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May 13, 2008

Gallagher To Announce National United Way Goals


In a report to be released on May 14, United Way will issue a challenge to our nation to join all who are working day in and day out to strengthen lives and communities. There are basic things that everyone needs for a good life: a quality education that leads to a stable job, income that can support a family through retirement, and good health. Far too many people in our country do not have these basic building blocks. What's worse, we're seeing disturbing national trends on several key indicators:



  • Education: Children entering school ready to learn; 4th graders who are proficient in reading; young people who graduate from high school on time; and young adults who successfully transition from school to work life

  • Income: Lower-income working families who spend less than 40 percent of their monthly income on housing; have checking or savings accounts and at least $300 saved for emergencies; and own their own homes

  • Health: Babies born with normal birth weight; children with health insurance; and youth and adults who are healthy and avoiding risky behavior

In his keynote address to the United Way Community Leaders Conference in Baltimore, Maryland, United Way of America President and CEO Brian Gallagher will urge the country to put a stake in the ground to turn around these disturbing trends, and will outline three specific goals to advance the common good over the next 10 years.

Here at United Way of Greater New Haven we are throwing our resources behind this effort, and we'll be inviting everyone from the nonprofit, business and government sectors in this region to join us to achieve these goals and create opportunities for a better life for all.

If you'd like to watch this important address live, please join the webcast of the conference at 3:15 p.m. ET on Wednesday, May 14. (Instructions for accessing the webcast are below.)

The report will be available at http://www.blogger.com/www.liveunited.org/goals on May 15.

We hope you'll agree that the goals are worthy of our collective commitment, and we look forward to our continued partnership.

Instructions for viewing the live webcast:


  1. Confirm that your computer can connect to the webcast by performing a system self-test ahead of time.
    Click here to test: http://admin.adobe.acrobat.com/common/help/en/support/meeting_test.htm


  2. Make sure your PC speakers or headset is working. The sound for the webcast will be coming through your PC headset/speakers only.a
    (Note: There is no dial-in number for this event.)


  3. To log in to the webcast, go to http://uwa.acrobat.com/clc2008 at least 10 minutes before the session.


  4. In the Adobe Connect login screen, use the first login option to login as a GUEST. Please enter your first and last name.


  5. If you need technical assistance, please contact Marcia Struniak, United Way of America Registrar, at 703.836.7112, ext. 237, or Marcia.struniak@uwa.unitedway.org.

May 5, 2008

A life changed, one sentence at a time

How United Way investments are helping local residents overcome illiteracy

When West Haven resident Annette Sessions was ten years old and her mother fell ill, she took a job working in a cotton field, earning $3.50 for every 100 pounds of cotton she picked. She continued to work to support her family, eventually started a family of her own and never went back to school.

But because she left school so young, she never learned to read. “My mom felt like education was something you could always go back and pick up,” Annette says. “But taking care of your siblings was needed right away. I was illiterate but not by choice.”

Annette struggled for years to find jobs that didn’t require reading. Annette explains that being illiterate is “like walking around with a 100 pound yoke around your neck, praying that no one will ask you to read something.” When her boss at a coat factory called her “an illiterate,” she didn’t know what the word meant and thought it was a racial slur. He told her he knew she couldn’t read because she couldn’t fill out the paperwork necessary to earn her well-deserved promotion. She left the factory that day determined to change.

She was so determined—and so successful—that other students working to overcome illiteracy are today honored with the “Annette Sessions Student of the Year Award.”

An eager student with a mile-wide smile and a soothing, mellow voice, Annette turned to Literacy Volunteers of Greater New Haven, a funded agency of United Way of Greater New Haven that trains and certifies volunteer tutors to work with adults who need help with basic literacy or English skills.

One of those tutors was Margie Watson, who realized Annette’s immense potential. Within a few years, Annette received her high school diploma and sent a copy of it to her boss at the coat factory. When he offered her a job for $10 per hour, she politely declined. Her career path has instead made her today an extremely effective Community Outreach Coordinator for Literacy Volunteers of Greater New Haven.

When working with others learning to read, Annette is careful to mention that she was motivated by desire, hope, and drive. Her message to others learning to read is simple. “If you’re tired of being in the closet, of accepting what other people give you and you want to speak up for yourself, call Literacy Volunteers because it has really been an inspiration to me.” Doss Venema, Executive Director of Literacy Volunteers says, “Annette is a determined young woman. She believed in herself. She never says no to a challenge.”

Venema points out that problems with reading are not just for those who have left school like Annette did. The National Adult Literacy Survey estimates that approximately 22%, or 40 to 44 million of the 191 million adults in the United States, “demonstrated skills in the lowest level of prose, document, and quantitative literacy proficiencies.” That population of 40 to 44 million people includes many high school graduates.

Many of those surveyed can read well enough to get by in daily life. For example, they could write a deposit slip at a bank or read dates and times listed on a schedule. But when tested, they could not read and comprehend full paragraphs. Venema says that these people have “simply fallen through the cracks.”

It isn’t easy for most to admit that they can’t read. In fact, Venema says, many people will take great pains to disguise their problem. Annette carried a newspaper under her arm while walking down the street. Others point to a map when asking for directions despite the fact that the map is unintelligible to them. Simply getting by means carefully memorizing directions and names. It also means yielding to others. If a contract needs to be signed, you can’t review its content. “You must settle for someone else telling you the truth,” Venema says. “Someone else must tell you what the contract you’re about to sign says and you have no control.”

Many students at Literacy Volunteers of Greater New Haven are learning English as a second language. Venema says these students are eager to learn so they can get a job, communicate effectively, and become productive members of their communities.

