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Comments to the Connecticut Department of Social Services Home and Community Based Services Unit by David V. Hunter

September 21, 2016

I am the President & CEO of Mary Wade, which is a nonprofit senior living campus located in New Haven.  Mary Wade provides a continuum of programs and services including adult day health center, transportation, primary care, out-patient rehab, and 45 accommodations in its residential care home.   Mary Wade also provides 94 accommodations in its Skilled Nursing Center that includes both short term rehab and long term care for those with significant chronic illness.   Mary Wade also is a recipient of the Department of Social Services Nursing Home Diversification Grant for the development of a homemaker and companion program and community navigator services.  

As a provider with 150 years of serving the community, Mary Wade is very supportive of Connecticut’s Statewide Transition Plan: http://www.ct.gov/dss/lib/dss/pgr/transitionplannotice.pdf and your efforts to ensure compliance with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) Home and Community Based settings final rule.

Specifically, I wholeheartedly support the state’s effort to bring the residential care home setting into compliance.  Tenants who reside in our residential care home and who receive services and supports through the Connecticut Home Care Program for the Elderly are offered the opportunity to remain in the place they call home.   These services and supports allow them to continue to integrate with the greater community and in many cases, avoid nursing home placement.

Mary Wade would very much like to ensure that its residential care home setting can comply with the CMS final rule and we support the state’s efforts to establish the regulatory environment and opportunity to do so.

I can provide many examples how these tenants are living a residential lifestyle and why they truly consider this to be their home. 

One of our residents, participates in numerous New Haven community activities as a result of her membership in an association, called Chatham Square Neighborhood Association.  She regularly attends monthly meetings and social events, such as dining out with neighbors at local restaurants.  She is involved in a neighborhood program that teaches school age children how to grow vegetables, and then how to cook with the produce.  During the school session, she meets weekly in the neighbor’s home and helps students with their homework.  She has even been known to canvas and make telephone calls in neighbor’s home during the election season.  One of the main reasons for her to live at Mary Wade is due to a significant heart condition. 

Several residents go out nearly every day and use the public transportation to visit friends and families, while other residents make frequent trips to shop at Walmart, and attend Centers of Worship on the weekend and Holidays.

All residents live in a private room, and locks are installed upon request.  Meals are provided throughout the day, and, some residents request refrigerators to keep food in their rooms.  

Parking is available when residents wish to bring an automobile. 

Social and life-long learning events are planned throughout the Mary Wade community, and residents participate based on their wishes. 

The majority of these residents range in age from 70 to 90 years of age, and they are utilizing supportive services in the residential care home setting in order to maintain the most active and healthy lifestyle.

I appreciate the opportunity to comment in support of the statewide transition plan and the ability for a residential care home to meet the requirements of a community based setting in compliance with the final rule.  I am available for further discussions and meetings should the need arise to elaborate on this important and vital topic to the seniors in our community.

David V. Hunter

President & CEO

New Haven, CT (September 19, 2016) –The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven, the region’s permanent endowment and largest grantmaker to nonprofits, announces that it has committed $1.3 Million to New Haven Promise (NHP). The grant will be distributed over three years starting in 2017, following the end of The Foundation's current grant to NHP.

“The Community Foundation sees New Haven Promise as one of the most ambitious and important things happening in our community today,” says William W. Ginsberg, President and CEO of The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven. “It is creating a college-going culture in our schools and promoting college access and success for our most promising young people. The Foundation is deeply proud of our role in helping to create, sustain and grow New Haven Promise since 2010 and we are very excited about what New Haven Promise can contribute over the next three years. With more and more NHP Scholars graduating and returning to our city with the education and skills needed in today’s economy, New Haven Promise is proving itself to be indispensable to how our community creates opportunity for the next generation of our young people.”

