About the Partnership

Click here for a list of financial supporters of the Partnership for Strong Communities.

The Partnership for Strong Communities engages civic and political support to solve homelessness, create affordable housing and develop strong, vibrant communities. We promote knowledge, forge networks, apply innovation and inspire action to establish communities where anyone would want to live and work.

The Partnership was created in 1998 with a grant from The Melville Charitable Trust. Based at The Lyceum in Hartford, Connecticut, The Partnership works with government and the private and non-profit sectors.

The Partnership’s goal is to educate the public about the human and financial costs of homelessness and the lack of affordable housing.  The Partnership promotes proven solutions that enhance the lives of people who have been homeless, foster the growth of communities and more effectively use public and private resources.

By collecting and sharing information on effective housing policy and best practices around the country, The Partnership seeks to connect key government policymakers with private lenders and housing experts to help produce affordable and supportive housing.

The Partnership promotes supportive housing as a tested, established cure for chronic homelessness. It works with organizations that are able to bring developers, housing experts, community officials and funding sources together to produce supportive housing units throughout the state. The Partnership also promotes the development of affordable housing as a way to prevent homelessness and enhance economic growth and improve the lives of low- and middle-income working families and individuals. The Partnership works with an array of organizations and officials to help develop home ownership and rental opportunities that do not pose a drain on the resources of low- and middle-income individuals and families.

The Partnership staffs two campaigns: Reaching Home and HOMEConnecticut. The Reaching Home Campaign promotes the creation of permanent supportive housing as a solution to chronic homelessness. HOMEConnecticut is the statewide housing affordability campaign, promoting the creation of affordable rentals, starter homes and a wide spectrum of housing options for workers, young families and elderly residents.

The Partnership for Strong Communities is a program of the Melville Charitable Trust—-a Connecticut-based foundation dedicated to finding and fighting the causes of homelessness. The Trust purchased and renovated The Lyceum, a historic structure that has provided a common ground for policymakers, teachers, researchers and other scholars as they devise strategies to fight homelessness and develop housing for workers and their families. The Partnership for Strong Communities is located at The Lyceum and provides oversight for the Lyceum Resource and Conference Center. 

The Lyceum is a 16,000-square-foot, restored neo-Classical Revivalist structure in Hartford that features a state-of-the-art conference center, meeting rooms and offices. It also includes a resource center of up-to-date research studies, historical data, and other assets to assist educators, policymakers and scholars. The Lyceum is available to groups and individuals working on programs to end homelessness, promote affordable housing and best practices in community development.