3 minute read
Letter From The Executive Director & CEO
When Winter Turns To Spring
We may joke about the weather here in Connecticut – a cold dreary winter, a few days of spring, then right into the dead heat of summer – but there’s something pleasant about those few days. The winter with its early sunsets gives way to warmer days and blossoms on the tree. You endure the cold to get to spring. That’s more than hope, that’s certainty. And in just two short months of working on the 119K Commission, I am no longer just hopeful that we are going to make a difference, I am certain of it.
Why am I certain that we are going to make a difference in Connecticut’s Unspoken Crisis? Because in a lot of ways we already have. As I wrote in op-eds and in these pages prior, when we first embarked upon this journey, we were always asked what was next. What is CCM going to do about this issue? It seemed like maybe a ‘gotcha’ question at the time, but it wasn’t. Through the roundtables we heard the full scope of the issue from experts around the state, and we learned an immense deal about this issue. Not only were we enlightened, but dozens of people who showed up at all six events and thousands watched from home. It turns out the next step was obvious – let’s put our collective minds to this and hear real solutions.
When we kicked this Commission off in March, you couldn’t be too sure of what the response was going to be. The first indication that this was going to be a success was immense media coverage we received from nearly every paper of record in the state as well as TV and radio coverage thanks to our communications team. Thousands of you visited our website, 119KCommission.Org, within days of launch.
But really, it was our first event at Hillhouse High School that we knew that disconnected youth struck a chord. Over 130 people showed up to an event on this issue on a Tuesday night. When people are taking time out of their busy lives to show up for something – a bill, a sporting event, anything – that’s how you know it’s important. More so was that over three dozen people submitted testimony for the evening, 30 signed up to deliver their testimony in person, and the rest submitted their testimony via our website.
That momentum built even in a more rural town like Mansfield, where dozens of people came out to join the conversation, and hear from the experts Angel Cotto (Youth Action Hub), Jackie Santiago Nazario (COMPASS Youth Collaborative), Stacey Violante Cote (Center for Children’s Advocacy), Lucy Freeman (Inspirica Inc.), Michelle Conderino (Open Doors), and Vanessa Liles (PT Partners).
Seeing this response is like seeing those first few buds on the trees or noticing that the sun is starting to set later and later in the day. On this commission we say that there are 119,000 reasons to hope, 119,000 reasons to act, and through just two months you all have shown that you are inspired to think critically and respond thoughtfully; to be resolved to make a difference for disconnected youth. It reminds me that winter always turns to spring, without fail. And, for me at least, that is more than hope.