“Nearing the end of its sixth year of operation, New Haven Promise has provided invaluable scholarship benefits in excess of $5.2 Million for more than 1,000 students and their families in New Haven,” says Patricia Melton, President of New Haven Promise. “It has developed stronger connections for New Haven’s most accomplished and best educated students with Connecticut’s institutions of higher education and with local institutions and employers through mentorship and career-focused internships. Our students benefit from an entire city’s support and their success is our community’s success.”

Since its founding, New Haven Promise has been The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven’s largest and highest profile programmatic commitment. With this grant, it will remain so. The Foundation has provided approximately $3 Million in administrative support for NHP since 2010. The Community Foundation appoints a member of the NHP board of directors.

New Haven Promise was established in November of 2010 by way of a five-year three party agreement by and among The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven, Yale University and the New Haven Board of Education. Its program consists of three pillars: “To: College Access; Through: College Success; And Back: Career and Civic Launch.” It provides scholarships of up to 100% tuition for residents and graduates of New Haven Public Schools and local charter schools attending a public college or university in Connecticut. A key to New Haven’s future, Promise is revitalizing the City of New Haven through increasing educational attainment, cultivating a culture of college-readiness, reducing high school dropout rates, and promoting community and parental engagement. New Haven Promise is currently supported and funded by Yale, The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven, Yale-New Haven Hospital, and other donors and has received support from other funders, including Wells Fargo.

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.

Media Contact: Ratasha Smith, Community Foundation for Greater New Haven 203-777-7096 rsmith@cfgnh.org

Photo courtesy of Chris Volpe.

New Haven, CT (September 9, 2016) –The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven’s strategic work to create a welcoming community underpinned yesterday’s Convening entitled EMERGING: Life After Incarceration featuring author and director, Shaka Senghor.

The Convening was attended by more than 245 guests and organized by The Community Foundation in partnership with EMERGE Connecticut Inc., one of several local providers of services to formerly incarcerated individuals and their families. Continue reading here.

Follow us on Instagram @lifeafterincarcerationgnh.

The Institute Library Executive Director Valerie Garlick. Photo by Matt Higbee.

In 1826, a group of young men who had been meeting regularly in New Haven to read their writing to each other decided to form a library association. They pooled their money to purchase books and began hosting public speaking events on a wide range of subjects, from the instructional to the political. The Young Men’s Institute was born. 

For the next half-century, the institute vigorously pursued its mission of “mutual assistance in the attainment of useful knowledge.” In addition to circulating books before there was a city public library, it hosted talks by Henry Ward Beecher, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Anna E. Dickinson, Frederick Douglass and other famous 19th-century speakers. It was also a meeting place for abolitionists and advocates for women’s suffrage. 

After a relatively quiet 20th century, the Young Men's Institute, now known as the Institute Library, is once again a cultural force in New Haven. Continue reading here.

Family Centered Services of CT will hold its 6th annual Walk Against Domestic Violence on Saturday, October 1, 2016 to kick off support of National Domestic Violence Awareness Month.  Each year more than 45,000 women and children are victims of domestic violence in Connecticut, according to the Connecticut Coalition Against Domestic Violence. This year the focus and theme of the walk is: Domestic Violence, Health & Healing: Moving Beyond Surviving. Family CT is committed to fostering hope and help to survivors of domestic abuse and empowering these individuals to heal and thrive.  Through the Walk, Family CT aims to raise awareness about domestic violence and welcome new partners who want to work toward its end. 

Opening Ceremonies will begin at 10:00 AM at mActivity, 285 Nicoll Street, hosted by Jessica Carl, from WYBC-FM.  The walk will feature music by Vanessa Stevens of the Purple Song Project and guest speaker, Dr. Elizabeth Keenan, Professor, School of Social Work, Southern Connecticut State University, leading expert in the areas of leadership, cross cultural practice and community organizing.

Domestic Violence Awareness Month brings attention to the issues that impact victims.  Activities will be held throughout the month by survivors, advocates and community members to educate the public, inspire action, and inform victims of the help and services that are available.

Family CT’s mission is to work with families to ensure that they are safe and nurturing places where children can succeed.  At Family CT, staff work to prevent abuse, neglect and victimization across the life span and to serve those affected by providing home visiting and outreach, parenting education, family strengthening activities, counseling, youth empowerment and advocacy to children and adults. Its goals are to strengthen and preserve vulnerable families and improve child health and developmental outcomes.  Since its inception over three decades ago, Family CT has helped thousands of women, children and families live safe, happy and violence-free lives.

To register as an individual or team contact; 203-624-2600 ext. 118 or email:  Susan D’Orvilliers at sdorvilliers@familyct.org.

Visit our web page and like us on Facebook for information about events & programs  http://www.familyct.org

Dear Friends,

I have been remiss concerning writing about Grove Street but today I feel I need to give Tribute to two special people from the Cemetery - Bill and Joan Cameron. Two people who dedicated themselves to the preservation of the history of New Haven. Both worked unending in the cemetery for over 40 years. In tribute to them both I would like to put their life works into a poem:

R. Lee Sharpe’s (1870-1950) poem

“A Bag or Tools”:

Isn’t it strange that princes and kings
And clowns that caper in sawdust rings
And common people like you and me
Are builders for all eternity?
To each is given a bag of tools
A piece of clay and a book of rules
And each must fashion ere life has flown
A stumbling block or a stepping-stone.

Thank you Bill and Joan

Patricia Illingworth

The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven, the region's largest grantmaker and permanent charitable endowment, is seeking qualified candidates to fill the following positions: 

Human Resources Manager

Development Associate

Vice President of Operations

LEARN MORE: http://www.cfgnh.org/About/ContactUs/EmploymentOpportunities.aspx

Thank you for your interest.

Director of Milieu for S-FIT, CARE and EDT Programs

The Director is responsible for carrying out the treatment philosophy of the Agency, and has a significant role in shaping that philosophy as a member of the Management Team.  The Director is responsible for participating in the admission process and the coordination of treatment for each young person the in the programs. This employee is also responsible for ensuring an appropriate therapeutic milieu and safe environment with the programs.

The ideal candidate for this position will have the ability to provide a trauma informed milieu via the leadership of a supervisory staff and childcare workers and the ability to multi-task.  Good organizational skills required.  Master's Degree required.

For more information please contact Human Resources -- employment@tccoh.org.  You can also visit our website at www.tccoh.org to learn more about the Agency.

We have several positions open at New Haven Reads! We are currently seeking an Assistant Site Director (part-time) at our Willow Street location, and 2 Kindergarten Teachers (part-time, Dixwell and Willow Street locations). 

For more information and application instructions, visit the career page of our website: http://newhavenreads.org/home/get-involved/careers/

Kindergarten Teacher (Willow)

Kindergarten Teacher (Dixwell)

Assistant Site Director (Willow)

St. Hilda's House is a service year program and intentional community in New Haven. Every year a group of interns arrive in New Haven to work and serve in service agencies and nonprofits throughout the city. Hildans are college educated young adults, committed to work and serve in various roles and locations. St. Hilda's House has been serving young adults, agencies, and nonprofits for the last five years. We are always looking to expand our network and partners in the community.

We are currently looking for community agencies and nonprofits to place our incoming class of interns. Hildans are college-educated young professionals, available to work 35 hours per week, and supervised and mentored. They are great resources for nonprofits -- at a rate of $15,000 including healthcare and all other support, they require half the resources of traditional employees even in starting jobs.

For more information, please contact Carlos de la Torre -- Cdelatorre@christchurchnh.org

Project Details

The National Veterans Council is currently working on a project to develop a schematic plan for redevelopment of the Long Wharf Waterfront Park ,where there is a collection of war memorials, including the Vietnam Veteran Memorial and are sited between I-95 and the New Haven Harbor.This project will not only be enhancement of the Vietnam Memorial and how it is use by the public as a place of memory, but will also be an exciting new comprehensive vision for this disconnected part of New Haven. This vision to revitalize the Long Wharf Waterfront Park would allow for small groups to gather, major celebrations to solitary reflections. This project will en-tale moving monuments,to landscaping, seating area and making the waterfront a scenic area that would produce a cohesive public space befitting this important place of remembrance, We also envision small boats, tour boats/taxis, small vendor shops and eateries along the waterfront.that would add to a scenic view to the waterfront

SCHOOL BASED ENROLLMENT and MATCH SPECIALIST

Position open until filled. Please send resumes to: bbbsswctprogram@gmail.com

Position Summary

Big Brothers Big Sisters is seeking a qualified candidate to assist and manage an after school mentoring program in New Haven and manage a case load of mentoring matches in the Southwestern CT area.

37.5 Hours a week

FLSA classification:  non-exempt

Compensation: $15/hour & benefits

 Position Responsibilities

The School Based Enrollment Specialist will be responsible for approximately 3 different Big Brothers Big Sisters program sites in the New Haven area, working with and being supervised by the Site Based Programs Manager.

-The Specialist is to recruit, interview and assess high school-aged volunteers and children during the enrollment process, match them according to their individual interests, needs and locations.

-The Specialist will then provide thorough support to guarantee strength and safety in the match.

-At site locations, staff will also provide activities for the matches to complete as they develop their relationship, assisting with activities and re-directing children as necessary to ensure they benefit from the program. Staff member will engage and develop a strong rapport with the participants.

-Collaborate with on-site partners and staff, notifying all parties of program changes, absent participants or scheduling issues promptly, maintaining consistent contact throughout the week.

-Provide support to New Haven area University Site Based Programs (enrollment, matching, support)

-Specialist will, in addition to facilitating the School Based programs, be responsible for supporting a small case load in-office.

Job Qualifications

Applicant must minimally hold a Bachelor’s degree, preferably in social services, human resources or related field.  Bilingual, Spanish speaking required. Experience working with both child and teenage populations preferred; specific assessment, intake or interview experience preferred.  Proficiency in Microsoft OFFICE; including Word, Outlook, and Excel.  Must have car, valid driver’s license, and meet state required automobile insurance minimums. 

Required Skills and Abilities

High-level interviewing skills; ability to: form appropriate assessment-based relationships; relate well in multicultural environments; maintain confidentiality throughout daily operations; effectively collaborate with other volunteer match staff; use time effectively; and focus on details. Ability to collect meaningful data and draw solid conclusions. Ability to plan and execute meaningful activities for the matches at each site (Examples- Activities that are academic, creative and artistic, help self-esteem or improve peer relations). High energy with a history and love of working directly with children

Work Environment 

Must have flexible work hours to meet customer needs, occasional weekend/evening hours may be necessary.  Must frequent the New Haven area to be on site at programs for implementation and support as well as in our main office in Bridgeport.  Must be available afternoons for site program.

As timing is everything (think summer reading) and a new Star Trek movie has just been released I just happened to come across, Make It So. Make It So, by Wess Roberts and Bill Ross offers leadership lessons from Star Trek The Next Generation (which for those of you who are not Trekkies, is the series with Jean-Luc Picard as the captain of the starship Enterprise).

So, if you would like to combine your thirst for entertaining with educational reading, Make It So (Pocket Books, 1995) may fit the bill. What Roberts and Ross have done is present chapters, vignettes you might say, from the Star Trek series and gleaned from these, management and leadership lessons as relayed in Jean-luc's post-experience journal. As such, the chapters serve as parables for how an effective manager might think and act. The topics covered include: being clear about mission; vision and focus; initiative; competence; communication; politics; symbiosis; interdependence; and, resilience.

While it is clear that a significant portion of Make It So would offer some thinking to nonprofit CEO's, I think there to be some lessons that nonprofit boards, board chairs and committee chairs might also glean. Clearly, being always clear about mission (this is of course one of the fiduciary duties) stands out but the task for board to both establish a vision and be focused no matter the "blips" is an equally important message. Chapters about communications and politics are areas that surround boards and board chairs and the members should, I believe, regularly take the time to understand what is culturally established; what fully engages or disengages, and what collectively leads a board to make positive contributions to and for the organization.

Nonprofit board chairs and committee chairs might also benefit from the chapters on initiative, competence, symbiosis, and, interdependence. For instance, about the topic of interdependence:

one good leader sometimes makes the difference in the success or failure of a mission. The truth is, however, the cooperative, collaborative, and corroborative effort of the entire team is much more likely to result in mission success.

About politics:

no one member or group of members can ever completely prevent others from sowing seeds of fear, doubt, and distrust. Consequently, every member ought to stand prepared to boldly uproot any seeds so sown by any member. Make no mistake, political games never end and are never totally resolved to everyone's satisfaction. Indeed, there is always something that remains unsettled, always something left unsaid, and always someone ready to replace those people exposed for creating dysfunction with the organization.

And, about communications:

Always bear in mind that no matter the means by which messages are given or received, your method of communicating must allow messages to be understood. Indeed, effective communication is the lubricant of effective leadership. ....you can never become an effective leader without being understood or without understanding those upon whom you rely.

In conclusion, if you prefer beefing-up your management and leadership skills through anecdotes and are in the mood for some light but reasonably intriguing science fiction. Make It So may be just the read for you during these uber warm summer days.

Hello!

We are looking for an energetic, creative and extremely well organized volunteer to help in organizing parts of our annual Contra Dance! The dance is our annual fundraiser and harvest celebration. It will be the third annual event - it consists of a silent auction, contra dance led by local contra hero Billy Fischer, light locally sourced hors d'oeuvres and alcohol for sale. This is a great opportunity for an enthusiastic person looking to work with some great people in the food world in New Haven. This would require about 5-10 hours/ wk until the event on Oct. 21. Your role will mostly be with contacting local businesses about donating silent auction items. We are also flexible and happy to work around your goals and time frame!

Full job description and posting: http://www.idealist.org/view/volop/mWDx3BCmz95P

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New Haven Farms Communications and Marketing Volunteer

Job Description

ABOUT NEW HAVEN FARMS:

New Haven Farms' nonprofit charitable mission is to promote health and community development through urban agriculture. We transform vacant, contaminated urban land into vibrant and productive organic farms. Our Farm Manager and volunteer corps cultivate urban farms, and our harvest is made accessible to low-income families who struggle with diet-related chronic diseases and food insecurity. Farm members receive produce baskets combined with farm education, cooking demonstrations, and nutrition education on a weekly basis. For more information about New Haven Farms, visit newhavenfarms.org.

POSITION SUMMARY AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

We are looking for an energetic, creative and extremely well organized volunteer to help in organizing parts of our annual Contra Dance! The dance is our annual fundraiser and harvest celebration. It will be the third annual event - it consists of a silent auction, contra dance led by local contra hero Billy Fischer, light locally sourced hors d'oeuvres and alcohol for sale. This is a great opportunity for an enthusiastic person looking to work with some great people in the food world in New Haven. This would require about 5-10 hours/ wk until the event on Oct. 21. Your role will mostly be with contacting local businesses about donating silent auction items. We are also flexible and happy to work around your goals and time frame!

DESIRED QUALIFICATIONS:

• Excellent communication skills
• Marketing experience
• Word, Excel, ppt experience
• Media design experience (photoshop or similar)
• Social Media experience
• Flexibility, ability to go with the flow
• Enthusiasm!

TO APPLY:

This position is a volunteer position and is unpaid. However, we have a lot of vegetables this time of year and would like to provide this volunteer with ample veggies. Please inquire for more details.

Please provide a paragraph summary of your interest in the position and attach your resume to Liz Marsh email:liz@newhavenfarms.org and cc volunteercoordinator@newhavenfarms.org

We look forward to hearing from you!