The Housing Collective Releases Report Highlighting Hardship Among Homelessness Response Workforce

A 2025 survey of frontline homelessness responses staff across Connecticut found widespread material hardship, retention concerns, and demand for more accessible training.

Bridgeport, CT (March 17, 2026) – Today, the Housing Collective released a report–The People Behind the System: 2025 Homeless Response Staff Survey–that reveals widespread financial strain and retention risk among Connecticut’s frontline homelessness response workforce, and offers recommendations to address these challenges. 

The report shares the results of a survey conducted by the Housing Collective’s Housing Innovation Lab between October and November 2025 that gathered responses from more than 300 employees at nonprofit agencies who provide critical housing and services to unhoused individuals and families. 

The survey assesses the financial stability, working conditions and training needs of the frontline workforce, which includes street outreach workers, shelter staff, case managers and other employees who provide direct, day-to-day services to unhoused individuals and families. 

The results show the majority of staff remain highly motivated, yet many report feeling underpaid and overworked. This threatens to undermine the state’s efforts to solve homelessness, while putting some staff at risk of homelessness themselves. 

Among respondents across the state, within the last year:

• 64% had considered leaving their job 
• 34% were running out of money between every paycheck
• 30% experienced at least one material hardship (food insecurity, medical debt, utilities cut off, housing insecurity)
• 4% had to stay in a shelter or a location not suitable for housing
• 78% said they feel they are doing worthwhile work
• 71% fell below the Area Medium Income, federal poverty line, or United Way’s ALICE threshold (ALICE refers to Asset-Limited, Income-Constrained, Employed) 

The Housing Collective’s Opening Doors Initiative administers the homelessness response system in Fairfield County and Northwest Connecticut–two of Connecticut’s seven Coordinated Access Networks (CAN). A CAN is a network of organizations spread across several towns or a large metro area that responds to homelessness in a coordinated, regional manner.

Among respondents in Fairfield County, within the last year:

• 55% considered leaving their job 
• 53% put off medical care for themselves or a member of their family
• 28% reported running out of food
• 3% had to stay in a shelter or a location not suitable for housing
• 82% said they feel they are doing worthwhile work

“Frontline staff play a critical role in helping individuals and families move from crisis to stability. While this workforce is deeply committed to executing that mission, the survey highlights the incredible challenges they face, including alarming financial strain,” said David Rich, President and CEO of The Housing Collective. “Too many of the people working to prevent and end homelessness are struggling to make ends meet themselves. Strengthening workforce stability is essential to advancing progress on homelessness response, and as the backbone organization for these systems in Fairfield County and Northwest Connecticut, the Housing Collective is committed to addressing the systemic challenges identified in this survey.”

Despite a strong feeling amongst staff that their work is meaningful, structural challenges threaten long-term workforce stability. These challenges are not concentrated within one agency or region, but instead are common across the system. Key recommendations from the report include: 

• Increase staff wages across the region
• Consider additional financial employee assistance programs
• Advocate for more workforce housing
• Increase staffing levels or redistribute workloads
• Streamline administrative processes within agencies
• Expand core training areas that workers rely on most
• Develop coordinated regional training pathways

The Housing Collective conducted a similar survey of frontline staff in Fairfield County and Northwest Connecticut in 2023, and intends to continue conducting surveys of frontline staff annually. To view the full report, which includes additional detail on methodology, regional breakdowns, and recommendations, visit the Housing Innovation Lab’s website. 

“The struggle to end homelessness in Connecticut is a real one, fought every day a dedicated workforce committed to one mission - bringing our neighbors indoors. We cannot succeed without their tireless work, and we all need to do what we can to retain them and ensure they have the support and resources needed to perform this critically important task,” said Sarah Fox, CEO, Connecticut Coalition to End Homelessness. “We are deeply grateful for their commitment, and it is our collective responsibility to support them if we are going to end homelessness in Connecticut.”

“Our frontline providers work long hours caring for our most vulnerable neighbors,” said Jered Bruzas, Chief Impact Officer, United Way of Greater Waterbury. “Many are ALICE themselves (Asset-Limited, Income-Constrained, Employed), the working poor serving the working poor. Burnout is real, pay is low, and far too many highly skilled professionals are just one crisis away from homelessness. We cannot have a strong, robust Homeless Response System without providers who receive meaningful compensation (living wage) and benefits that meet their needs. We must do better!”

“The social safety net isn’t just legislation or buildings; it’s the people who show up every day to protect the most vulnerable among us,” said Nick Hoffman, Executive Director, Alpha Community Services YMCA in Bridgeport. “Too often, the very individuals doing this work are only one life event away from the same instability faced by those they serve. Ensuring these unsung heroes earn enough to support their families, maintain balance in their lives, and continue this critical work is both an investment with tremendous return and a responsibility we all share.”

“This report underscores a simple but crucial truth: our homeless response system is only as strong as the workforce behind it,” said Jaime Parker, Project Manager, Thames Valley Council for Community Action, within the Eastern CT Coordinated Access Network. The dedication of our frontline staff is remarkable, but the survey findings make clear that meaningful investment in staff support, compensation, and working conditions are essential to sustaining the system and improving outcomes for people experiencing homelessness.”

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About the Housing Collective

The Housing Collective strengthens Connecticut’s housing and homelessness systems by aligning communities, public agencies, and service providers around coordinated, regional solutions. For 20 years, we have served as a backbone organization—helping partners work across boundaries to reduce homelessness, expand access to affordable housing, and build systems that support long-term housing stability. 

About the Opening Doors Initiative

The Housing Collective’s Opening Doors Initiative (ODI) provides leadership, dedicated staff, and critical backbone operations for the coordinated homelessness emergency response systems in both Fairfield County and Northwest CT. 

About the Housing Innovation Lab

The Housing Collective’s Housing Innovation Lab is designed to maximize the impact of data, curious inquiry, and lived expertise to innovate the collective response to homelessness and housing instability through data, technology and training resources.