SOCIAL WELFARE

Spooky Tales Abound

Morris library event gathers folks around the campfire

It may be a cold Winter’s day in Connecticut, far from Autumn, but with so much legend and folklore surrounding New England, any day is a good day for the telling of stories around a campfire. The Morris Public Library held just that, at least a virtual campfire, with master storyteller, Jeff Belanger this past January to an intrigued and sometimes frightened audience.

Host of the New England Legends podcast, which catalogs the many stories of “haunts, monsters, aliens, and weird history” from Connecticut and beyond.

In addition to his podcast, he is an Emmy-nominated television presenter with a show on the same subject airing on PBS and Amazon Prime, as well as several books including several on the ghosts of the White House, communicating with the dead, and plenty of other spooky topics.

He regaled the audience with several tales of supposed alien sightings, pirates who were masquerading as school teachers, and more before getting into an often comical tale of Connecticut intrigue.

Individuals in Glastonbury might know the story of the Glawackus, described as a legendary creature, something of a cross between a panther, a bear, and a lion.

This tale was not so much hearsay for it was reported in the Hartford Courant for several years. In the pages of the country’s oldest continually running newspaper they reported sightings and went on hunts with enthusiasts.

Not long afterwards, advertisements began showing up saying that the Glawackus would make an appearance. A tailor offered to make a Glawackus coat or scarf, and a butcher said that they were regrettably out of the rare animal’s meat, but that beef would be plenty in supply.

But soon the gig was up – the Glawackus was made up by the paper’s assistant state editor Frank King. He came up with the name by combining Glastonbury and Wacky and throwing the –us at the end for good measure.

Though the story might have been silly, it wasn’t just the Courant that made out from this legend. People got together and told tall tales about the things they had seen, some truthfully, some in good fun.

The individuals who joined Belanger and the Morris Library were there, partaking in that tradition of New England Storytelling. Connecticut has more than its fair share of strange tales, and Belanger himself notes that “the bizarre is closer than you think.” Just hopefully not as close as the dreaded Glawackus.

Getting Involved Realizes Local Silver

Girl Scouts learn the ins and outs of local gov

Each year, CCM hands out #locoolgov scholarships to Connecticut schoolchildren who submit a project on what makes local government cool. So whenever we hear a story about a group of kids getting together to get involved in the local government process, like Girl Scout Troop 30223 did in Fairfield, we just have to share.

Two of the troops girls, Ayla Eyikan and Teagan Weber – both middle schoolers – decided that they wanted to make their city a little bit cleaner and to encourage others to respect others with none other than a dog waste station at the Pine Creek Open Space park.

From the Fairfield Citizen, they write that these girls took charge of the entire process. From proposing the idea for the station, presenting it to the Fairfield Conservation Department, selecting the location, researching and obtaining all the supplies, digging the hole, pouring the concrete and, finally, installing the station, including the first allotment of bags needed to supply the station.

Fairfield Girl Scout Troop 30223 Girl Scouts Ayla Eyikan, and Teagan Weber

Their plan was to get badges for their work on their way to completing a Silver Award, which is one of the highest honors in Girl Scouting. One of the keys to earning this award is to “explore your community and

think of how [an] affects your community.”

And for them, there are many definitions of what a community is: “Communities are groups of people who have something in common. You belong to many communities: Your school is a community, for example. So is your math class or your debate team. Even kids who ride the same bus every day are a community. Other communities include your neighborhood, your place of worship, your town, and so on. Think about what communities you belong to.”

Though it might seem a simple task, this is a reminder that no matter what age you are, engaging in their respective communities and in local government is entirely up to the individual to help make the changes they want to see.

With #locoolgov, CCM wants to make sure that students around the state are aware of their communities and the role they can play in shaping them. It is nice to see the Girl Scouts playing a role in helping young adults foster a sense of civic duty and what it means to be active. It’s not just a dog waste station that was put up in Fairfield, it was a series of steps from idea to reality, and an investment in community.

