For The People

Today we'll meet a Connecticut neighbor walking Route 1 from border to border on Memorial Day Weekend to fortify her new nonprofit - the Veterans Wellness Center of America. Then we'll reach out to the Center For Family Justice to share important information for those facing or surviving domestic and family abuse situations during the current coronavirus outbreak.  And our guest from NFIB the The National Federation of Independent Business will begin unpacking how new state and federal support programs will offer help and hope as the COVID-19 situation ravages small businesses and the economy.

Today's Special Report was produced from the recent Northeast Organic Farming Association's 2020 OrganiConn conference at Wesleyan University in Middletown. We caught up with NOFA's director, the event's keynote speaker, as well as a number of other guests promoting organic practices and programs that can help enhance our state's environment and public health - while engaging 'back to the land' entrepreneurs and our youngest citizens to dig in and enjoy everything they can raise and eat from their own farm, personal, school, or community garden.

We'll learn why Jersey Mike's Month of Giving and their March 25th Day of Giving is a key contributor to Make-A-Wish CT, and how those donations are making a difference. Then we'll visit The Workplace to hear about new programs to help re-train or get veterans situated into clean, high-paying and secure advanced manufacturing and other career positions with the agency's 'Platform 2 Employment program. And since it's National Poison Prevention Week we'll check in with Safe Kids Worldwide to talk about preventing prescription medication poisoning.

Learn the next generation of support to help keep your kids safe and protect them from substance abuse as we chat with Ginger Katz and learn about her latest Courage To Speak online system for parents, educators and communities - and how to be part of Ginger's next Empowering Youth to be Drug-Free Family Night. Then we'll visit the Connecticut Institute for Communities to hear how this unique agency is combining community and economic development with educational and public health initiatives, and why CIFC could be a successful model in other communities in Connecticut and beyond. And we'll close meeting a physician who launched Monitor My Health - a nonprofit that's presenting programs in the region to help prevent diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and high blood pressure.

There are thousands of folks in the region eager to learn to read and speak English. So we'll explain how you can help with the leader of the Literacy Volunteers of Southern CT and invite you to chill out and support the cause at next Saturday's 16th annual Leprechaun Leap Then we'll have a transparent conversation about glass, the role it plays driving up your local property tax bill, and what one of Connecticut's waste and recycling agencies is doing about it. with the Housatonic Resources Recovery Authority. And we'll close inviting you to be part of the 2020 Connecticut Masters Games - either as an athlete or one of the hundreds of volunteers the games will depend on as they showcase some of the state's best amateur athletes this spring and early summer.

Today we'll celebrate 40 years of providing emergency response and introduce you to the new CEO of Americares. We'll learn how this Connecticut-based nonprofit is representing our state around the globe, and what Americares is doing right here at home. Then we'll touch base with the Community Foundation for Greater New Haven - and get the latest on why this philanthropic organization is committing substantial resources to New Haven Promise and its mission to expand access and opportunity for thousands of youth in New Haven, especially youth of color. And we'll close talking about a brand new partnership between Hazelden Betty Ford and Shatterproof - and why this national partner has chosen to use Shatterproof's Just Five program for increasing awareness, reducing stigma, and sharing information about addiction prevention and treatment.

Tune in and meet a key new staffer and attorney for the Marijuana Policy Project as Connecticut gets ever closer to legalizing adult recreational use. Then it's time for the next installment in our series 'Counting on 2020 - Census Segments' as we learn why the Valley Community Foundation is so dedicated to ensuring all residents understand the critical importance of being counted this year. And we'll close focusing on a familiar agency with a new face and attitude - AdvanceCT (formerly CERC) - and its dynamic new leader who'll drop in to discuss how this non-governmental community & economic development organization is planning to jump start the state's economy.

This encore episode replays interviews with Assisted Living Services about systems that can help folks age in place, and the agency's involvement with the Connecticut Association for Healthcare at Home. Then we'll replay an episode celebrating Giffin Hospital becoming one of the state's first hospitals to pilot Unite Connecticut – a shared technology platform to address social needs and deliver integrated care. And we'll close re-playing a chat about all the Central CT Coast YMCA network has to offer - from before & after school childcare, to water safety, to helping you keep your resolution to get healthier in 2020!

Are you the parent of a child on the autism spectrum? If so, check out our chat about the SPARK for Autism Study right here at Yale - we'll explain why it's poised to reveal groundbreaking results and clue you in on how to get involved. Then we'll check in with the CT League of Conservation Voters and review their agenda for bills they hope to see passed in this year's state legislative session. And we'll ring up the state office of the American Lung Association - reviewing the 2020 ‘State of Tobacco Control’ Report and how it's addressing Connecticut's youth E-cigarette epidemic.

We're connecting with the nation's highest medical authority - U.S. Surgeon General Jerome M. Adams to unveil the first new national report on smoking cessation since 1990 - along with all kinds of ways to help you kick the habit in 2020. Then, if you're looking for a job - or career - with great pay and security we'll connect with the Workforce Alliance to talk about state manufacturing job training, and where Connecticut's manufacturing industries are headed.  And we'll Close with IRIS - Integrated Refugee & Immigrant Services. We'll learn about the latest challenges facing refugees here in the state - and invite you to the Run for Refugees Feb. 2 in New Haven.

