Housing advocates push for money, reforms NBC Connecticut [Video]

Karoline Ashford used to live in New London public housing and feels like she won the lottery when she was accepted into the Bayonet Apartments.

“It’s much better for your mental health. You feel better and you feel like a person,” Ashford said.

Bayonet Appartments is a 28-unit mixed-income development built by Eastern Connecticut Housing Opportunities.

CEO Julie Savin said she thinks it’s important that developers get away from traditional affordable housing and build more mixed-income projects.

“Economic diversity is the backbone to every single community,” Savin said.

But she said developers say they need help. They need money but they also spend much of their effort convincing towns to allow for these types of developments.

“It translates because it’s your kids, it your parents, or your brother or sister,” she said about building support.

Then there’s infrastructure.

The state Department of Housing tries to help towns support the construction of more multi-family …