For The People

We're welcoming back ARI - working with around 100 disabled individuals through several programs in lower Fairfield County helping them learn and grow in order to achieve a higher level of independence - and inviting you to get involved supporting their 70th Anniversary Ball, an upcoming golf tournament and the April 24 ARI Walk for Independence. Then, meet a local representatives of Veterans for Political Innovation a nonprofit with a mission to mobilize veterans and supporters to advocate for election innovations to make our political system less toxic and more competitive.  And we'll close helping to unveil SAVED - the State’s Attorney’s Violence Eradication and Disruption (SAVED) program - a forward looking prevention focused program to identify and serve youth impacted by violence in their communities with a trauma informed, treatment focused approach.

Do you have an older or unused bike you'd like to see out of your garage or basement and put to good use, or maybe you know a child or youth who's got a lot of energy and is looking for a great way to use it? We've got a way you can take care of both, so check out our chat with the CMAK Foundation's Race 4 Chase founder to learn more. Then we'll introduce you to Families Network of Western CT, creating positive, lasting changes through public awareness activities, direct service to families, volunteer training, and a commitment to partnering with community and business leaders, social service agencies and healthcare and education providers.  Then we'll meet an old friend who's the new director at Keystone House, a nonprofit providing residential and psychosocial services for adults with psychiatric disorders in greater Norwalk by providing them with necessary life skills and tools to help them live as independently as possible.

We're introducing a brand new community partner - Infinite Strength - the only nonprofit in the country to offer monthly financial assistance to underserved single mothers with Metastatic Breast Cancer. We'll let you in on how they do it, and how you can get involved. Then we're circling back with the Community Foundation for Greater New Haven to chat about the upcoming Great Give, and a new package of grants available to promote leadership and greater equity among and within communities of color. And we'll wrap with WBDC founder Fran Pastore - celebrating her agency's 25th year, promoting grant programs for small business owners and the WBDC's upcoming Women-Owned Business Day.

Did you know by 2025, Connecticut is on track to have more than 90,000 residents living with Alzheimer's? This morning For the People is opening with our long-time partners at the Alzheimer's Association talking about important research, as well as ways for you to support the association - especially on March 30 - 'Advocacy Day' at the State Capital. Then we'll hang around Hartford to chat with The Connecticut Democracy Center (CTDC), which just received a quarter million dollar grant to begin promoting a revised set of equitable social studies standards, professional development, and sustainable partnerships between cultural institutions, educators, and schools across the state. And we'll close introducing the Connecticut-based World Heritage Cultural Center and its founder who is inspired to bring global cultures together peacefully celebrating and collaborating around food, music and the arts.

If you think you've been experiencing heightened anxiety over the past couple of years, imagine what it's doing to our kids. So we're checking in with the Anxiety Program at the Yale Child Study Center to see how they've been trying to help, and we'll talk about what's in store at their 8th Annual Spotlight on Anxiety Forum for Concerned Parents and Professionals. Then we'll get you hungry for helping out a good cause touting Jersey Mike's Month of Giving & Day of Giving, with all proceeds going to support the 2022 Special Olympics USA Games. And we'll chat with the Connecticut Special Olympics to find out about the athletes representing our state in the games this June. And we'll close helping celebrate the Waterbury Palace Theater's 100th Anniversary with its CEO, and unveil all the ways you can come out and enjoy this beautiful Connecticut entertainment landmark — and all the activities planned for its centennial year

March is Problem Gambling Awareness Month, so  For the People is turning to a top resource at Wheeler Health for some straight talk about what to do if you or someone you know - even a teen or young adult - is experiencing unhealthy gambling habits. Then we're flipping to an important environmental concern with the Connecticut Audubon Society talking about why Connecticut is losing a serious amount of its bird population, and how that trend is creating an ecological domino effect that has the potential to impact everyone across the state and nation. And have you heard that the Governor wants $70 million from this year's budget to step up remediating lead in Connecticut households? Well, For the People is all over it with our connection at the US EPA, which is launching virtual listening sessions this week so folks can call in and discuss their risks and challenges to eliminating lead exposure in their own community.

We're introducing you to Health360 the home to Northwestern Connecticut's Area Health Education Center (AHEC). Learn how this nonprofit is developing a pipeline for future health care professionals who are prepared to practice in Connecticut’s underserved communities. Then, on a related subject - we'll tap an exec from the CT League for Nursing & CT Center for Nursing Workforce to discuss an incredibly important and concerning report about our state's nursing resources, and how a crisis level shortage of nurses is looming. And we'll close chatting with the new leader of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Connecticut - which recently re-launched after the merger of two similar agencies serving different parts of the state.

