The only thing standing between many families and a descent into homelessness and poverty is trained legal representation. In courtrooms every day, the fight for basic human needs is played out in cases against landlords who have served eviction notices, employers that have withheld wages, state agencies that have denied benefits and various other civil matters. Yet unlike in criminal court, there is no constitutional right to an attorney in a civil suit. This puts people who cannot afford representation at a severe disadvantage in cases that could alter the courses of their lives.

For more than a half century, New Haven Legal Assistance has worked to balance the scales of justice by providing free legal counsel to vulnerable clients.

“We are building on the history that we’ve created, a history of being rooted in the community and putting our clients first,” says Executive Director Alexis Smith. Continue reading: 

Do you ever wonder why the wealthiest country in the world has so little money to feed the hungry, educate the youth, care for seniors, provide universal health care, fix the potholes, house the homeless, ensure clean water, guarantee safe bridges and dams? 

Alder Richard Furlow, chair of the Board of Alders’ Human Services Committee, invites you to participate in a public hearing on Thursday, January 26 at 6 p.m. in the Alder Chamber of City Hall, 165 Church St.

The hearing concerns a resolution submitted by the New Haven Peace Commission. It seeks to stimulate a public discussion on what “the extent of the city’s public and human services needs are, what the gaps are between the city’s needs and all funds provided by taxes, grants and debt, and how those gaps could be met by reducing the annual national military budget.”

Alder Furlow asks that you imagine if -- in a perfect world -- what sort of budget would your department need to accomplish all of its goals and what would you do with the additional funds. Due to enormous military funding, our cities are not provided with the financial support they need to meet human needs and improve the infrastructure. The Peace Commission resolution hopes to correct this situation. 

The resolution follows a nonbinding referendum on the 2012 city ballot which asked: “Shall Congress reduce military spending; transfer funds to convert to civilian production; create jobs to rebuild our infrastructure; and meet pressing human needs?” The referendum passed overwhelmingly, by nearly six to one.

The annual cost of past, present and future wars is $1.2 TRILLION. This is double the nominal Pentagon budget, which itself is 54%, $600 billion, of the Federal discretionary budget. All other programs have to share what remains.  

Applications are being accepted for Neighborhood Leadership Program of The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven. The Neighborhood Leadership Program is an eight month training and grant program that supports community leaders in imagining, developing, testing and realizing projects which build community and provide positive outcomes in New Haven neighborhoods and contiguous towns.The information you need to understand what the program offers and what the program requires of you is here:

http://www.cfgnh.org/LeadingOnIssues/NeighborhoodLeadership/ApplyfortheNeighborhoodLeadershipProgram.aspx 

The application deadline is: January 20 at noon.

We hope you will applying and that you will share this information with other residents of New Haven, East Haven, Hamden and West Have who are building and sustaining community.

We help you build community!

By: William W. Ginsberg 

The start of a new year is a time for resolutions. Defying the temptation to hunker down in this cold and dark season, the beginning of January is a time to take stock and to look forward with clear priorities and renewed optimism. The beginning of 2017 feels different. Read more...

New Haven, CT (December 19, 2016) – The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven (The Foundation), the region’s permanent endowment and largest grantmaker to nonprofits, recently awarded  $2,365,000 in general operating support grants through its largest annual competitive grant cycle.

“The Foundation’s 2016 grantmaking has reflected the pressures being felt by our nonprofits. Reductions in State support together with the prospect of continuing State budget woes have led us to prioritize general operation support grants,” says Christina M. Ciociola, Senior Vice President for Grantmaking and Strategy at The Community Foundation.

A recent survey conducted by The Foundation in October shows that over 50% of organizations have experienced State funding cuts of $50,000 or more and some of $500,000; more cuts are expected. To manage these cuts organizations are taking drastic measures including reducing services (49%), reducing staff (42%) and closing programs (20%).

“Nonprofits benefit most from general operating support – or unrestricted/flexible funding - to sustain positions, invest in technology and address other emerging issues, especially in times of uncertainty,” adds Ciociola. According to a national coalition of more than 550 grantmakers, known as Grantmakers for Effective Organizations, flexible funding enables nonprofits to build their infrastructure, direct money where it is best needed, take advantage of opportunities as they arise, focus on running effective programs and reducing fundraising pressures – all because working capital is in hand.