Taking PRIDE In Your City

Municipalities across state celebrate LGBTQ+ residents

In June 1969, a pioneering group of individuals stood up for LGBT rights at the Stonewall Inn bar in New York City. Considered a major turning point in the gay rights movement, it is the reason Pride Month is celebrated each June, which are taking place more and more across the United States including in towns and cities in Connecticut.

Many began official celebrations for Pride Month in honor of the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots. Both the city of Middletown and town of West Hartford celebrated their first Prides in 2019, quickly becoming model celebrations in Connecticut.

In Middletown, the event was created by a committee whose express purpose was “to bring visibility and recognition to the city’s LGBTQIA2S+ citizens” and through partnerships with the Middlesex

County Chamber of Commerce and Wesleyan University, they launched on June 15, 2019. They drew over 15,000 people in that first year alone, becoming one of the largest celebrations in Connecticut and even New England.

These celebrations are still ongoing – in West Hartford where they also partner with local businesses and organizations like Blue Back Square and BeMindfulWeb.com, they are holding hybrid events throughout the month of June starting with a raising of the Pride Flag on June 1st.

Pioneering towns and cities like Middletown and West Hartford helped inspire individuals in other municipalities to recreate these events closer to home.

In Hamden, a town that has celebrated LGBTQ+ events before, plans to have annual Pride Month celebrations each June.

This important celebration will help families connect with each other. Same-sex couples with young children often don’t see themselves represented, but as Jacky Forucci, one of the events planners said in a New Haven Register article, “We want to have something for the kids to do to Connecticut with other kids and families that are … within the LGBTQ+ community or allies of the LGBTQ+ community.”

It’s clear that these events are growing in popularity amongst the LGBTQ+ community and beyond. Whether a town or city has been holding them for years or are just beginning, we must recognize that we are better when everyone feels accepted in their community, and by doing so honoring the brave individuals who fought for those rights over 50 years ago.

DIY HVAC

Coventry gets free stopgap air filtration units from UConn

During the COVID pandemic, the outdated state of our school HVAC systems have become readily apparent. While CCM and other partners work with the state government to secure funding to help repair these integral systems, schools have put temporary solutions in place. In Coventry, a partnership with UConn has shown how to DIY the air.

The need for clean air is perennial – no one wants to inhale smog or even allergens – but during the pandemic, this need has been heightened. Nearly every building manager began looking to their HVAC capabilities and many learned that they were outdated or insufficient to handle an airborne virus.

UConn School of Medicine Associate Dean of Primary Care Bruce Gould, along with School of Medicine students Rohit Makol ‘25 and Samhita Gurrala ‘25 with Corsi-Rosenthal boxes.

UConn Health Photo

But a series of roadblocks prevented the costly repairs or replacements for these systems. Some simply needed new filters, but so did everyone leading to shortages. In other cases, it became evident that their system was near the end of their lifespan.

While there was some movement on working with the state for funding for these upgrades, many places needed some kind of stopgap measure that was affordable and could be installed quickly. Some places looked to commercially available air purifiers. Others looked to DIY culture, and that’s where the Corsi-Rosenthal boxes come in.

These boxes are unique in that they were designed in direct response to the pandemic specifically for areas like classrooms that needed a temporary solution. They are elegant in their simplicity:

Four simple air filters like you would use in a house furnace make up the walls and a box fan tops the system, which is sealed with simple duct tape to create a negative vacuum. No louder than your typical box fan which is used to cool a room, these have become a unique solution to a common problem.

Depending on the level of filter and sturdiness of construction, some have performed as good if not better than the costlier portable HEPA filtration systems that have become popular.

In Coventry, this solution was more special because it was a partnership with the University Of Connecticut School Of Nursing. University students built the Corsi-Rosenthal boxes to be distributed to schools.

It’s evident that filtration systems are essential outside of the pandemic as well. Filtering dust, smoke, pollen, and other irritants make for a better and healthier learning environment for all.

Corsi-Rosenthal boxes are a great solution for this need, but they are not an end-all-be-all solution. CCM will continue to work with its partners and the state to secure funding for our schools to replace or repair these systems.

