Initiative provides rent-free homes to New Haven educators

NEW HAVEN, Conn. (WTNH) — Multiple early child care educators in New Haven will be living rent-free in less than two months.

As part of the Teacher Housing Initiative , providers like Friends Center for Children, 227 E Grand Ave, are hoping it will help to retain and attract more workers in the sector. It comes as the state faces a shortage of 4,000 early child care teachers, according to the Center for American Progress.

At least two educators with the Friends Center for Children will soon be moving into a new home, steps away from their workplace, which will be ready in September.

The building is being built and designed by Architecture students at Yale University. The teachers will be living rent-free – which will take a significant financial burden off their shoulders and allow them to survive off their current wage, which the center says averages at just under $30,000.

Although the structure is currently just a wooden frame, it will soon be Justin Cross’s residence.

Cross told News 8 he’s feeling “Excited, inspired. I just want to come to work and do the best I can.” He adds, “I could focus on becoming a better teacher because I don’t have to worry about going to a house where I have to pay the light bill, where I have to pay the water bill.”

Cross’s residence is one of five rent-free homes for a number of the center’s child care workers. First-year Master’s of Architecture student Maria Camasmie has been part of the building and design process.

“How is building a house going to help children? To me, it’s one of the most direct things we can do to help people in the immediate future,” Camasmie said.

Friends Center for Children says a lack of public funding is to blame for the low wages that child care educators make, as it forces them to slash costs to personnel.

“The true cost of high-quality care far exceeds what most parents can afford, and the state and federal government do not adequately invest in early childhood education,” said executive director Allyx Schiavone. “As a result, providers across the country must cut costs so they can stay in business, and for all of us who are providing care, our largest cost is our personnel.”

Friends Center for Children says its goal is to house 30% of their 80-teacher workforce by 2028.

“What’s happening here at the Friends Center is a model for the whole country,” Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) said.

The initiative however, is not expected to impact child care costs for families.

“It will not have an impact on what families are paying right now,” said Miriam Johnson Sutton, program director at Friends Center for Children. “However, it will have an impact on access if we can get more educators and they can afford to live.”

Sutton says the average cost of care for families is about $1,500 a month.

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