker and they will begin receiving supportive services.

Phase II consists of transitional housing where veterans will be moved to a more complete housing facility. The new housing will provide the environment and on-site supportive services necessary for our veterans to complete the transition to permanent housing in the community.

The final crucial element of this comprehensive plan is the creation of a range of permanent housing. A goal of the plan is to create over the next eight years, a minimum of thirty units of affordable permanent housing in Danbury. An array of housing choices for this diverse group will mean that these newly self-sufficient individuals will be able to give back to their community.

Two grant applications will be submitted to the United States Department of Veterans Affairs seeking funding for transitional housing and case management support for the plan. The first application seeks funding to provide five beds for homeless veterans at the City of Danbury shelter along with individualized case management services for Phase I of the plan. The second grant application will be for “Capital” funding to acquire and rehabilitate a building to be used for Phase II transitional supportive housing.

“The Danbury community is blessed with a tremendous partnership of social service providers, government officials, advocates, faith-based organizations and the private sector working together to implement our plan to end homelessness. Danbury will direct the local resources necessary to implement this plan and encourage our government partners in Washington and Hartford to join us in this endeavor,” Mayor Boughton explained.

Joining Mayor Boughton at the press conference were Mark Nolan - Chair of the Danbury Housing Partnership, Paul Valeri – President of the Non-Profit Development Corporation of Danbury, Judge Dianne Yamin – Chair of the Mayor’s Task Force to End Homelessness, John Sullivan of the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs, Al Barber of Catholic Charities, Pat Waldron – Director of Veteran’s Affairs, Carolyn Sistrunk – Director of the Housing Authority of the City of Danbury, Reverend P.J. Leopold of Dream Homes, Scott LeRoy – Director of the City of Danbury’s Health, Housing and Welfare, John O’Brien of the U.S. Inter-Agency Council on Homelessness, Al Barber of Catholic Charities and Mayor Boughton’s Chief of Staff Michael McLachlan.

If you have any questions regarding this press release, please contact Michael McLachlan at 203-797-4511.