She described one young woman who was having trouble reading at school, partly because her first language was Spanish and partly because of basic reading problems. This student was shuffled into a bilingual class which didn’t help her because she couldn’t read in Spanish either.

“She kept getting bumped around,” Venema says. “She didn’t get the help she needed.” But at Literacy Volunteers, this student attended weekly one-on-one classes with her certified literacy tutor and ultimately learned to read. Instead of disappearing into the back of a classroom, she finally got the individual attention she needed.

Stories like these only come out of years of hard work by students and tutors. Those who learn to read gain control and confidence they’ve never had. Annette Sessions, who is now writing her autobiography, says, “Set a goal. It can be a six month or 12 month goal. Learn how to read.” Because whether following directions, getting a driver’s license, earning a GED, understanding a doctor’s diagnosis or finding a job, being able to read means the difference between a frightening, defeating experience or a successful and triumphant one. Literacy Volunteers of Greater New Haven, together with United Way of Greater New Haven, is making a difference in people’s lives, one sentence at a time.

United Way of Greater New Haven is an outlet for your compassion, caring and concern for your community. To find out more about how you can get involved, go to www.uwgnh.org or telephone United Way of Greater New Haven at (203) 772-2010.

Teaching others to truly see-How United Way investments are helping a local child to thrive

When New Haven resident Angela Russell was looking for child care for her ten-month-old daughter, Brianna, she wanted a place that would foster curiosity and confidence in her child. The search for quality day care can be stressful for any parent, but it was especially challenging for Angela because Brianna is blind.

Angela found Creating Kids at the Connecticut Children’s Museum, a New Haven child care center that is dedicated to serving the needs of children and their families.

Brianna is now a very busy and curious six-year-old who loves music, Barbie dolls and The Wizard of Oz. “She has blossomed into an independent and curious little girl,” her mother says. “She’s very bright.”

Successes like that are why United Way of Greater New Haven and Creating Kids team up to provide the highest quality early education possible. Sandy Malmquist, director of Creating Kids, says that tuition support from United Way helps kids like Brianna receive an education that “supports multiple ways of learning and being in the world.”

Creating Kids is providing the early intervention that The American Foundation for the Blind says is needed to improve the educational outcomes for blind children. Because of Brianna’s blindness, the teachers at Creating Kids began to emphasize new ways learning for all their students.

To encourage three-dimensional learning, instead of simply showing the children a picture of an orange, teachers would pass an orange around the classroom, giving each student an opportunity touch, smell, and describe the orange.

Malmquist says, “It was as if Brianna had come to Creating Kids with a bag full of 3D glasses, a pair for each of us sighted people. With her help, we were all learning to see the layers, corners, sounds and shapes in the world.”

Children’s picture books were brailled and Malmquist says that both teachers and students learned to read descriptively and with a “sense of touch.” When describing a room, teachers would carry Brianna around the perimeter of the classroom, feeling the straight walls that created the word “room.”

Everything in the classroom, from art supplies to a bucket of toy dinosaurs, is labeled in English, Spanish and Braille. And often, Malmquist says, teachers find sighted children running their fingers across the Braille as they recognize a toy or a book’s cover.

“Teaching any child means giving them opportunities to learn and lead,” Malmquist says, and Brianna is no exception. During Nocturnal Animal Week, Brianna and her friends were tucked away in a makeshift tent in a darkened room as they learned about owls, raccoons, possums and mice by listening to their distinctive sounds. Malmquist remembers all the children asking Brianna, “Which animal is that?” She knew them all.

Brianna’s mother says, “There are no words I can use to describe how she’s benefited. Part of the reason Brianna blossomed was because of her wonderful relationship with a high-school student, Jessie, who volunteered [link: http://www.uwgnh.org/volunteer/home.cfm] at Creating Kids one summer. Jessie is also blind and says Brianna never worried about her own blindness or let it get her down.”

Jessie fondly remembers the summer she worked with Brianna. “The first word that popped into my head when I met her was ‘feisty,’” she says. “That was her in a nutshell–joking around with the staff, jumping from one activity to the next at lightning speed, constantly asking questions about everyone and everything.”

Malmquist describes how, upon their first meeting, Brianna gave Jessie a guided tour of the daycare center: “Imagine, for a moment, the confidence of this four-year-old, holding the hand of a 16-year-old, describing the play yard and providing accurate directions as they both traversed it.”

As a parent of five children, Brianna’s mother Angela says that Creating Kids relieved immense burdens for her. “The school has really embraced us as a family and not just as a child in their care who has special needs,” she says.

And the impact of a quality, encouraging education has been immeasurable for Brianna. “She still remembers stories from years ago,” Angela says. “She loves to play make believe stories and to teach her siblings.”

It is difficult to determine who is more thankful for Brianna’s years at Creating Kids, the day care staff or Brianna and her family. Malmquist says that her school’s language became fuller and more descriptive. Teachers used to tell the children, “Come, look at this bird in the window!” But now, teachers say, “Come, listen to the bird at the window!”

Brianna’s mother says, “I am just so thankful because Creating Kids helped make sure that Brianna got what she’s entitled to. They have always gone the extra mile. Always.”

Or perhaps the most grateful person is that gifted high school student, Jessie, who saw the bright spark in her young friend. “I’ll never forget one little girl in particular, the most rambunctious of them all, as she took my hand that first day and teased me, ‘Come on, Jessie, what do you think you're doing? Jump with me!’”

Finding every child’s strength

How United Way’s support of Clifford Beers Guidance Clinic helps children recover from trauma and find ways to thrive.

At the Clifford W. Beers Guidance Clinic, a nonprofit psychiatric, community-based mental health agency, clinicians are more than just one-hour-a-week counselors for children, adolescents and their families.

“We try to solve the whole picture, not just treat the child,” says Kate Dombrowski, Events and Marketing Coordinator at Clifford Beers. “We look for the strength in the family.”

Many of the children seen at Clifford Beers suffer from mental health challenges like depression and anxiety because of trauma like sexual abuse or violence. Those children are at greater risk for truancy, drug abuse, academic failure and criminal activity.

Clifford Beers’ specialized, holistic approach helps make a huge difference in the lives of those served by the clinic. But finding a family’s strongest member may be a bit of a challenge. “The family’s strength may not necessarily be a parent. It may be an aunt or an outside person,” says Kate. That was the case with Kevin*. At about eight years old, young Kevin’s parents were facing life-threatening illnesses and the stress from that caused him to act out. He was having major difficulties in school and at home and the clinician could tell that he needed more than just regular therapy.

“He needed an outside force,” Kate says. “So his clinician connected him with a big brother.” That big brother was a local college student who took his role as a big brother quite seriously. He brought Kevin to his house and introduced him to his family. “He showed him what a ‘normal’ family experience was like. He integrated the boy in his home life and took him on outings.”

Kevin made a huge turnaround. “This big brother finally gave this little boy someone to look up to.”

“Therapy isn’t just a one hour session,” Kate says. “The clinicians are an advocate for a child. They want to find what will make a difference in the child’s life.”

That’s just what they did for little Megan who was struggling in school and couldn’t find her niche socially or intellectually. “Her strength was in the arts,” Kate says, “so we connected her with an outside art organization and that really made a difference in her life.”

Often the children who visit Clifford Beers have gone from foster home to foster home. “The clinician might be the only constant factor in the child’s life,” Kate says. “So it’s important that the clinician find the child’s strength and help collaborate with others to make the most of that strength.”

Finding that strength and focusing on it can be what helps a child truly thrive. And the therapy can be more effective if the child begins to feel positively about him or herself.

To measure how their young patients are faring during and after therapy, the clinicians at Clifford Beers gathered six months of data on the treatment of 30 sexually abused children and their non-offending parents.

They wanted to know if the children had an increased sense of security and they found that 98% of the children were better at tolerating discussion regarding sexual abuse. 60% of the children learned that the sexual abuse wasn’t their fault, and 90% could identify the ways their behavior changed before, during and after the sexual abuse.

The clinicians also wanted to understand if their work with the parents could decrease the amount of miscommunication and conflict in those families. Clinicians were able to help 87% of the non-offending parents understand the signs and symptoms of sexual abuse. And 80% of the parents learned to discuss the sexual abuse without blaming the child.

Lastly, the Clifford Beers clinicians were hoping that the therapy and its benefits would help the children avoid troubling behaviors such as social isolation, truancy and inappropriate school relationships. During their study, they found that the children were indeed having an easier time at school. 63% of them had at least two close friends, 83% were attending school regularly and 63% were performing at or above average in their school work.

It’s important for any social agency to ensure their treatments are effective. Clifford Beers’ careful research and outcomes assessment makes them an agency that United Way is proud to support.

Not only do the clinicians help find and focus on the strength of the child and his or her family, they ensure that the family learns to communicate effectively and to leave the clinic feeling healthier and happier. It is this kind of crucial, life changing work that helps children recover from trauma and avoid the risks they would otherwise face because of their troubling experiences.

*All names have been changed to protect the privacy of children and their families.

One woman fights her way to sobriety and employment and teaches others to do the same

How United Way investments are helping people get back to work and out of the streets

Patricia Rivers-Barnes has lived through some incredibly difficult times. For nine years, she was addicted to alcohol and crack cocaine. She used drugs to escape loneliness, low self-esteem, sexual, physical and emotional abuse. Because of her drug use, she lost custody of her four children, the first of whom she gave birth to at age 15.

“I had a $300, or more, a day habit,” Patricia says. More than once, she tried to end her life.

One night, after Patricia spent all her family’s money on drugs, she walked into her house and saw her oldest son standing at the open refrigerator, searching for food. The look on his face convinced her that she was harming her children with her drug habit.

Patricia made the painful decision to free her children from her substance abuse by phoning DCYS and telling them about her addictions and her inability to care, protect and provide for her children.

“Before I used drugs I was a good mother. Now, I’m a good mother. I was a good mother then for calling DCF, for protecting my children, because I couldn’t,” Patricia says.

After a stay in prison, 10 failed attempts at finding sobriety at various treatment facilities and the subsequent troubling relapses, Patricia hit rock bottom. On December 6, 1997, she begged for assistance from a local mental health agency. It was only then that she found a good counselor and began to explore the secrets and traumas in her life and why she chose men who were abusive. Finally, Patricia began to recover.

Once off drugs, Patricia worked minimum wage jobs at a donut shop and a drug store, trying to save enough money for furniture and basic necessities. While working at the donut shop, Patricia noticed a customer that looked familiar. It was her counselor from the inpatient facility. The counselor was so impressed with her progress that she offered Patricia a job on the spot.

Patricia has now been sober for six years. She is a full-time case worker for The Connection, an agency that provides support services like drug treatment and mental health counseling to parents working to regain custody of their children from the Department of Children and Families. She has regained custody of her four “beautiful children” and is an integral part of the staff at The Connection because she can truly relate to clients, their addictions and crises.

“I have helped so many people by just being honest and sharing my story,” Patricia says. “I get so many letters from clients thanking me for helping them. A lot of them say my honesty helps them. I was homeless for the nine years of my addiction. I know what it’s like to be at the bottom.”

United Way of Greater New Haven invests in The Connection Inc.’s job training and placement program. Part of Patricia’s job is to help clients prepare for interviews with a good resume and proper dress. Together with The Connection’s Sharon Kupiec, clients learn to fax resumes and make effective and professional phone calls.

Patricia helps keep clients inspired by sharing the rewarding feeling she still gets every time she receives a paycheck. “When I got my first job and I received my first paycheck, I felt so good. I felt so important because I could say, ‘I’m going to work today.’ It meant so much that I could take care of myself. For so many years, I had to depend on men. When I could depend on myself, when I opened my first checking account, I was so happy.”

Patricia’s words are clearly resonating with The Connection’s clients. In a recent six-month period, the attendance rate at the job training program was 83 percent (up from 65 percent the previous year). Nine out of 15 clients have enrolled in a GED, trade school or college course. Ten out of 14 people have secured employment and 9 out of 10 of those people have stayed employed for three months or longer.

Patricia’s passion is to help people crawl back from the dark place she knows so well. “In my one-on-ones with clients, I try to get them to see that honesty is the best policy. If you don’t share your secrets, they will keep you getting high.” And she says that nothing compares to getting clean, getting back on your feet, and becoming self-reliant. Those paychecks still mean the world to her. They mean that she has succeeded, that she has bounced back from the depths and has become a healthy, productive, drug-free person. “When I get my paycheck, I’m happy. I know that I’m reliable. I’m dependable,” she says.

Patricia’s goal is to help others find their way to such happiness. “I try to tell people that there is hope out there. There really is hope.”

Local support group helps end the cycle of abuse

The Domestic Violence Services sponsored support group in Milford consists of a dedicated group of women who count on each other for bluntness and honesty. They know that finding safety and happiness in themselves and in their relationships requires support, hard work and a lot of deep self-exploration.

They also know that the road to safety is not always straight.

In fact, statistics show that a woman will go back to the same relationship seven times before she finally leaves. Or, she may get out and go on to a new but equally abusive relationship.

The emotions involved in leaving an abuser include guilt, remorse, self-blame, fear of being alone and insecurity, and they can tangle themselves so deeply inside a survivor that she’ll repeatedly find herself in a perilous position.

That’s when the members of domestic violence support groups blow the whistle on one another.

Sarah Sorenson, shelter coordinator at Domestic Violence Services of Greater New Haven, says, “as they’re talking with each other about a great new relationship, the other women will ask if he’s been asking you for money, if he’s been putting you down, asking for things.”

If the answers are yes, Sorenson says, “Support group members will be honest because these women have been through it. They’ll say, ‘I’m picking up bad signs.’”

“Sometimes,” Sorenson says, “women say, ‘I am already going down that road’ and the other women say, ‘It’s okay. You may make that mistake again but we’ll always be there for you.’ There’s no judgment because they’ve been there. A support group makes it possible for them to have a safe space.”

And the fact is that there are times when the support group’s insights aren’t enough. Sorenson explains, “Sometimes people stop coming because they’re involved, because they’re in a bad place and don’t want others to know. But if they come back, they don’t have to explain.”

Most of the women in the Milford support group originally came to it after contact with the core programs at Domestic Violence Services—emergency shelter for women and children or the 24-hour crisis hotline. Those two programs, which United Way of Greater New Haven invests in, get measurable results. http://www.uwgnh.org/commimpact/successbytown2002.cfm
Click here, to read about a woman who participated in a Woodbridge support group last year and finally left a violent relationship.

Sorenson says, “What we provide to the women is a unique understanding of what domestic violence means in their lives and an ongoing source of connection and support.” Whether it is via the hotline, the shelter, or an ongoing support group, “We’ve been told that the one thing that kept a woman going was that there was a warm voice speaking to her, someone who understood.”

If you or someone you know needs help, please call the Domestic Violence Services of Greater New Haven’s 24-hour hotline at (203) 789-8104. Outside the greater New Haven area, please call toll free 888-774-2900.

Jose Alvarez- FatherCare participant


Jose Alvarez is a 17-year old father with a happy one-year old daughter, Saileen. A grant from United Way of Greater New Haven’s “Project Graduation” collaboration with Sikorsky Aircraft is helping him get the support he needs to be a responsible father and plan for his family’s successful future. After involvement in the Elizabeth Cellotto Child Care Center at Wilbur Cross High School for two years, he recognizes that he is “one of the few lucky ones.”

When Jose describes the director of the FatherCare program, Rich Bryant, he says that Rich is always there to talk and as a mentor.

“He [Rich] has helped me turn a negative into a positive, which is something that I had great difficulty with when I entered the program. Since that time, I have done a complete 360. I used to find the easy way out and struggle with stress and balancing my life. I have become a completely different person, in a good way.”

Jose is not the only one who enjoys the FatherCare program. “My daughter loves to go to day care,” he said. “She walks in with a smile and leaves with a smile every day.”

When Rich talks about Jose, he could not sound more proud, “I met Jose when he came to us from Florida. His girlfriend informed him about the program, and he took it upon himself to contact us. He knew that he needed to enroll in school in Connecticut and get a job. He is a very articulate and bright young man, who just needs a little guidance. Once he has a diploma, he can do anything. I have helped several young men, and he is a shining example of motivation, talent, and understanding of what it means to be a father.”

Jose now has a savings account for his daughter and plans to go to Gateway Community College and earn his degree in automotive mechanics. Eventually, he hopes to open his own automotive shop. In the meantime, he is receiving assistance with job applications for local companies.

“More than anything, I wish that Shaileen will be able to do everything in the world… dance, sing, anything she wants,” said Jose.

The Student Parenting & Family Services was created in 1992 to respond to the large dropout rate among teen parents in high school. The FatherCare program of SPFS recently received a grant from United Way of Greater New Haven’s “Project Graduation” collaboration with Sikorsky Aircraft, designed to conquer the multiple barriers that teenage fathers face in completing their educations and becoming self-supporting. The program targets adolescent fathers who are involved in or plan to be involved in their children’s lives. The program has plans to expand, enabling a case manager to provide intensive services to 15-20 teen fathers targeting high school and post-high school success as well as child development and parenting success.

Jose Alvarez- FatherCare participant

17 years old
New Haven, CT
has a 1 year old daughter (Saileen) who attends daycare

What was life like before FatherCare?
Before I found out about the day care, I was so stressed by my relationships with my family and girlfriend. The day care supplies diapers, and so many other opportunities that are big things to us and little things to the day care.

How has the program helped you?
There’s a whole lot. It’s having someone to talk to. Rich is someone that I can look up to. He has helped me turn a negative into a positive, which is something that I had great difficulty with when I entered the program. Since that time, I have done a complete 360. I used to find the easy way out and struggle with stress and balancing my life. The whole staff has always been there for me. My daughter loves coming to the day care. She walks in with a smile and leaves with a smile every day. This is better than any other day care. I have heard from friends that their children’s experiences were nothing like my daughter’s.

What do you hope to accomplish in the future?
I have started a savings account for my daughter. I plan to go to Gateway to get my degree in automotive mechanics. I hope to move forward as much as possible and go as far as I can. Eventually, I want to take some business classes and start my own automotive business. I hope to take my daughter out of New Haven and introduce her to bigger and better things.

The last two jobs that I held were because of Rich. He just drove me to I just dropped off an application for a new job. Wherever I have to go, he finds the time to take me. He has been helpful in every way possible.

What are your hopes for Saileen?
“I wish she could do everything in the world, dance, sing, anything she wants.”

What is your relationship like with Saileen’s mother and your family?
She graduated from high school and is in Gateway community college for forensics. They have their own place and split the parenting 50/50.

Jose’s mother lives around the corner and babysits.

Rich, is there anything you would like to add?
Rich- “I met Jose when he came to us from Florida. His girlfriend informed him about the program and he took it upon himself to contact us. He knew that he needed to enroll in school in Connecticut and get a job. He is now in the adult ed program, which he will be finishing soon. He is a very articulate and bright young man, who just needs a little guidance. He is extremely talented and knows everything about cars. He just needs to get a diploma and he can do anything. I have helped 15-16 young men, and he outshines them with his motivation, talent, and understanding of what it means to be a father.”

Struggling local residents get legal assistance and find hope

Another example of United Way of Greater New Haven’s investments paying off

When someone in the Greater New Haven area is unable to obtain legal services because of income, age, disability, discrimination or other barriers, New Haven Legal Assistance Association, Inc. (LAA) can help.

LAA is an organization of attorneys and paraprofessionals who work together to provide high-quality legal services. United Way of Greater New Haven provides essential funding to LAA to help ensure that the association’s attorneys and paraprofessionals are able to meet their clients’ needs.

Below are just a few of the many success stories* shared with us by LAA’s agency representatives. These stories exemplify how those who may feel like they’re alone and without help or hope can receive attentive and thorough legal representation.

*Names have been changed to protect LAA clients.


Ms. G.:
Ms. G. was being evicted for non-payment of rent in a subsidized housing apartment. After reviewing her file, the advocate at New Haven Legal Assistance Association discovered that the amount of rent requested had inappropriately been doubled.

The correct information was sent to the management company who reworked the numbers, refunded Ms. G. $1658 and withdrew the eviction action. LAA’s representation not only prevented Ms. G from being homeless, but returned to her the money she had been improperly charged.

Ms. M.:
Ms. M. is a 19 year old woman whose I.Q. is in the 50s. Her father died before she was born so, as a result, she received Social Security Survivor’s benefits in Puerto Rico. But when she came to New Haven, those benefits were terminated.

New Haven Legal Assistance lawyers discovered that her Survivor’s benefits should not have been terminated. In addition, they determined that she was eligible for Supplemental Security Income (SSI) because of her own severe mental challenges. LAA attorneys were able to help her with both of these Social Security problems, something she could not have done on her own.

Mr. D.:
In the Spring of 2002, 70-year-old Mr. D. suffered a heart attack. After a few weeks in the hospital, he was sent to a convalescent home. While in the convalescent home, his social security checks were diverted to pay for his medical expenses, leaving him no money for rent.

He explained his predicament to the housing authority manager during his convalescence, but the housing authority still filed an eviction action against him for nonpayment of rent.

Mr. D. contacted the New Haven Legal Assistance Association after receiving notice that judgment had entered against him in eviction court. There is a five-day period in which to open a default eviction judgment and Mr. D. called the law offices on the fifth day. Mr. D. was unable to come to the law offices because he uses a wheelchair and is continuously on oxygen so the LAA attorney traveled to his apartment, completed the motion to open the pleadings and filed them in court that same day.

The attorney was able to prove to the housing authority that Mr. D. was in the convalescent home for several months and that his social security checks were diverted to pay for his care. The housing authority then adjusted his rent to a zero hardship status. The eviction action was withdrawn and Mr. D. can now rest at ease back home in his own apartment.

Miss L.:
Miss L. is a nine year old girl who was twice denied Supplemental Security Income. She has been in and out of St. Raphael’s Children’s Psychiatric hospital for the past three years.

She was diagnosed with major depression with psychotic features, post traumatic stress disorder and chronic conduct disorder. Miss L. suffers from auditory hallucinations, suicidal thoughts, and is now in the Shoreline Partial Hospital Program five days a week during the daytime.

The attorneys from New Haven Legal Assistance assembled all of the necessary and appropriate medical information and wrote an accompanying brief. The material was deemed proof enough that Miss L. should be granted Supplemental Security Income on the written record which means that Miss L. was spared the trauma of a hearing.

Teen Mother Beats the Odds with Help from Local Agency

When Janira* was 15 years old, she became pregnant. Her mother learned of the pregnancy and soon left the state, leaving her young daughter entirely alone. Janira had no family in the New Haven area and now she had no home, no job, no savings, no resources and she was only a freshman in high school.

Left with no other options, Janira moved in with her boyfriend and his family and soon gave birth to a healthy baby boy. But she started to have frequent arguments with her boyfriend’s sister and when the arguments progressed into serious verbal fights, Janira’s boyfriend’s mother told Janira and her son to leave the house.

As the fifteen-year-old mother of a newborn, Janira was placed into a homeless shelter by
The Connecticut Department of Social Services. But the shelter was designed for adults who were homeless and Janira found it hard to adjust to shelter rules. Soon, she and her son were kicked out.

The Department of Children and Families (DCF) then placed Janira and her son in a foster home. This situation could have worked but Janira soon realized that the foster mother was controlling and mean. She would lock the kitchen cabinets and the freezer that held food.

When the foster mother hit Janira’s son with a curtain rod, Janira asked to be removed from the foster home. DCF agreed and placed Janira and her son into their own supervised apartment.

But the trouble still wasn’t over. Janira’s boyfriend came to her apartment one night and discharged a handgun into the wall. She was kicked out and was again homeless.

The Department of Social Services then placed Janira and her son in a homeless shelter 45 minutes from New Haven. Again she found that most of the residents were adults and by this time, Janira was still only 18 years old. After one long month at the shelter, DCF again agreed to place Janira and her son into their own supervised apartment.

Janira’s story is not an unusual one. In New Haven high schools last year, over 200 teenage women became mothers. Often when a woman this age faces a pregnancy, her hopes of finishing high school are slim. She might be forced to leave school because she can’t afford child care, because her family no longer supports her, or because she is simply overwhelmed. Studies such as Community Compass [http://www.uwgnh.org/compass/index.cfm] show that teen pregnancy and parenting threatens the development of teen parents as well as their children. Teen moms are less likely to find adequate prenatal care and are less likely to have the financial and social resources needed for healthy child development.

Considering all of those factors, this could have been the beginning of a long, sad, downward spiral into life-long homelessness and poverty for Janira and her son. But during her homelessness and many moves, the one stable factor in Janira and her son’s life was the Elizabeth Celotto Child Care Center at Wilbur Cross High School, part of Student Parenting and Family Services [http://www.uwgnh.org/commimpact/studentparenting.cfm], a United Way supported agency.

The day care there enabled Janira to make it to school every day. She brought her son with her and left him in the day care, confident that he was getting high quality care while she focused on trying to graduate from high school. And despite being a poor, often homeless young mother, Janira managed to focus and do well in school. Because of her own determination and the flexibility and security provided by the child care, she was able to maintain good grades.

Lorraine DeLuz, Program Director at Student Parenting and Family Services, says “Initially, Janira was a very angry young woman. She didn’t trust adults and she would explode when asked simple questions about simple things like immunization records for her son. But we stuck by her.”

Janira soon began to see that these adults were here to help her, not hurt her. The staff at the day care followed through on their commitments, unlike the other adults in Janira’s life, and she soon saw that they cared deeply about her young family. This kind of help has meant the difference for many young women in the Greater New Haven area. The Elizabeth Celotto Day Care Center helped 30 young women stay in school last year. Lorraine DeLuz says, “We had a one hundred percent graduation rate last year. Sixteen teens graduated. Fifty percent graduated from another school that did not have the same support services.”

Janira was one of those who did graduate. And at the end of high school, she applied to a private university and was accepted with a scholarship. She attended the university, majoring in English and Legal Studies, and graduated in 2003. She will soon start working on a graduate degree in social work.

Looking back, Janira recalls, “It was hard but I just couldn’t give up,” she said. “When you’re fifteen you think differently. But I’m grateful for all the help now.” When asked why she wants to go into social work, she responded, “Because the teenagers need it. Sometimes you need that push.” She still visits the daycare center at Wilbur Cross High School and when she does, she recalls her earlier self, saying “Who was that person? That wasn’t me.”

*name changed

Dr. Donald W. Kohn- Alexis de Tocqueville Society member


Focus: Community Wellness- Health

Members of United Way of Greater New Haven’s Alexis de Tocqueville Society are generous philanthropists in our community. Dr. Donald Kohn and his wife Candace are valued members of the Society. We sat down recently with Dr. Kohn to learn more about what he hopes his philanthropy can achieve and why giving back is so important to him.

Donald and Candice Kohn were inspired to become United Way Tocqueville Society members after attending a dinner to honor their friends, Annie and Ben Kaplan, who are members of the Society.

In addition to their regard and faith in the work done by and through United Way, becoming members of the Tocqueville Society seemed a practical option for the Kohns because of the convenience and consolidation provided by United Way. For instance, they appreciate receiving information about all of the organizations their donations benefit, and find that it makes planning for giving easier the following year.

Donald initially saw the work and benefits of United Way of Greater New Haven funding for child health programs while he was the Chief of Dentistry at Yale New Haven Hospital for 25 years. While Chief, Donald founded the Yale-New Haven Pediatric Dentistry Center and the postdoctoral specialty training program in pediatric dentistry.

Donald is founding partner at Pediatric Dentistry Associates, LLC, with offices in New Haven and Madison, continues to participate in the Yale Pediatric Dentistry Center as a member of the voluntary teacher. He also supports the arts as president of the New Haven Chorale and a member of the Yale Camerata.

As a teacher and an involved community member, Donald offers advice to young people about philanthropy, “Just make it a part of what you do. It sounds kind of trite, but just make it a part of who you are if you are in a position to do so. If you can find an organization like United Way that is trustworthy and has an impeccable track record, then you can join a community of donors and make your money that much more effective.”

Donald stresses that his volunteer activities profoundly impact his giving. “I can now see where the needs are in our community and that helps me to focus my gifts through United Way,” said Donald. “Likewise, my continuing awareness of the need that I see every day at my practice, volunteer activities, in the hospital, and at the organizations I am active in motivates me to continue my support.”

It is in the spirit of Alexis Charles-Henri Clerel de Tocqueville that the United Way of America created the United Way Tocqueville Society in 1984. Tocqueville was only 26 years old when he traveled all over the United States in 1831. One of his most important observations was that Americans hold in common a unique willingness to work for the public welfare- a tendency to lend faithful support to neighbors and countrymen, especially in times of need. Today, the Society is one of the world’s most prestigious institutions for individuals who are passionate about improving peoples’ lives and strengthening communities. Membership to the society is granted to individuals who contribute at least $10,000 annually to the United Way.

How did you first get involved with the United Way?

Originally, I was an indirect recipient of the benefits of United Way because I was the Chief of Dentistry at Yale New Haven Hospital for 25 years. Later on, our friends, Annie and Ben Caplan, told us about the Tocqueville Society. We attended a Tocqueville dinner to honor their donations and were inspired to become members ourselves.

What inspired you to become a Tocqueville Society member?

I initially became involved because of the very practical sense. Donating to United Way consolidates the process and makes it much simpler to reach those in need. I can just zip off an email and donate. I also get a list of all the places my money has benefited, so I can plan my giving for the following year.

What piece of advice would you share with young people today about philanthropy?


Just make it a part of what you do. it sounds kind of trite, but just make it a part of who you are if you are in a position to do so. If you can find an organization like United Way that is trustworthy and has an impeccable track record, then you can join a community of donors and make your money that much more effective.

Do you have a most important volunteer experience?


That’s hard to choose. I do a lot. Right now I am president of the New Haven crawl, volunteer teaching, and founder of the Yale Pediatric Dentistry Center. I am also active in other aspects of health care and the arts. Although I enjoy all of these things, I especially love teaching young dentistry residents.

How have your volunteer experiences influenced your giving?

Profoundly! I can now see where the needs are in our community and that helps me to focus my gifts through the United Way.

What motivates you to continue to support charitable causes with your time, talent, and money?

My continuing awareness of the need that I see every day at my practice, volunteer activities, in the hospital, and at the arts organizations I am active in.

What is your professional life like?

I own Pediatric Dentistry Associates, LLC in New Haven and Madison.

Patricia B. Sweet- Alexis de Tocqueville Society Member


Focus: Successful Children and Youth

Pat Sweet became an Alexis de Tocqueville Society member because it “made sense” to her, as she has always had a passion for giving.

“I care about what happens to the future of our world,” said Pat. “I don’t think we can tolerate a society in which there are people who are not given the chance to be fully included. If we [Connecticut] continue to have the largest achievement gap in the country, in 10-15 years the price for that will be huge. If things do not change, in that short amount of time we will have already kept a huge percentage of the population out of the workforce.”

Pat began working on projects with the United Way over twenty years ago when she was president of the Waterbury Foundation. She later continued her involvement as Senior Vice President responsible for the corporate communications of Centerbank, now part of Wachovia. In her position, she appointed the campaign coordinator for her workplace and guided decisions about corporate gifts for the bank. Pat continued her volunteer work by serving on United Way of Greater New Haven Board of Directors for six years. She has also served on various committees at United Way throughout the years.

Pat is so dedicated to her community, that she decided to leave her successful career at the Regional Water Authority, not to retire, but to become the Director of External Relations at Achievement First in New Haven Connecticut, a nonprofit organization that aims to bring to scale the dramatic, life-changing student achievement results produced at Amistad by creating a school system of achievement-gap closing charter schools in New York and Connecticut.

While working at the Regional Water Authority, Pat was responsible for organizing the donation of a large fountain to beautify the New Haven Green. As a leader and a dedicated volunteer, Pat urges others to reach out to the community. Recognizing that some people are not in the position to donate a significant amount of time to volunteering, she asks that young people put pressure on their corporate leaders to incorporate volunteerism and social responsibility into company practices.

Through her various volunteer experiences, Pat has been influenced to dramatically increase her level of giving. Particularly, she loves the idea of family philanthropy. She said, “I think it is important and very meaningful when families are engaged in philanthropic causes together and promote a giving spirit amongst one another. I would urge every young person to think about including such a philosophy in their households.”

Pat concluded, “I think that as a society we should look at our assets and incorporate a giving standard into our lives.”

