Childcare centers turn to free teacher housing as wages lag

Friends Center for Children, a nonprofit with four New Haven locations and 47 teachers, provides free housing to 10 staff, with two more moving in this fall. Eric Gil shared a bedroom with his brother and cousin in an eight-person Waterbury household and faced $1,600 average monthly rents that he said took 40% of his income; the center offered him a free home minutes from work. Connecticut early childhood educators average about $31,000 a year while median rent is about $24,000 a year. CEO Allyx Schiavone said that after finding raises unworkable without more public funding or higher tuition, the organization decided in 2019 and 2020 to figure out how to give teachers free housing. The initiative began in 2020 with the first teacher in a three-family home. Donated first properties created four units, and a Yale School of Architecture partnership builds about one educator home a year, worth about $750,000 and acquired for about $300,000. Paris Pierce moved into a single-family home with stained-glass windows and natural light. Friends Center aims to house 30% of growing staff by 2028, expects to double inventory in three years, and has inspired similar programs in Missouri, Michigan and Georgia.