Super Bowl Sunday is here - and if you are planning your Super Bowl feast, we're bringing in a food safety expert from the USDA to run us through all the game day details you need to know to put the blitz on foodborne illness whether you're doing all the cooking yourself, or ordering in. Then we're going to meet Fairfield CARES - the community's prevention council. We'll talk with a student advisor and a bunch of students explaining why they are choosing to, and advocating for all young people to avoid the temptations and possible tragic after effects of substance use. And we'll close with Connecticut's new Comptroller Natalie Braswell, who is  introducing  the CT Essential Worker COVID-19 Assistance Fund - a brand new benefit for front line responders who may have suffered financial issues as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

We're opening up with AARP Connecticut reviewing their 2022 agenda for the upcoming Legislative session, which is packed with advocacy for programs and benefits for everyone in our state.  Then we're going to talk about a brand new battery storage system program from PURA and the CT Green Bank that can protect you and your home or business from extreme weather and power outages - along with incentives that could reduce up to 80% of the system's cost. And we're closing with Lt Governor Susan Bysiewicz, getting the latest on how she is helping promote the Governor’s Council on Women and Girls, a new grant program for minority women business owners, and the 2022 Computing Challenge - 'Coding for Good.'

We're watching out for your health and the health of those you love as we open up the latest American Lung Association's State of Tobacco Control report to try and figure out why Connecticut is failing its residents when it comes to funding tobacco education, awareness, and cessation programs. Then we're circling back with the Connecticut Psychological Association for a candid conversation about the ways insurance companies deal - or do not deal - with supporting the mental health concerns of state residents, especially as the pandemic continues to collectively wear us all down. And we're catching up with and inviting you to a cool event being presented by the Connecticut Epilepsy Advocate. Stay tuned to learn more about this unique local nonprofit and how to get in on all the 'Star Wars Night' fun!

Later this week the CT League of Conservation Voters will be hosting their 2022 Environmental Summit, so we'll check-in to see what's in store as lawmakers, advocates, policy experts, and the public discover what key environmental issues are on the table for the 2022 state legislative session. Then we'll visit with the director of CT's Office of Health Strategy to look into the business of health care as delivered by local hospitals with a review of key data from the OHS Annual Report on the Financial Status of Connecticut’s Short Term Acute Care Hospitals. And we'll close touching base with the The Northeast Organic Farming Association of Connecticut - previewing their 40th Winter Conference. Find out why you should attend this virtual event offering over 20 workshops on farming, seed saving, organic land care, community food security, social justice issues, and more. 

As we have often said - there's always something wild happening at Connecticut's only zoo - and 2022 marks the 100th Anniversary of The Beardsley Zoo. So we're kicking off a year's worth of zoo-centric segments with zoo director Gregg Dancho to learn about its history, and what's in store for this centennial year. Then we're going to check in with a pair of conservation experts from the state's USDA office for a lesson on conservation easements - find out the many ways these land, water, and soil saving initiatives benefit our communities, state, and our environment. And we'll close with a nonprofit eager to share the benefits of self-care through meditation - the Community Mindfulness Project. Could you afford to have a little more peace and less stress in your life? Stay tuned - we may have the solution!

We're introducing the Connecticut Urban Forest Council's top official to hear about plans to plant thousands of new trees in several local cities. Will you be seeing a patch of new trees in your neighborhood? Stay tuned. Did you know you might be eligible to apply for CT Paid Leave right now? We'll get a refresher on what you need to know right now, whether you are an employer or employee from the CEO of the CT Paid Leave Authority. And we'll check in with our friends from the Red Cross to hear the latest on about critical blood donor shortages and a range of volunteer opportunities in their disaster services division.

Happy New Year - we're kicking of 2022 playing four encore 'For the People' segments starting with a reminder about two clinical trials going on right now for teens and adolescents experiencing extreme stress at the Anxiety and Mood Disorders Program at the Yale Child Study Center.  Then we'll replay the first two segments of our series 'Open Arms, Open Hearts - Connecticut's Role In The Afghan Refugee Crisis.' The first highlights IRIS, Integrated Refugee and Immigrant Services' - then, we'll reach out to the CEO of The Connecticut Institute for Refugees and Immigrants, Inc.(CIRI). And we'll wrap circling back to an October chat with the leader of the Domestic Violence Crisis Center to learn how that agency is doubling down to help prevent domestic violence and better support those who are affected by it.

Meet a key official as Connecticut moves ever closer to opening its legal adult cannabis marketplaces as we ring up the interim director of Connecticut's Social Equity Council to begin a series of conversations to help inform and educate both state residents and stakeholders. The we're off to the riverside to engage the Housatonic Valley Association, a tri-state nonprofit citizen’s environmental group working to conserve the natural character, environmental health and the economies of our region by protecting and restoring its land and waters. And we'll close with our long-time resource at Assisted Living Services. As the New Year approaches, are you thinking that an older loved one might need some extra assistance to keep safe while they age in place? Then stay tuned.

Interested in sustaining native plants and vegetables on local farms and in your garden? We're introducing you to a spokesperson for Eco59, a newly launched initiative growing and providing ecotypic seed to restore native plants in Connecticut and throughout farms across the northeast. Then, we'll check in with our long-time partners at Homes for the Brave. We'll key in on critical work that agency is doing to support homeless women veterans transitioning back into community life, and a whole boatload of exciting news coming out of this organization in recent weeks. Then, meet the CEO from ElderHouse, a nonprofit serving Norwalk, Wilton, Westport, Weston, Darien, New Canaan and Stamford - enhancing the quality of life for aging adults and their caregivers through a broad range of trusted, compassionate, and enriching day services and home-based support. 

Do you know a kid or adult with Asperger syndrome or who is on the autism spectrum? Then meet a Connecticut spokesperson for AANE - the Asperger / Autism Network and learn about all the services and supports available, the work the agency is doing regarding advocacy and de-stigmatizing, and how to get involved. Then we're circling back with the Bridgeport Child Advocacy Coalition / RYASAP to do a brief review of some of the most important points from the latest 'State of the Child' report which is focusing on research and educational data. See what insight it might offer to your community. And we'll meet a state spokesperson for The National Association For Amateur Radio, which counts hundreds of HAM radio operators among its members who stand ready during times of disaster to provide a vital backup communication network to emergency responders. Maybe this could be the perfect hobby and public service you'd like to take up in 2022 - stay tuned.

For the People is celebrating 50 years of caring for Greater Waterbury with Staywell Health Center, and to let you know - wherever you are in Connecticut - that  Staywell is ready and waiting to take good care of you and your family, too! Then we'll reconnect with the head of Connecticut's Commission on Women, Children, Seniors, Equity & Opportunity to begin discussing the state's first ever LGBTQ+ Health & Human Services Assessment Survey - that we helped launch earlier this year. And we'll close with the director of Bridgeport's historic Barnum Museum touting how 'the Barnum' just received National Historic Landmark status - and details on how you can help support a very colorful aspect of the museum's continuing restorations.

The next segment in our new series called 'Open Arms, Open Hearts - Connecticut's Role In The Afghan Refugee Crisis' welcomes the CEO of The Connecticut Institute for Refugees and Immigrants, Inc. (CIRI), talking about an important new partnership with the Bridgeport Rescue Mission, and how the agency is working hard assisting refugees coming into the state from Afghanistan. Then we're circling back with American Lung Association of CT to discuss the 4th annual State of Lung Cancer report that was released this week, highlighting key indicators in Connecticut including: new cases, survival, early diagnosis, surgical treatment, lack of treatment, screening rates, and the lung cancer burden among racial and ethnic minority groups. Then we're catching up with the executive director of GVI, Bridgeport's Green Village Initiative — just because there's frost on the pumpkin and harvest season at GVI's community gardens has passed doesn't mean this agricultural and human service nonprofit is hibernating for the win

Have you heard about the latest statewide poll from Sacred Heart University’s Institute for Public Policy and Civic Engagement? We're connecting with the CEO of their polling partner Great Blue Research to hear where state residents stand on the governor's handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, and several other issues reflected in this new polling. Then we'll zip through calls with nonprofits, LivFree, Al's Angels, and the Westport PAL all collaborating on a free, family-friendly Winter Wonderland event coming up in Westport on December 4. And we're launching a new series called 'Open Arms, Open Hearts - Connecticut's Role In The Afghan Refugee Crisis.' We'll chat with Integrated Refugee and Immigrant Services' ((IRIS) about how they're coordinating with grassroots groups across western Connecticut to help get Afghan refugees resettled - and how you can help.