If you do not have a permanent place to live, you will have different rights and benefits depending on your situation. You may be able to get help with: emergency housing, permanent housing, food, a job, and if you have children, getting them enrolled in school.
You may be eligible to have the state pay for emergency housing and other benefits for you and your family. This help is available if you become homeless and the Connecticut Department of Social Services (DSS):
If you are eligible, DSS will pay for emergency housing once in a calendar year, for up to 60 days. You must apply for emergency housing within 45 days of when you became homeless.
To be eligible, you must be homeless for one of the following reasons:
Note: If you are being evicted, you will not be eligible for emergency housing payment unless a judge rules that you lost your eviction case and a “final judgment is entered against you by the court.” If you leave before then, you will be denied emergency housing.
In addition to payment for emergency housing, DSS cash assistance recipients may be eligible to receive:
Contact your DSS worker and ask for the assistance you need.
If you are denied emergency housing or other benefits, you have the right to a fair hearing. You must ask for a fair hearing in writing within 60 days of the denial. You can either ask your DSS worker for a hearing request form or write a letter asking for a hearing. Send the letter or form to:
Office of Administrative Hearings
Department of Social Services
25 Sigourney Street
Hartford, CT 06106
The hearing must be held within a certain time period:
You may be able to stay at one of the shelters in your community. Call INFOLINE (211) or Statewide Legal Services 1-800-453-3320 or 860-344-0380.
If you have been ordered to leave because your apartment has been condemned, you should receive a letter telling you where to get help. If you have not received the letter, contact the agency that condemned your apartment or Statewide Legal Services at 1-800-453-3320 or 860-344-0380.
The help given may be different depending on where your apartment is located. Some of the help could include:
You may be able to get on a CT Department of Social Services cash assistance program. If you get on one of these programs, you may be able to get emergency help described above. Here’s a brief description of the programs:
Apply at the DSS office for all of these programs. Call INFOLINE at 211 to find your local DSS office.
Even if you are not eligible for cash assistance, you may be eligible for medical coverage. Apply at DSS.
You may be able to get food through:
You may be eligible for emergency food stamps (called "expedited" food stamps). If so, you will be able to get your food stamps within 7 days after you apply. However, you may have to pick them up at the DSS office.
If you are denied expedited food stamps, you can ask for a fair hearing within 90 days of the date of denial. You can either ask your DSS worker for a form to request a hearing or write a letter asking for a hearing. Send it to:
Office of Administrative Hearings,
Department of Social Services,
25 Sigourney St.,
Hartford, CT 06106.
At the same time you ask for a hearing, you can also ask for a “conference” with DSS and one will be scheduled within two working days. A conference may resolve any problem and quickly get you benefits.
If you have already received 21 months of TFA and you have been denied an extension of cash assistance, you may be eligible for the Safety-Net program. This program may be able to help you with emergency needs as well as with finding a job. Contact your DSS worker or INFOLINE at 211 to find out if DSS has referred you to the Safety-Net program.
If you have an alcohol, addiction or mental health problem and you get SAGA medical assistance, but not cash assistance, you may be eligible for help from the Basic Needs Program. This program can help pay for emergency needs.
Ask your alcohol, addiction or mental health counselor to file an application for you. If you don’t have a counselor, contact your medical assistance worker at DSS and ask for a referral to one. If you need residential treatment for your problems, this help is covered through the SAGA program. See the legal aid pamphlet, Need Help With Your Basic Living Expenses?.
You may be able to get temporary shelter in your community. Contact INFOLINE at 211 for information on shelters in your area.
You may be eligible for security deposit assistance from DSS if you have limited income. This assistance is a "guarantee" for an amount equal to two months’ rent; it is not a cash payment. Apply for this assistance if you have found another apartment you can afford and:
Call INFOLINE at 211 for information on where to apply. It is available through DSS and some shelters.
If you are a veteran and were honorably discharged from the service, you and your family may be eligible for emergency assistance through the Soldiers', Sailors' and Marines' Fund. Contact INFOLINE at 211 for information on where to apply.
If you are homeless, you may be able to get priority placement on the waiting lists for Public Housing (Housing Authority), Section 8, and the Rental Assistance Program (RAP). These programs provide you with either an affordable apartment or help paying your rent in an apartment you find.
The State Department of Administrative Service - Business Service Division has a website that lists towns when they allow applications for housing subsidies.
If you are already on the waiting list for these or any other housing subsidies, be sure to tell the agency you are homeless, ask them to give you the preference or priority to which you are entitled. In some communities, the subsidized housing agency is also required to take applications from homeless people, even if their waiting list is closed.
If you have completed 21 months of TFA and now have too much money to qualify for more cash assistance, you may be eligible for the Transitionary Rental Assistance Program (T-RAP). Contact your DSS worker and ask for this help.
The rules on emergency housing and other benefits change frequently. If you are homeless and have been denied emergency housing assistance or other benefits, call Statewide Legal Services at 1-800-453-3320 or (860) 344-0380.
Discounted "lifeline" phone service installation and monthly fees are available to low-income people. This will not be available if you sign up for extra features such as "Caller ID." Contact the phone company -- use the phrase "lifeline phone service" to describe what you are asking about.
Anyone who receives TFA or has received a Diversion Assistance payment in the last three months can get help with training or finding a job. This help is provided by the Department of Labor (DOL) employment services program. Ask your DSS worker for a referral to DOL.
Additionally, DOL offices have job listings anyone can review. Call INFOLINE at 211 to find the nearest DOL office. The Safety-Net program for families who have exhausted TFA and been denied an extension may provide assistance with locating employment services.
If you receive TFA or Diversion Assistance and get a job or are placed in training by DOL, apply for child care assistance. This assistance is available through "Care for Kids" at 1-888-214-KIDS.
The HUSKY program (Healthcare for Uninsured Kids & Youth) provides free or affordable health insurance for children under age 19 and some parents or other caretakers when children are not living with their parents. To find out if you or your children qualify, call toll free 1-877-284-8759. (Note: many parents and nonparent caretakers of low-income children also qualify for this insurance).
You do not have to move your children from school to school when you are homeless. The public school your children attend should allow your children to continue attending that school and provide free transportation from your temporary residence, even if that residence is in another Connecticut town. If you think it is in your children’s best interest to attend public school where you temporarily reside, you may transfer your children there. However, do not enroll your children in a new school district until you are sure you do not want them to remain in the school they were attending before you became homeless.
If the public school your children were attending before you became homeless refuses to allow your children to continue attending school, immediately write the local board of education and ask for a hearing. A hearing should be scheduled within 10 days. Your children have the right to continue attending their school until there is a hearing decision. You may also want to contact the state’s coordinator for education of homeless children at (860) 807-2058 for assistance. Call Statewide Legal Services for advice and assistance at 1-800-453-3320 or (860)344-0380 regarding whether the school is acting in the best interests of your children.
If your children did not attend public school in Connecticut before you became homeless, the children will attend school in the district where the shelter is located.
Ask the school your children attend to enroll your children in the school lunch program for free lunches. Free breakfasts are also sometimes available.Call: Statewide Legal Services: 1-800-453-3320 or 860-344-0380 or INFOLINE: 211
This document was produced by the Legal Assistance Resource Center of CT in cooperation with CT Legal Services, Greater Hartford Legal Aid, New Haven Legal Assistance Association, and Statewide Legal Services.
The information in this document is based on laws in CT as of April 2007. We hope that the information is helpful. It is not intended as legal advice for an individual situation. If you need further help and have not done so already, please call Statewide Legal Services (see above) or contact an attorney.
Copyright: April 2007