HARTFORD, Conn. — United Way and Connecticut 211 will expand its emergency housing hotline operation hours to run 24/7, starting Friday.
The funding for the project comes from the state housing budget.
The housing hotline team is fully staffed and ready to help anyone who needs shelter. Previously, they had to cut operation hours and were only taking calls for eight hours a day due to a lack of funding for staffing.
Their call volume is higher than ever as more people are facing homelessness, leaders told FOX61.
This hotline received 140,000 calls last year regarding people needing help finding a home or getting the money to stay in their current housing situation, United Way of Connecticut President Lisa Tepper Bates told FOX61.
Just in November alone, the hotline received more than 8,000 calls, which is more than this month last year.
“We are definitely seeing an increase in calls from people who are already homeless or think they might be soon. We think it is going to be a challenging winter," Tepper Bates said. "I want people to know we go one call at a time and we want to take our time with each call and provide the best help we can.”
That's why the hotline is in operation at all hours again; the demand is too high for a limited staff to keep up with, leaders at the United Way said.
“We know that that population is under even more stress than they have been because they have effectively seen since 2021 over 18% increase in the cost of basic like food housing transportation,” Tepper Bates said. "So we know rents have gone up in Connecticut and wages have not gone up.”
Anyone who needs help with finding housing, a warming shelter, or even help with utility bills can call 211 and they will direct the caller to the appropriate organization.
This hotline will exist at least through the winter months. After that, it depends on the funding availability to keep the hotline going 24/7.
Anyone needing help can also go to ctunitedway.org/211 for help as well.
Brooke Griffin is a reporter for FOX61 News. She can be reached at bgriffin@fox61.com. Follow her on Facebook, X, and Instagram.
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