We're touching base with FEMA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency to talk about their “Resolve to be Ready” campaign and get some tips to make sure you and your family are prepared for any disaster. Then it's another one of our 'Counting On 2020 - Census Segments'  — we'll talk about high paying jobs that could put you to work on the Census right in your own neighborhood or community. And, we'll introduce you to a brand new grassroots effort — UR Community Cares — a free, online program that easily connects a qualified volunteer helpers with elderly or physically disabled neighbors in need of at-home assistance.  

Did you know that more than 400,000 Connecticut households can’t afford their energy bills? Tune in and learn how you can help Operation Fuel keep vulnerable neighbors and families warm and safe this winter. Then check out our chat with AARP CT and hear about the seven latest “Livable Communities” projects aiming to help neighborhoods, towns and cities become great places for people of all ages. Is your community on the list? Then we'll touch base with Boys and Girls Village - serving more than 800 youths from over 50 communities in at-risk situations. We'll meet the agency's new President & CEO, hear about their new Life Skills & Vocational Training Center, and expanding partnerships with Housatonic and Gateway Community Colleges.

We're launching a new series 'Counting On 2020 - Census Segments' which will bring you loads of information as we approach the big count. In Part 1 we'll chat with DataCT about a series of workshops aimed to help state nonprofits learn why the 2020 Census is so important to their sustainability. Then we'll engage Regional Hospice about just-launched plans to create only the fifth in-patient children's hospice center in the nation - right here in western Connecticut. And we'll encore a previous interview with a cardiovascular doc about the misunderstood and seldom discussed connection between flu and heart attacks - and why flu shots play such a critical role in prevention.

Today's program features three encore segments starting with a conversation about saving energy — we'll touch base with our source at Eversource for some timely tips on how you can easily save some serious cash making a few inexpensive investments including booking yourself a home energy audit. Then we'll replay a talk with the Child Health & Development Institute about addressing childhood trauma through a school-based program aptly called 'Bounce Back.'  And finally, we'll encore a chat with the co-founder of the nonprofit Connecticut Health Investigative team - bringing critical health reporting to our state and communities. 

Today we're going to hear from some brand new friends from the regional chapter of Royal Family Kids seeking new volunteers to help challenged young people in communities across western and central Connecticut.. Or maybe you're in a position to help end homelessness in our state with the CT Coalition to End Homelessness as a volunteer for their Point in Time Count and Youth Count coming up in mid-January. And we'll close promoting the Connecticut Green Bank offering special low interest rate financing solutions to assist with home energy upgrades and remediating health and safety issues in and around your home.

This segment of 'For the People' is helping the Yale School of Public Health recruit families for its Families Coping Together with Alzheimer's Disease Study - in order to better understand how loved ones cope with dementia and develop programs for other caregivers. Then we'll be celebrating Giffin Hospital's being one of the first hospitals in the state to launch Unite Connecticut – connecting Valley health and social services providers through shared technology to address social needs and deliver better care. And we'll close with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Southwestern CT reminding you that one of the most impactful resolutions you can make this New Year is to improve the  life of a child. January is National Mentoring Month and we'll clue you in on how you can change a child's life for the better in 2020.

Did you know most tragic house fires happen right around Christmas. Listen in as we welcome a fire safety expert form the National Fire Protection Association who will tell you how to prevent a fire destroying your home and holiday. Then we'll get you up to speed on all the latest scams and ways creeps and thieves are going after you, your identity, and your hard earned cash with Connecticut BBB. And we'll close diving into a chat about all the Central CT Coast YMCA network has to offer - from before & after school childcare, to water safety, to helping you keep your resolution to get healthier in 2020.

We just received a note from the Green Village Initiative about a new 'SeedMoney' campaign to support the rebuilding of two Bridgeport area community gardens. So on this Thanksgiving weekend, we're replaying a program we taped earlier this fall at Reservoir Community Farm in Bridgeport during  the Green Village initiative's Harvest Fest to remind you about this important cause.  We'll introduce you to staff, organizers, activists, researchers, food equity advocates and even a neighborhood farmer and get a very inspiring crash course on why initiatives like GVI and the many community gardens they manage across the Park City are so critical to the physical and economic health of Bridgeport residents.

Listen to an American Lung Association spokesperson unpack vital details from this year's 'State of Lung Cancer' report including heartening news about survivability in Connecticut. Then we'll celebrate Epilepsy Awareness Month with the CT Epilepsy Advocate and a Yale researcher who developed important new information to help folks with drug resistant epilepsy. And we'll introduce you to VetFuel - a nonprofit whose mission is to ensure no veteran should want for a job or appropriate medical care because of a lack of transportation.

Thanks to a new system from the CT Coalition Against Domestic Violence, victims can use their phone, texts, chat, and email to receive critical and immediate assistance - so tune in and we'll tell you how it works. Then we'll hear about a groundbreaking study ramping up at the Yale School of Medicine that could open the door for numerous other studies targeting new therapies involving medical marijuana. And we'll close learning how programs through the nonprofit Connecticut Housing Partners are preventing homelessness and helping families and the elderly struggling to afford their rent.