Bookselling Idea Is An Easy Sell

Trumbull looks to region for ideas and comes up with a no-brainer

Towns and cities working together and sharing ideas is a big part of CCM. Whether through regional projects or simply helping each other, we know we have what it takes to make Connecticut a better place for every resident. In Trumbull, they looked to other towns for inspiration on an exciting new project students with disabilities.

The program which is called Educating Learners In Transition Environments, or ELITE, aims to help students with disabilities transition from a school environment to what they call “the adult world.” That transition is difficult enough for individuals, taking on responsibilities and managing tasks – but for students with disabilities who often had aides in school, this transition can be difficult to navigate.

The ELITE program is helping them by giving them a place to start – the ELITE bookstore. Students will have opportunities to work and grow in spaces that are “not contingent on the needs of an outside organization or business,” which will give them the time they need while making a meaningful impact on their community.

They believe the business can support upwards of 24 jobs between a bookstore and café. This could be supported by used book stores which are surprisingly successful business ventures – figures they cite in their proposal suggest that 61% of used bookstores make more than $20,000 a year in profits, with 13% of them making over $100,000. Many of the books

This business venture is a great idea – but the fact that it was inspired by bookstores and cafes in other towns and cities nearby makes it that much better.

In their business proposal to the town, they city Reread Books in Cheshire, Westport Book Sales in Westport, and Parsons Perks, which is a student run café in Milford’s Town Hall. With these retail spaces being successful in their own right, it was easy for Trumbull to make the decision.

This past September, the town council unanimously approved the lease for this new business, which is about as no-brainer as they come. They expect that they can get into the space fairly quickly and have the store up and running by early November [this article was written prior to any confirmed opening date].

ELITE has everything CCM could want in an innovative idea. The idea was sparked by looking at what other towns were doing, it is bringing in money to the town, and it’s helping students transition to life outside of school. Trumbull and their inspirations have shown us what is truly what is possible when we say we want to make the everyday lives of every citizen better.

The First Step Of Many

Coventry joins CCM on the path to equity

The work to end racism in America is an ongoing cause. Representatives from NLC REAL have told us that race is still the number one determining factor in success in this country. Connecticut towns and cities want to change that, and some, like Coventry, have begun adopting resolutions denouncing racism and pledging to do the work to move forward.

For Coventry, the beginning of the work was forming the resolution, which the Town Council wrote addressing many of these issues. And while making a declaration is important, many municipalities are moving towards the actions phase of this work – what was called operationalizing in the NLC REAL programs.

This is the key interchange between acknowledging that systemic racism is an ongoing concern, and that anti-racism should become the default imperative.

In the resolution, which passed unanimously, they discuss making lasting change through actions:

“Reorganization of our Human Rights Commission and expansion of their charge to include vetting town policies and investigating potentially discriminatory regulations; revision and update of our affirmative action plan; participation of key staff in specialized training; establishment of a committee to begin formal community conversations on the upcoming open choice program and other topics, and work toward implement its findings and recommendations, and whatever other activities may arise; working to address improvements in housing based on income needs through our housing rehab program; and creation of a Senior Housing Alternatives Study Committee and supporting the Planning and Zoning Commission’s creation of an Affordable Housing Plan.”

Town Manager John Elsesser said that of the training, much of it will be provided by CCM (you can read more about those workshops in the front of this issue). CCM has also put together a landing page on our website called CCM CARES: In Action that provides ideas and strategies on how to implement action items.

Of course this is not an easy road to travel. All over the nation there has been push back on anti-racist measures. But sometimes we don’t do things because they are easy, but because they are hard, as President Kennedy once famously said. And as Dr. Martin Luther King said, the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice.

This is a multi-operational process – one that starts with acknowledging the problem, learning and then doing. Coventry joins many other towns and cities on the path towards a future that is more equitable.

This House Is Not A Motel

Danbury plans revolutionary housing project

Revolutionary is often used to describe products now – a revolutionary new phone or knife. But a plan to turn a motel into a permanent shelter in Danbury is being seen as a revolution in the way we support unhoused individuals.

