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Updates from Fair Haven Connects
June, 2020
Hi everyone! To sum up the work of Fair Haven Connects, Fair Haven Connects aims to use door-knocking (as one more typically sees or hears about during election seasons) to provide information about city services, community organizations, and local events in the Fair Haven neighborhood in New Haven, CT. By using information provided by local community organizations, local city council members and leaders, we hope to aid all residents with their concerns, but also draw more residents to join the events that make our neighborhood great. We want to help (over time) restore trust in the political process for residents, and encourage folks to get involved.
Last summer, I attended a 7 week leadership program held at Princeton called LEDA, for high-achieving students from low-income, minority backgrounds. In one of the courses we took, we were all tasked to come up with a project related to an issue in our community that we would refine during the program, and then implement it when we returned to our communities. While I initially thought to focus on the low voting rates in my neighborhood, the amazing staff at LEDA really pushed me to think about the root causes of low voting rates. Since New Haven's city council members are paid very little (and thus have to take second jobs, have families, and more responsibilities), it limits their ability to actively reach out to and engage with all of their constituents—especially those who can't vote because of citizenship status. Being the son of formerly undocumented & Spanish-speaking parents, I figured I was definitely in a solid position to be able to help bridge the gap between our city/community organizations and these groups.
While we won't be able to knock on doors until the pandemic has died down a bit in Connecticut, we hope to use this time to continue reaching out to local leaders and community organizations to amass an extensive community resource sheet (which our volunteers will have on them when knocking on doors). We'll also use the time to continue recruiting volunteers virtually, as well as purchase general office supplies and other materials needed to knock on doors efficiently. We are also in the process of making a monthly newsletter to send out, as well as a website.
To give an idea of how the workspace looks right now (with some clipboards already bought and a temporary workboard set up), see the photo below. While it does look a bit small, there is enough space for work to get done outside of door-knocking (data entry, mailing list, printing, etc). I'll make sure to update the photo once all of the materials have come in and have been set up! Really looking forward to what lies ahead!! There's definitely a lot of work to do before we get to knocking on doors, but I'm confident that with the help of Riley's Way, our volunteers, and supporters, we can accomplish something really great :) !
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June, 2021
Hi everyone! It’s been a while, but the team at Fair Haven Connects has done a lot over these past few months/almost a year! This blog post serves to provide everyone some updates about some of the work that we’ve been doing at Fair Haven Connects. It’s been a really hectic year for us and our neighborhood of Fair Haven, but as we begin transitioning little by little out of COVID life, the team at Fair Haven Connects (along with many other community members and organizations) is looking ahead to efforts to aid our neighbors.
One major update we have is that thanks to funding from Riley’s Way and small contributions from community members, we managed to develop a small workspace and purchase materials for volunteers to knock on doors ((insert image of workspace) image below!). We were able to purchase a large whiteboard and a map of the neighborhood, which has helped us map out turf and specific areas of the neighborhood we want to focus on. We’ve also managed to purchase pens, masks, sanitizer, and clipboards for volunteers to use. While we haven’t knocked on as many doors as we would’ve liked, mainly because of the pandemic, we’ve done a lot of work on creating scripts and other important, helpful resources for volunteers.
Additionally, with the help of local community leaders and organizations, our team was able to compile a resource sheet for local residents - this includes local food pantries that are in the neighborhood/very close to the neighborhood, local community organizations providing services ranging from youth to immigrant to social services. We’ve been able to get this sheet out to many people in the neighborhood!
Finally, our team was fortunate enough to be able to contribute to a local vaccination campaign called Vaccinate Fair Haven. Many of our volunteers helped out with this campaign and helped sign people of our community up to get vaccinated at the local vaccination clinic (image below.)
We’re all extremely grateful for the people at Riley’s Way and all the community members that have supported us in a variety of different ways. Like I said in the beginning, we are all beginning to transition little by little out of COVID-19 life. While vaccinations were the first step, there are still a lot of issues left to address and work on in our community. Fair Haven Connects is looking forward to addressing those issues and helping our community out.