General operating support is considered an essential component to The Foundation’s competitive grantmaking to ensure the vast array and delivery of vital services in Greater New Haven, especially to those who are most vulnerable. Greater New Haven’s nonprofits receiving general operating support in 2016 provide food and shelter, workforce and career training, healthcare services and quality childcare. They enrich lives by promoting the arts and celebrating cultures, providing quality education and supportive youth services, and by connecting people with resources they need. 

According to The Center for Effective Philanthropy’s recent Grantee Perception Report, the number of general operating support grants distributed by The Foundation is larger than the typical funder. This year 67% of the grants awarded through the annual competitive process were for general operating support, up from 46% in 2015.

2016 General Operating Support Grant Recipients 

Achievement First - $25,000
Architecture Resource Center, Inc. - $35,000
Arts for Learning Connecticut, Inc. - $35,000
Beth-El Center Inc. – $65,000
Beulah Land Development Corporation, Inc. - $80,000
Boys & Girls Club of New Haven - $70,000
Bridges...A Community Support System Inc. - $50,000
Clifford W. Beers Guidance Clinic - $30,000
Continuum of Care, Inc. - $45,000
Creative Arts Workshop - $55,000
Diaper Bank - $50,000
Emerge Connecticut, Inc. - $260,000
Family Centered Services of CT - $60,000
Farnam Neighborhood House - $80,000
Fellowship Place - $50,000
Habitat for Humanity of Greater New Haven - $25,000
Interfaith Volunteer Caregivers - $45,000
International Festival of Arts & Ideas - $150,000
Long Wharf Theatre - $150,000
Music Haven, Inc. - $45,000 
Neighborhood Housing Services of New Haven - $65,000
New Haven Legal Assistance Association Inc. - $115,000
New Haven Symphony Orchestra - $75,000
New Reach - $105,000
Online Journalism Project Inc. - $50,000
Pequenas Ligas Hispanas de New Haven - $80,000
Public Allies Connecticut - $25,000
Solar Youth - $75,000
St. Martin de Porres Academy – $55,000
Student Parenting and Family Services, Inc. - $20,000
Urban Resources Initiative - $75,000
West Haven Child Development Center - $60,000
Women and Family Life Center - $65,000
Youth Continuum, Inc. - $90,000

Thanks to the generosity of three generations of donors, The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven awarded over $30 million in grants and distributions in 2015 from charitable assets of more than $500 million composed of hundreds of individually named funds. In addition to its grantmaking, The Community Foundation helps build a stronger community by taking measures to improve student achievement, create healthy families in New Haven, promote local philanthropy through www.giveGreater.org® and The Great Give®, and encourage better understanding of the region. The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven’s 20 town service area includes: Ansonia, Bethany, Branford, Cheshire, Derby, East Haven, Guilford, Hamden, Madison, Milford, New Haven, North Branford, North Haven, Orange, Oxford, Seymour, Shelton, Wallingford, West Haven and Woodbridge. For more information about The Community Foundation, visit www.cfgnh.org, find us on Facebook at www.facebook.org/cfgnh or follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/cfgnh. 

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Are you a media maker interested in public service?

WPAA-TV in Wallingford CT may be expanding services - if the right individuals reach out to us - to be either part-time evenings Video Support Techs and/or Unpaid Interns for college credit.

 This volunteer run organization serves the residents and organizations of Wallingford and nonprofits serving New Haven Area and CT filmmakers (criteria applies). 

If you are interested in serving the residents of Wallingford in 2017, helping citizens and organizations in the New Haven Area tell stories or work with local filmmakers (all while being anonymous); then let's talk.

About the opportunity: Part-time from 4 to 12 hours weekly. Must be available: evenings between 5 and 9 PM for 1 to 3 day a week. Internships with post production focus can be daytime. Wallingford residents will be preferred candidates. Reply with resume and video samples of your work to wpaatv@gmail.com

We offer creative flexibility, access to a high-tech studio/Blackbox theater to garner experience, and a variety of software package for editing PC/MAC.

Green Fund now accepting grant applications for 2017 awards.

   The Greater New Haven Green Fund promotes environmental quality and equity in the most environmentally distressed communities within the Greater New Haven area by providing local small grants to reduce pollution and create a more sustainable future.  The Fund is seeking grant proposals for creative community based initiatives that impact air and water pollution, as well as land conservation, sustainability, environmental education and youth leadership.
 

  This year the Green Fund is particularly interested in encouraging small grants of maximum amount of $3000 from grassroots organizations and has carved out $18,000 of the total $48,000 to be used for this purpose; $10,000 for small grants and $8000 for microgrants. These smaller grants can be used for mission support and organizational capacity building as well as other projects that fit the priority areas of the Fund. 
 

