Over 90 people attended a forum on Housing in Hebron on Tuesday, October 24the. Titled Housing for All: Builds Strong Vibrant Communities, the event featured a diverse panel of professionals who discussed the housing affordability crisis throughout the state, including in rural communities like Hebron, Marlborough, Andover and Columbia. They shared how creating an array of housing choices benefits communities like these… to ensure that people who work there, seniors, empty nesters, and young professionals can afford to live there. They will highlighted funding opportunities and exciting efforts to create this type of mixed-income housing, which are beautiful, accessible, environmentally sound, fit seamlessly in rural environments, and offer the residents a high quality of life in a high opportunity town. Key takeaways from their remarks were:
Affordable Housing is not an issue to discuss but a human right.
Affordable housing create community.
Honest conversations like at this forum are the first step.
Resources are available from the State to help communities create the affordable housing options that are best for them.
Deep appreciation goes out to the panelists and moderator:
Brandon L. McGee, Jr., Deputy Commissioner, Connecticut Department of Housing
Pamela Krist Atwood, Counselor & Owner of Atwood Dementia Group, and Hebron resident
Carline Charmelus, Collective Impact & Equity Director, Partnership for Strong Communities
Ronald Kolanowski, Vice President, Commons Community Development Corporation, and Rector, St. Peter’s Episcopal Church
Beth Sabilia, Director, Center for Housing Equity and Opportunity of Eastern Connecticut
Claudia Tejada Riley, Vice President, Community Liaison Officer, Webster Bank, and Hebron resident.
Many thanks to St. Peter’s Episcopal Church for allowing CoDE to use its parish hall for the event, and to the Hebron Democratic Town Committee for their support.
For more information about housing and demographics in the four towns served by CoDE, see the Learn section.
View the recording of the Community Conversation here:
