Spend time with the people and organizations dedicated to supporting the unhoused and addressing housing insecurity. Educate yourself on the resources for support and advocacy on this critical social issue.
Participating Organizations include New Haven Legal Assistance Association, Inc, New Reach, Mothers and Others for Justice, and more.
Housing Insecurity Resource Fair
Social Equity & Activism Summit
Sat, Jun 24, 2023 - 2:00pm Details
New Haven Legal Assistance Association, Inc
New Haven Legal Assistance Association was founded in 1964 to serve low-income neighborhoods in New Haven and provide free lawyers to people who could not afford to pay for help with every day issues like eviction, family law, and income support. Over the past 50+ years we have witnessed and experienced how the legacy of slavery, white supremacy, disenfranchisement, disinvestment, and over-policing have ravaged the Black and Brown communities which we serve. We witness the legacy of police brutality in Black and Brown women afraid to call the police when they are abused. We witness the legacy of exclusionary and violent immigration policies to today’s separation of families where children are held in cages. We witness the legacy of controlling Black and Brown communities by mass incarceration in prisons and detention facilities in which people incarcerated are sentenced to death by unhealthy conditions. We witness the legacy of racist housing policies in the fact that your zip code determines your life expectancy and cruel eviction laws that disproportionately harm Black mothers and children. We witness the legacy of a health care disparities that place Black and Brown people in the bullseye of COVID-19.
And now, as we grieve the murders of George Floyd, Tony McDade, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and locally, Mubarak Soulemane (and the many, many, too many, who came before them), we also commit ourselves to dismantle the racist structures that have made their deaths possible. While representing individuals living in poverty can have an enormous impact on one family, legal aid lawyers are too often part of deeply racist legal systems.
We are committed to do the work to balance the individual clients who need our help with the impact litigation and organizing work that is part of the fight to dismantle structures of oppression. We are committed to the communities we serve, and in this fight to end police brutality we at New Haven Legal Assistance stand with CTCORE and Black Lives Matter New Haven, and our own LAA staff member, Kerry Ellington, as they personify our mission: access to justice for all.
New Reach
Since 1990, New Reach has developed a continuum of housing interventions and supports, helping thousands of vulnerable households and families achieve stability and self-reliance. Commitment to long-term impact, focused strategic planning, and talented leadership have grown New Reach from a single ten-bed shelter for women, into a leader in homelessness services. Today, we serve thousands each year throughout Fairfield and New Haven counties, providing a full spectrum of housing services from eviction prevention for public housing residents, to the development of affordable and supportive housing, and everything in between.
Mothers and Others for Justice
For more than two decades, Mothers for Justice has been a strong collective voice for low-income women seeking to improve their lives and communities. Now the grassroots advocacy group is developing the next generation of leaders.
Mothers for Justice is providing free advocacy training for change for young women ages 15 – 19 years old. The kick-off is this week and the program provides dinner and a stipend for interested young women.
"We hear that too many young women don't have strong role models," says Merryl Eaton, advocacy and education director for Christian Community Action, which sponsors Mothers for Justice. "We envision a diverse group of girls that can learn from each other and become friends. They will be a shining example for the rest of us."
Mothers for Justice was founded in 1993 in order to give local women influence over policies that affect them. The group offers advocacy training and makes frequent trips to the state general assembly in Hartford, where they provide public testimony and hold rallies on issues including welfare reform, prison re-entry, housing, healthcare, and domestic violence.
The group has a shared leadership model and tackles issues that arise from the members. They recently advocated for the successful passage of a new law that allows women in the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program to seek training and education in order to improve their employment potential.
In addition to advocacy and training, the group provides members with an opportunity to build friendships and learn from each other. Despite its name, Mothers for Justice is also open to men, Eaton says.
Mothers for Justice is supported by Christian Community Action and recently received a grant for its training program from The Community Fund for Women and Girls.