  The Green Fund will also award $10,000 from the Community Benefits Agreement with Public Service Enterprise Group, Inc. (PSEG), owner of the Harbor Power Plant in New Haven. The Fund seeks innovative proposals for activities that advance air quality initiatives in the areas of public education and outreach, public health studies, environmental justice and environmental analysis.
 

  The deadline for 2017 applications is Thursday, January 12, 2017 at 4:00 PM.  Please check out the website for the Greater New Haven Green Fund at www.gnhgreenfund.org for further information and to download the application forms.  Application forms are listed under the grants subpage titled small and large grants. 
 

  The New Haven Green Fund is a non profit 501(c)3 organization that incorporated in 2006.  It is administered by an independent board representing both local expertise and the communities that comprise the Greater New Haven Water Pollution service area. 

Green Fund now accepting grant applications for 2017 awards

download applications here

The Greater New Haven Green Fund (GNHGF) promotes environmental quality and equity in the most environmentally distressed communities within the Greater New Haven area by providing local, small grants to reduce pollution and create a more sustainable future. The Fund is seeking grant proposals for creative community based initiatives that impact water and air pollution, as well as land conservation, sustainability, environmental education and youth leadership.

This year the Green Fund is particularly interested in encouraging small grants of a maximum amount of $3,000 from grassroots organizations and has carved out $18,000 of the total  $48,000 to be used for this purpose; $10,000 for small grants and $8,000 for micro grants.  These smaller grants can be used for mission support and organizational capacity building as well as other projects that fit the priority areas of the Fund.  

The Green Fund will also be awarding $10,000  from the Community Benefits Agreement with the Public Services Enterprise Group, Inc. (PSEG) owner of the Harbor Power Plant in New Haven.  The Fund seeks innovative proposals for activities that advance air quality initiatives in the areas of public education and outreach, public health studies, environmental justice and environmental analysis.

The deadline for 2017 grant applications is Thursday, January 12^th at 4:00 p.m. Please check out the Greater New Haven Green Fund website at www.gnhgreenfund.org for information and the application forms.  Go to Grants in the Navigation Bar then click on small and large grants to see the link to the application forms.  You may download them from the website.  

The New Haven Green Fund, Inc., a 501c(3) non-profit corporation was incorporated in 2006 and  administered by an independent board representing both local expertise and the communities that comprise the Greater New Haven Water Pollution service area.

For more information contact: Greater New Haven Green Fund ℅ The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven // 70 Audubon St // New Haven, CT 06510 // 203-936-8136 // info@gnhgreenfund.org

The Office of Policy and Management (OPM) is accepting applications for the Nonprofit Grant Program (NGP). OPM is also accepting applications for the remaining funds for the Nonprofit Collaboration Incentive Grant Program (NCIP). The application deadline for consideration for this current round of funding is not later than 4:00 p.m. on January 23, 2017. The NGP will award Grants-in-aid to selected private, nonprofit health and human service organizations that are exempt under Section 501(c)(3) and receive funds from the State (including Medicaid) to provide direct health and human services to State agency clients. Applications involving a collaboration between two or more eligible nonprofit organizations may also be eligible for award for NGP or NCIP. Note: NCIP funds are for 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations currently providing services in Connecticut. NCIP funds do not require that organizations receive funds from the State to provide direct health and human services to State agency clients.

http://www.ct.gov/opm/cwp/view.asp?a=3006&Q=383284&opmNav_GID=1386

The Arts Council of Greater New Haven is accepting applications for their Executive Director opening through December 15th.  To learn more visit http://newhavenarts.org/2016/11/15/arts-council-seeks-executive-director/ ;

Last fall, middle school boys at Betsy Ross Arts Magnet School learned the high kicks, spins, and quick dance moves of the Brazilian marital art Capoeira. The after-school workshop, offered by the Elm City Dance Collective and Connecticut Capoeira Center, was a hit with the students and welcomed by school faculty as an innovative way to engage boys. 

“It was a pleasure to see the boys support and help each other gain confidence and learn about group interactions,” says Sylvia Petriccione, artistic coordinator at the school. “They needed to trust each other and work together as one unit. Their ability to focus and complete tasks improved with each workshop.”  Continue reading.

http://patch.com/connecticut/stratford/s/fy3o9/52-best-nursing-homes-in-connecticut-u-s-news?utm_source=alert-breakingnews&utm_medium=email&utm_term=community%20corner&utm_campaign=alert

At a local mental health clinic, all the patients were required to pass through a metal detector. Yet the clinicians and staff entered through a different set of doors with no security. After a series of training sessions provided by The Connecticut Women’s Consortium, clinic administrators came to realize this sent the wrong message to patients. Because trust is at the foundation of a successful patient-clinician relationship, the different set of rules potentially undermined the successful delivery of care.

