For the People

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 winter! Find out what's in store for the coming months.

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.

We're talking taxes, and if you owe any here in Connecticut - how you can wiggle out of any outstanding penalties and a good amount of the interest you may owe as we speak with state Dept of Revenue Services Commissioner Mark Boughton about the 2021 DRS Tax Amnesty Program.

Then we'll celebrate the latest round of Connecticut communities that have become SustainableCT certified, with that agency's director - and learn how SustainableCT is providing training, leadership, and guidance to every town and city in the state.

And we're checking in with the President and CEO of United Way about workforce support - as Connecticut companies and employers are working to build back, beef up, and retain good workers, you'll find out the many ways that United Way of CT has got your back. 

Each year, Farm Aid board members Willie Nelson, Neil Young, John Mellencamp, Dave Matthews and Margo Price host a Farm Aid festival to bring together a wide variety of artists, farmers and fans for one mission: keeping family farmers on the land. 

For the second time in its nearly quarter century run, Farm Aid came to Hartford, and for the 5th time, the award-winning For the People was invited to cover the festival and meet some of the folks involved.

So tune in as we head to the Home Grown Village to talk with farmers, activists, agency representatives, and the executive director of Farm Aid about why it's so critical that we continue to support our local and family farms here and across the nation.

Meet a veteran music educator who saw the need for arts and cultural programs in our schools and communities and founded Arts In CT - a non-profit academy serving anyone statewide who wants to engage in a variety of performing and visual arts experiences.

Then, we're circling back with the Connecticut Data Collaborative to find out the latest information that agency is crunching - including important data details that are emerging from the 2020 census.

Then, the Connecticut Yankee Council CEO drops in talking about scouting, the many opportunities that scouting offers to adolescents, teens, and young adults, and how to get involved.