Using housing as way to combat opioid addiction in Connecticut

State officials announced it will use $58.5 million from various opioid-related legal settlements to pay for supportive housing.  

The money will offer vouchers to people who are both homeless and struggling with opioid usage.  

Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services Commissioner Nancy Navarretta called the money, approved by an advisory committee overseeing the funds, “an investment in hope, stability and transformation.” 

The funding makes 500 vouchers available annually for a period of four years, but Navarretta said during a press conference in Hartford that as many as 650 people total could benefit.  

Service providers say housing is a critical first step to getting people with substance abuse issues into counseling and other forms of help.  

“You can’t address regular health issues, mental health issues, substance use until you have a stable place to stay,” Community Housing Advocates CEO Kara Capone said.  

The nonprofit oversees runs two community organizations, including Mercy Housing and Shelter.  

Tonya Daniels said she’s on a path to recovery thanks to help from Mercy Housing and Shelter. The organization gave her housing three months ago.  

“This was like a blessing to me when I got accepted to come here,” she said.  

Daniels said she’s tried to get sober in the past, even staying clean for as long as two years, but she could never find success.  

She said her biggest hurdle was stable housing, as the stress and emotions of homelessness would ultimately be too much.  

“It's sad and it's hopeless and it just seems like there’s no way out,” she said.  

The vouchers are just the latest way the state is using money from settlements with drug manufacturers and pharmacies.  

The state has already spent some $80 million of the $600 million it's poised to see, with much of that money going toward Narcan, treatment and other immediate needs.  

Attorney General William Tong said the settlements require the state to spend that money on new initiatives and expansions of existing programs. It can’t be used to replace money already in the state’s budget.  

“This isn’t about curing people, it’s not about a simple one-step solution, this is about walking this walk with people in recovery for the rest of their lives,” he said.