“It was assuming the clients were more dangerous than the employees,” says Connecticut Women’s Consortium Executive Director Colette Anderson. “We shouldn’t assume one group more dangerous than other. We need to think about how we collaborate.”

For nearly two decades, the Hamden-based nonprofit has been at the forefront of transforming the way behavioral healthcare is delivered.Read more here.

Yale University seeks applications from nonprofit and public sector agencies in the City of New Haven for the 2017 President's Public Service Fellowship. Since 1994, more than 700 Yale University undergraduate, graduate, and professional school students have contributed over 200,000 hours of community service to New Haven nonprofit and public sector agencies as President’s Public Service Fellows.

Each summer, the Fellowship places up to 35 student Fellows in full-time positions designed by community partners like you. Yale University pays the student Fellows directly for their full-time work during the summer.

You can consider a meaningful employment opportunity for the summer of 2017 that would benefit from the work of a Yale student. To apply to be a Fellowship site, you can obtain an Agency Application online at ppsf.yale.edu. A completed application should be submitted by email to karen.king@yale.edu no later than Monday, November 28, 2016.

Please note the actual number of placements is limited. Not all proposals will be chosen as potential sites to which students may apply, and not every placement will be filled.

We look forward to your application! Please feel free to contact Karen King with any questions you may have.

Karen King

Director, Yale University President's Public Service Fellowship

Yale University Office of New Haven and State Affairs

(203) 432-8412

karen.king@yale.edu

Anyone in CT interested in opportunities to make an impact on some of the state's most pressing social issues would love attending this event on November 9. SVP is a supremely talented/committed group of individuals from the business and social sector, bringing both their talent and treasure to engage in scaling some of the most promising social enterprises in the state. Great opportunity to meet a couple terrific folks from SVP, including Shaun Gagnon.

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/svp-ct-young-partner-networking-event-tickets-28874753164

The Community Foundation is highlighting different areas of nonprofit services offered throughout Greater New Haven. 

Using giveGreater.org as the platform, The Foundation is asking the community to take “A Closer Look” each month at the issues that impact the health and wellbeing of Greater New Haven and the nonprofits that are working to address those issues.

November's focus is on the local nonprofits under the umbrella of Health and Wellness; specifically, those organizations that provide services to seniors. Check out the work of these awesome nonprofits.

“A Closer Look” runs through September 2017, excluding the months of May and December. 

Producers of Community Media invest themselves: Some to make-a-difference. For Community Media Day Oct 20th WPAA-TV is honored to announce the that local Producer Georgian Lussier is being recognized for her investment in informing her viewers as recipient of the Rika Welsh Award from the NorthEast Region Alliance for Community Media

LOCAL TV HOST WINS MEDIA AWARD FOR VALUE OF CONTENT

Georgian Lussier, a Wallingford resident, will be traveling to Portland Maine Oct 22^nd to accept the Alliance for Community Media Rika Welsh Award given to community television producers who are successfully empowering the community they have chosen to serve; achieving the goal of creating make-a-difference community television.

The committee said “We picked Georgian for the impact her program "MidLife Matters" has on her guests, their causes and the community at-large”. With a mix of wisdom and wit, she discovers stories which are shared in conversation as TV. Georgian’s story is representative of those she uncovers about aging well.  Like her guest she is between age 40 and 75. Her adventure in cultivating impactful stories began in midlife. She is significantly involved in the program production. Each 30 minutes segment requires an equivalent number of hours to produce from guest identification, prep, scheduling, outlining, studio work and then video editing.

The executive director at the station where MidLife Matters is produced says “I have had the privilege to meet all Georgian's guests and hear first-hand how the experience of discovering their own story was unexpectedly transforming.

Georgian has produced her show "MidLife Matters" for the past 3 and half years. It has included a variety of journey stories as well as specific content about various topics such as women's health, employment, loss, addiction, care giving, continuing education, veterans, and so much more. She has made connections with all her guests and has helped to get their messages out to the community.