Like many plans in 2021, the kernel of the idea came out of a necessity. The Super 8 Motel in Danbury was used as a way to help keep shelters socially distanced enough during the pandemic. All across the state, shelters worked with their host municipalities to find suitable arrangements for those in need.

In Danbury, that was Pacific House, which serves Western Connecticut. The organization itself was born out of necessity as a “makeshift shelter in the basement of the First Congregational Church in Stamford.”

Pacific House’s ribbon cutting at their newly renovated home, located in Norwalk, which will house 12 formerly homeless individuals.

They are hopeful that with a shelter like the motel, the city of Danbury could potentially eliminate homelessness.

That includes anyone in need. While many of the current tenants in the ad-hoc shelter did not hail from Danbury, there is a duty and obligation for them to help anyone in need.

Quoted in a Danbury News-Times article about the purchase, Mayor Joe Cavo said “if you’re homeless, then you don’t have a home. So I don’t feel there is any regional or regionalization to homelessness.”

Housing-first policies, in which those experiencing homelessness are given places to live – however temporarily – are actually more cost efficient than alternatives.

In one example cited in a 2019 Vox article on similar policies, it was found that in some areas of Florida, more was being spent policing non-violent rule-breaking than it would have otherwise cost to give each homeless individual a house and a caseworker.

It is from these more permanent situations that individuals could work with organizations like Pacific House to find jobs or medical help that will help them out of the cycle of homelessness.

In that New-Times article, the Mayor noted that the permanent housing is necessary primarily because of the high bar of entry right now for housing – home prices are skyrocketing, taking rents with them – and a nationwide shortage of affordable housing. According to figures cited, there is a “five-year waiting list for affordable housing in Danbury” and some surrounding municipalities.

With this hopeful project, Connecticut could build on its promise to lead the way on ending homelessness in our state. While it may be difficult and face roadblocks, it is a worthy cause.

Pacific House, like so many other organizations, are helping to create a better Connecticut for everyone. The partnership with Danbury on this new endeavor, should it succeed, should go down as nothing less than revolutionary.

Can You Hear Me Now?

Stonington opens up the lines of communication with residents

The issue of how to reach people in 2021 is complicated: you have more outlets than ever, but it’s dividing up your audience into smaller and smaller segments. That’s why it’s important for towns to take stock of their communication channels. Throughout this summer, Stonington did just that.

In November of 2020, the Board of Selectmen formed the Stonington Public Communication Ad Hoc Committee to work on “ways to enhance municipal communication.”

The Committee, with the First Selectman and representatives from the various boards, commissions, and staff, produced the first official Communications Strategy for the town of Stonington as well as a new Stonington Communication Inventory.

In a press release, they call them “living documents,” and have produced a survey for direct feedback from the community.

Like all modern outlets, the town has diversified their output to include their website, social media accounts, and a quarterly magazine that is mailed to all residents.

They have a baker’s dozen of social media accounts, including multiple facebook accounts across departments as well as town instagrams and youtube pages.

Each account performs its own function. For instance, the Emergency Operations Facebook page lets residents know about Emergency and Disaster Information, while the Stonington Beautification Committee showcases that committees latest efforts.

Traditional media outlets are still represented, as press releases and the aforementioned magazine still come out in physical media, and there’s even still some space for radio.

Across these platforms, the communications plan is formed around a core mission, which they laid out in their Communications Strategy document:

“To offer transparency in local government, by providing a diverse range of communication channels for the Stonington community. Striving to effectively communicate the work of Town departments, Boards and Commissions, and relevant community information.”

And to prevent this strategy from becoming siloed, they make sure that all of the departments, board members and departments keep open lines of communication to ensure a collaborative effort.

Keeping up with all the ways that people are consuming information could be a dizzying task. Who reads the newspaper? Who has an Instagram? Who watches cable tv live while it’s happening and who watches it while it is streaming?

These are important questions for municipalities to understand. Here Stonington has made sure that they have a robust and diversified outreach so that each segmented audience still receives some form of communication and connectivity with the town that they are in.