Housing and Homelessness

Housing issues affect everyone in Connecticut, from those who are searching for a safe place to live, to those who may find it increasingly difficult to afford a place they already call home.WNPR is covering Connecticut's housing and homelessness issues in a series that examines how residents are handling the challenges they face. We look at the trends that matter most right now, and tell stories that help bring the issues to light.

A New Public Housing Development On an Old Site

Connecticut Public Radio | By Jeff Cohen

Published October 10, 2012 at 6:43 PM EDT

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http://cptv.vo.llnwd.net/o2/ypmwebcontent/Jeff%20Cohen/2012_10_10_File%20JC%20121010%20Nelton%20Court%20ME.wav.mp3

The last of Hartford's post-war, barracks style federal public housing has come down. And now, the city's housing authority is building something new in its place.

A few years back, the Hartford Housing Authority started relocating the people who lived at Nelton Court. Then, last year, the authority started knocking the place down. The housing authority says Nelton Court was beyond its useful life. And it housed too many people in too small a place.

For a lot of people, Nelton Court was home. But its reputation for drugs and crime was a reminder of all that was bad in the city's North End.

I stopped by recently for a tour and met a few men who are working to build the new Nelton Court. Click the button above and give it a listen.

A New Public Housing Development On an Old Site

Federal funding is gone.

Federal funding is gone.