Culling from her experiences she has written 5 Ways to Grow after 5O available on Amazon. She is also a workshop presenter developing a program called Advice to Your Younger Self:  Celebrate Your Story which provides insight for turning adversity into advocacy, finding your inside voice and networking.

Georgian is a Human Resource professional committed to helping women get the most out of midlife personally and professionally. Programs can be seen on WPAA-TV in Wallingford and on YouTube.

How do local residents rate their overall health? How safe do they feel in their neighborhoods? Are they satisfied with the region’s job opportunities? What is the availability of childcare? These and hundreds of other questions relating to wellbeing, economic opportunity and quality of life in the region are answered in the recently released Greater New Haven Community Index 2016.

David V. Hunter

October 25, 2016

I have been employed in health service for my entire career, first in the emergency medical response field and for the past 38 years I have worked in the post-acute, long term care and home and community-based services fields. I currently serve as president & chief executive officer for a nonprofit continuum of care organization in New Haven, Connecticut. This organizations provides post-acute and long term care, hospice care, assisted living, adult day health, primary care, outpatient care and transportation.  I currently serve as a member of the board of directors of LeadingAge Connecticut, on an ethics committee for a Connecticut hospice care program, and I am past president of the board of directors of the Connecticut Coalition to Improve End of Life Care. I am a recipient of the Humanitarian Award from LeadingAge CT and the Distinguished Service Award for End of Life Care from the CT Coalition to Improve End of Life Care.

I am aware of the resolution adopted by the American Medical Association’s House of Delegates to consider changing the AMA’s long position against doctor-prescribed suicide to one of “neutrality”, and that the Association’s Council on Ethical and Judicial Affairs will study this proposed change and provide recommendation to the House of Delegates in June, 2017.

The first hospice care center in the United States of America began in Branford, Connecticut. Since inception of hospice care services to the citizens of this State, hospice care services have grown to where these services are provided in all hospitals, many skilled nursing centers, and home-based hospice care services to individuals in the home setting. The growth of hospice and end of life care services in the health care field has advanced the treatment modalities which directly benefits people with terminal illness and their families. This is a direct benefit to individuals with terminal illness and their families. Most individuals suffering with illness fear the pain that is attributed with these illness, and many individuals suffer with depression as they move through the illness and dying process. The advances in palliative care and medicines have alleviated the suffering attributed to end of life illness. The reality is that anyone dying in discomfort that is not otherwise relievable, may legally today, in all 50 states, receive palliative care sedation.  Everyone agrees that dying in pain is unacceptable, but nearly all pain is now treatable.

A fact supporting increase in utilization of benefits can be seen in the increase in seniors utilizing the Medicare Hospice Benefit in the USA. According to Kelly Vontran, of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS), 20% of all Medicare Beneficiaries who died in 2000 utilized the Hospice Medicare Benefit and that number increased to 45% of all Medicare Beneficiaries in 2013. In addition, of those receiving Medicare Hospice Benefits those with Alzheimer’s disease were the majority of individuals receiving the Hospice Benefit, overtaking those with cancer.[1]  This is an indication that more individuals are aware of and benefitting from this Hospice Care Benefit.

In my years of experience, a larger problem stems from the fact that our culture in America fails to identify with death as part of the life cycle, resulting in the lack of family discussion and the aversion to familiarize oneself with treatments and services afforded to this stage of life.  Compounding this problem is the reluctance on the part of healthcare providers, including physicians, to talk about their patient’s end of life status.  The result is a lack of knowledge and increase of misconceptions.

In addition to advances in medicines and treatments, we have seen the expansion of services to address the psycho-social dimension of the individual including bereavement services for those left behind. Often, this benefits the individual who fear burdening their families as they become sicker and/or disabled.  Wanting to die because of depression is also treatable.  It would be far more beneficial for associations such as the AMA to develop methods for educating the public about these services, and from a matter of policy this would be far more effective in population health.  

The AMA’s principled opposition to physician assisted suicide has been a beacon in the face of the onset of Physician Assisted Suicide legislation.  This is a major concern as we experience the increasing number of seniors in our society. The demographic, coupled with the tightening of financial resources has the potential of individuals dying prematurely in their dying process. This fact and reality might not be done overtly, but it is very possible that subliminal messages for a senior citizen who is sick to ‘do the right thing for the next generation’.   It is also true doctors, what starts as an option soon becomes an expectation.  Pressures will grow to make health care providers get involved in assisting suicide directly or by referral.  It is for these reasons and others, that I urge members of the AMA’s House of Delegates to vote in favor of maintaining the position against Physician Assisted Suicide.