New Project
Fair Haven Connects
Alex Guzhnay
Connecticut
Fair Haven Connects is a volunteer-driven resident outreach program that aims to use canvassing/ door-knocking (more frequently seen during election seasons) to inform and connect residents to important social services and programs, as well as encourage local residents to attend and even shape local events. By connecting residents of the Fair Haven neighborhood to these important services and events, provided by city or local organizations, Fair Haven Connects aims to inherently build trust within the community and thus draw more residents into shaping our local culture, but also our local government.
June, 2020
Hi everyone! To sum up the work of Fair Haven Connects, Fair Haven Connects aims to use door-knocking (as one more typically sees or hears about during election seasons) to provide information about city services, community organizations, and local events in the Fair Haven neighborhood in New Haven, CT. By using information provided by local community organizations, local city council members and leaders, we hope to aid all residents with their concerns, but also draw more residents to join the events that make our neighborhood great. We want to help (over time) restore trust in the political process for residents, and encourage folks to get involved.
Last summer, I attended a 7 week leadership program held at Princeton called LEDA, for high-achieving students from low-income, minority backgrounds. In one of the courses we took, we were all tasked to come up with a project related to an issue in our community that we would refine during the program, and then implement it when we returned to our communities. While I initially thought to focus on the low voting rates in my neighborhood, the amazing staff at LEDA really pushed me to think about the root causes of low voting rates. Since New Haven's city council members are paid very little (and thus have to take second jobs, have families, and more responsibilities), it limits their ability to actively reach out to and engage with all of their constituents—especially those who can't vote because of citizenship status. Being the son of formerly undocumented & Spanish-speaking parents, I figured I was definitely in a solid position to be able to help bridge the gap between our city/community organizations and these groups.
While we won't be able to knock on doors until the pandemic has died down a bit in Connecticut, we hope to use this time to continue reaching out to local leaders and community organizations to amass an extensive community resource sheet (which our volunteers will have on them when knocking on doors). We'll also use the time to continue recruiting volunteers virtually, as well as purchase general office supplies and other materials needed to knock on doors efficiently. We are also in the process of making a monthly newsletter to send out, as well as a website.
To give an idea of how the workspace looks right now (with some clipboards already bought and a temporary workboard set up), see the photo below. While it does look a bit small, there is enough space for work to get done outside of door-knocking (data entry, mailing list, printing, etc). I'll make sure to update the photo once all of the materials have come in and have been set up! Really looking forward to what lies ahead!! There's definitely a lot of work to do before we get to knocking on doors, but I'm confident that with the help of Riley's Way, our volunteers, and supporters, we can accomplish something really great :) !
---
June, 2021
Hi everyone! It’s been a while, but the team at Fair Haven Connects has done a lot over these past few months/almost a year! This blog post serves to provide everyone some updates about some of the work that we’ve been doing at Fair Haven Connects. It’s been a really hectic year for us and our neighborhood of Fair Haven, but as we begin transitioning little by little out of COVID life, the team at Fair Haven Connects (along with many other community members and organizations) is looking ahead to efforts to aid our neighbors.
One major update we have is that thanks to funding from Riley’s Way and small contributions from community members, we managed to develop a small workspace and purchase materials for volunteers to knock on doors ((insert image of workspace) image below!). We were able to purchase a large whiteboard and a map of the neighborhood, which has helped us map out turf and specific areas of the neighborhood we want to focus on. We’ve also managed to purchase pens, masks, sanitizer, and clipboards for volunteers to use. While we haven’t knocked on as many doors as we would’ve liked, mainly because of the pandemic, we’ve done a lot of work on creating scripts and other important, helpful resources for volunteers.
Additionally, with the help of local community leaders and organizations, our team was able to compile a resource sheet for local residents - this includes local food pantries that are in the neighborhood/very close to the neighborhood, local community organizations providing services ranging from youth to immigrant to social services. We’ve been able to get this sheet out to many people in the neighborhood!
Finally, our team was fortunate enough to be able to contribute to a local vaccination campaign called Vaccinate Fair Haven. Many of our volunteers helped out with this campaign and helped sign people of our community up to get vaccinated at the local vaccination clinic (image below.)
We’re all extremely grateful for the people at Riley’s Way and all the community members that have supported us in a variety of different ways. Like I said in the beginning, we are all beginning to transition little by little out of COVID-19 life. While vaccinations were the first step, there are still a lot of issues left to address and work on in our community. Fair Haven Connects is looking forward to addressing those issues and helping our community out.