Isette, a 62-year-old who spent 30 years as a paralegal, got evicted from her apartment a year and a half ago when she couldn’t pay its rising rent. She spent months living in her car and had to put her beloved cats in foster homes. One saving grace: She found a bed in a shelter run by the Dan bury Support Center, where case managers connect clients to social services and steady housing. They helped Isette deal with another setback: Serious skin cancer that required surgery and radiation. Now that she feels stronger, Isette has found an apartment and hopes to move there soon with a subsidy. “I’m on the cusp,” she says. Isette is one of 40 adults living at the center’s two sites, which can’t keep up with demand. The nonprofit Association of Religious Communities manages the shelters with support from the city, state and private donors. ARC’s executive director, Ari Rosenberg, is calling on Connecticut lawmakers to increase the center’s funding to meet its needs. Together, the Danbury Support Center’s two shelters, opened in 2023, have a state contract for 20 beds at the statewide rate of $11,500 per bed this year. That covers only half of the shelters’ total of 40 spots. Rosenberg wants lawmakers to pass a line item that would provide $690,000 for the Danbury Support Center for the fiscal year starting in July, which translates to $11,500 per bed with an expansion to 60 beds. Most of that funding would pay for staff. He says the area has had about 100 homeless people at any one time, their number appears to be growing, and Danbury gets less state support than some towns with fewer homeless people.  State housing officials say they stretch their budget as far as they can. Rosenberg argues that if the state Department of Housing “doesn’t have enough to give Danbury its fair share, then the State Legislature should create a line item to rectify the inequity.”   Stepping back for a broader view, it’s heartbreaking to see nonprofits and public agencies scramble for scarce resources while President Donald Trump is blowing through billions of dollars of taxpayer money to bomb Iran in his illegal, dangerous war of choice. The Pentagon said the U.S. spent more than $11 billion on the war’s first six days. Analysts report the first month likely cost $25 billion – nearly Connecticut’s state budget for this entire year.  On top of its tragic death toll, the war is burning up money that could help struggling families here at home get better schools, health care, food and housing. Danbury’s State Senator Julie Kushner, backs the Danbury Support Center’s request for more funding. She wrote to the legislature’s Housing Committee in February urging $690,000 for the area’s “only emergency homeless shelter available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.” with full-time staff and case managers. Without enough shelter beds, the homeless end up living behind stores, in cars and in the woods. Carlos Da Costa, who lost his job as a truck driver and plans to work washing windows, was thrilled when the shelter found him space and let him bring his Husky, Madawaska. “I feel blessed,” he said. “If I didn’t get a spot that allowed dogs, I’d have to get a tent.” Many shelter residents have disabilities, mental health issues and fractured families. Those who can work often get jobs as cleaners, store clerks and landscapers. One current shelter resident used to be a technician at an ophthalmology office but lost her job after suffering tremors and anxiety. Despite such challenges, the Danbury Support Center says it placed half of its 102 clients into permanent homes in the last fiscal year, a strong track record compared to shelters statewide.  One woman there says she is trying to find a job so she can move out but it’s hard due to her epilepsy. Her $1,499 monthly disability check doesn’t cover rent. Her former husband, who lost his business and failed to pay her alimony, had problems with drinking and drugs. “People who do those things don’t realize they’re not just ruining their lives, they’re ruining other people’s lives,” she says. “I’m so thankful to be here because otherwise I’d be living in a commuter parking lot.” Lawmakers are now negotiating for fiscal 2027. Gov. Ned Lamont has recommended a $28.7 billion budget that includes many important initiatives, like expanding rental assistance, creating a network of literacy coaches for children, and adding mental health services in needy schools.  The Danbury Support Center’s request deserves approval too. As one of the country’s wealthiest states, Connecticut should do all it can to keep people from living in the streets. Leslie Brody lives in Sherman. ...read more read less