It is in the spirit of Alexis de Tocqueville that the United Way of America created the United Way Tocqueville Society in 1984. Tocqueville was only 26 years old when he traveled all over the United States in 1831. One of his most important observations was that Americans hold in common a unique willingness to work for the public welfare- a tendency to lend faithful support to neighbors and countrymen, especially in times of need. Today, the Society is one of the world’s most prestigious institutions for individuals who are passionate about improving peoples’ lives and strengthening communities. Membership to the society is granted to individuals who contribute at least $10,000 annually to the United Way.

Patricia B. Sweet

Pat Sweet is the Director of External Relations at Achievement First (AF) in New Haven Connecticut. AF is a charter school management organization started in 2003 by the leaders of Amistad Academy, a high performing charter school in New Haven. As a nonprofit organization AF aims to bring to scale the dramatic, life-changing student achievement results produced at Amistad by creating a school system of achievement-gap closing charter schools in New York and Connecticut.

“Working at AF has been one of the most rewarding things I’ve ever done. This organization is reaching out to some of the poorest people in our community and helping them to gain access to high-quality education. You cannot change people’s lives without giving them access to an education. I’ve been blessed to have had access and support in gaining a wonderful education and I think that every person deserves that same opportunity.”—Pat Sweet

How did you first get involved with United Way?

I began my relationship with United Way over 10 years ago when I worked at Center Bank [a branch of Wachovia]. I was a workplace campaign coordinator which meant that I was the one who organized fundraising efforts at the Bank for United Way. However, because I was responsible for the Bank’s visioning project,[ through which the company tried to figure out what people in the community wanted from a bank] it was natural that I was in communication with United Way in this capacity as well. United Way is very knowledgeable about community needs so professionally the organization was a great resource to me.

What inspired you to become a Tocqueville Society member?

Mainly, because it made and still makes sense to me.

What piece of advice would you share with young people today about philanthropy?

I would urge every young person to set aside some amount of money in their budget to help meet community needs. No matter how small the amount, people should be engaged in solving problems. Volunteer work can sometimes be tricky if you are not in a leadership position because you are not always allowed to take time off to volunteer and are sometimes too tied up with building a career at the start of your professional life to devote a significant amount of time to volunteer work. So, leaving room in your budget for philanthropy is an easy way to incorporate it into your life if you don’t necessarily have a lot of time to spare. However, that being said, I do think that it is important to give your time as well as money so I would also urge young people to pressure their corporate leaders about incorporating volunteerism and social responsibility into company practices. I also love the idea of family philanthropy. I think it’s important and very meaningful when families are engaged in philanthropic causes together and promote a giving spirit amongst one another. I would urge every young person to think about including such a philosophy in their households.

Please share your most important volunteer experience.

It’s hard to choose but one that does stand out in my mind is my experience as a member of the Choate Rosemary Hall High School Board. This experience showed me just how effective a board of directors can be, especially when the staff is in communication with and on the same page as members. Through my experience there I saw the ways in which boards could be huge assets in terms of strategic planning. I think another reason that this particular activity has been so rewarding to me is because of all of the board members’ strong commitment to the school and the meetings. At Choate, the Board is comprised of people from around the world, we meet for two days every seven or eight weeks and have a 95% attendance rate at each meeting. The way in which this board organizes is extremely effective as well. Small task forces are assembled to study and deal with specific issues. I’ve found that this technique is a great way of using the members’ talents and it also speeds up our processes.

How have your volunteer experiences influenced your giving?

They’ve led me to dramatically increase my level of giving.

What motivates you to continue to support charitable causes with your time, talent and money?

I care about what happens to the future of our world. I don’t think we can tolerate a society in which there are people who are not given the chance to be fully included. If we [Connecticut] continue to have the largest achievement gap in the country, in 10-15 years the price for that will be huge. If things do not change, in that short amount of time we will have already kept a huge percentage of the population out of the workforce.

Do you have any additional comments?

Something that has really stayed with me I heard in a commencement speech given by Paine Webber’s CEO. In this speech he encouraged all graduates to give away 5% of their budgets to philanthropic causes. I love this idea. I think that as a society we should look at our assets and incorporate a giving standard into our lives.


Additional Email comments

I actually was not the workplace campaign coordinator for the United Way. I was a Senior Vice President responsible for the Corporate Communications Division which managed all the corporate giving for the bank. As such, I appointed the in-house United Way campaign coordinator and guided the decisions about the corporate gift for the bank, which had a presence throughout all of central and south central Connecticut..

Centerbank (please note spelling) was the second largest bank in Connecticut. It is not a branch of Wachovia. In 1996 it was merged with First Union which ultimately merged into Wachovia.
So the best way to describe Centerbank would be to say Centerbank, now part of Wachovia.

My relationship with United Way goes back over 20 years, when I was president of the Waterbury Foundation and we did joint projects together.

May 3, 2008

United Way in Earth Times on 05/03/2008

Comcast Partners with Seven Connecticut Nonprofits
on Annual Day of Community Service

Local Volunteers Join Over 50,000 Nationwide On Annual Comcast Cares Day

"United Way is proud to be connected to such an exciting project that will benefit families and children in our community," said Jennifer Heath, Vice President of Community Impact for United Way of Greater New Haven. "Comcast is creating a fun and effective way for parents to teach their children the kinds of skills they need to be prepared for school success through the installation of the state's second 'Born Learning Trail.' Comcast is really serving as a local business leader through this project and we hope more companies will follow in their footsteps to address the needs of young children and their families in New Haven."


To read more: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/printpressstory.php?news=377856