Food Pantry / Neighborhood Services

Since the early 1970’s, CCA has made a food pantry available to families with children, senior citizens and people with disabilities in the Hill section of New Haven, Connecticut. Over the years we have served more than 40,000 people. Starting in the spring of 2001, we have offered a "Client Choice" Program. Food pantry participants are given the opportunity to "shop" for their food items rather than receiving a pre-made bag. CCA maintains membership with the Connecticut Food Bank

For more information about this program, contact Juan Marquez at (203)777-7848 or  jmarquez@ccahelping.org

As part of providing services to the Hill neighborhood, CCA also serves as an application site for Connecticut Energy Assistance Program and the Community Fuel Bank.  We also provide assistance by helping people tap the resources available to them, making referrals to other agencies, intervening between individuals and bureaucracies and helping people through crisis, such as fires, evictions and utility shut offs. We also provide notarizing services as well.

For more information about this program, contact Maria Maldonado at (203)777-7848 or  mmaldonado@ccahelping.org

 

 

Hillside Family Shelter

CCA's Hillside Family Shelter provides temporary housing for families who are homeless. Working from two sites, the Hillside Family Shelter has ten furnished apartments at our Sylvan site and seven at our Davenport site. Apartments range in size from 1 room efficiencies to three bedrooms, accommodating a range of family sizes.  CCA is committed to empowering families to move toward self-sufficiency. Within the 60-90 day period families live at Hillside, goals for tenants include increasing family stability, decreasing family stress and searching for permanent housing and employment.   The philosophy at Hillside Family Shelter is that families that are homeless deserve to be treated with dignity, which is an essential first step toward breaking the cycle of homelessness. In addition, we believe that reducing stress in families’ lives by providing adequate living space will increase their chances of making the initial steps towards self-sufficiency. It is because of these two beliefs that we provide a furnished apartment for 60-90 days through a program that is not overburdened with rules and regulations. This keeps living conditions roughly comparable to living conditions families’ would have if not homeless, while giving them a time limit and guidance for locating permanent housing. 

The name "Hillside" was chosen for this program, both because we are located on the "hill side of New Haven," and also because the dictionary defines "hillside" as "the point between the bottom and top of a hill." We thought it was an appropriate name, given that the goal of the program is to help the families we serve move up from homelessness and to reach the "top of the hill" and achieve self-sufficiency.

For more information about this program, contact Lillian Marquez at (203) 777-7173 or lmarquez@ccahelping.org.

 

 

 

Program for Internships, Vocational Opportunities and Training (PIVOT)

PIVOT is one of CCA’s newest programs.  It is designed to provide people of low income (in particular, people living in our Hillside Family Shelter or participating in our Stepping Stone Transitional Housing  Program) with preparation / training, paid internships with area businesses and ultimately, good jobs that pay living wages and offer opportunities for advancement and growth.  Since it was created in late 2004, PIVOT has been able to help more than 100 persons in their efforts to become self sufficient.

PIVOT is based on research that showed that many of the people CCA serves have vocational skills and some actual work experience which, with help, could be developed  so that they could become independent and self supporting.  This is what PIVOT seeks to do.

 Employers interested in becoming a part of PIVOT should contact us at (203)777.7848 or by e-mail at cca@ccahelping.org. 

Stepping Stone Transitional Housing Program

Stepping Stone is a comprehensive transitional housing program, accommodating 18 families in a single site housing complex. Residents may stay for up to 24 months in an apartment that fits their family size. Families throughout the Greater New Haven, Connecticut area who are homeless or at risk of homelessness are eligible for the Stepping Stone program. This includes two parent, one parent, male or female headed households. 

The goal of the program is to offer families case management services in a safe, supportive environment that will foster the growth and increase the self-sufficiency of each family member.

While at Stepping Stone, family move through phases of increased commitments, responsibility and self-sufficiency. Each resident works with a case manager to develop a comprehensive, Family Service Plan. The Family Service Plan will be the road map to ensure resident’s success as they  focus on individual and family goals. Throughout their time living at Stepping Stone, residents take part in many supportive services offered to them. These promote personal responsibility, commitment and increased autonomy in the decision-making process.

Such services are:

o        Job oriented life skill training

o        Parenting education

o        Income/budget training

o        Computer training

o        Self actualization workshops\

o        Childcare for workshops

o        After school programs

o        Family activiities

For more information on this program, contact Judith Rich at (203) 777-7167 or jrich@ccahelping.org

 

 

CCA maintains a policy of speaking out on issues that affect families that are poor who live in New Haven. The CCA staff participate in coalition-building efforts at the local, state and national levels. CCA draws on its social service experience and knowledge to advocate for policies that will effectively combat the problems of poverty and injustice.

Advocacy and Education Project

The Advocacy and Education Project (AEP) originated in 1977 as the Welfare Reform Project. In recognition of the displeasure of many with the federal welfare reform law passed in 1996, the project changed its name to the Welfare Justice Project in 1996 and to the Social Justice in 2001.  In 2004, it changed to its current name in recognition of the need to broaden and deepen its mandate from simply changing the welfare system to promoting social change overall.

This Project seeks to fulfill Christian Community Action’s mission to change systems that perpetuate poverty and injustice.” Its goal is to promote social change and justice for all by focusing on issues such as empowerment, grass-roots organizing, leadership training and economic justice. Its commitment is to insure that previously unheard voices are given the opportunity to share their stories, participate in public policy conversations and to have opportunities to advocate on the issues that concern them.

In that regard, AEP sponsors grassroots groups so that people, whose opinions are often marginalized or ignored, can have their voices heard and provided with opportunities to have their suggestions heard by policy and decision makers in the hopes of influencing positive changes.

 

 

 

Mothers for Justice

Mothers for Justice was founded in 1993. Sponsored by CCA’s Advocacy and Education  Project , Mothers for Justice is a group of women from the New Haven area dedicated to improving the lives of families who are low-income. The goal of Mothers for Justice is to empower women and their families, increase awareness of social issues through advocacy and action and improve the quality of life for families and the community as a whole. By taking steps to educate and organize women in the community, Mothers for Justice seeks to increase awareness of the important issues that will improve the capabilities and circumstances of families, thereby improving the community of New Haven.

Mothers for Justice meet monthly.  Childcare, transportation and refreshments are provided.

For information on upcoming meetings, contact Merryl Eaton at (203) 777-6072 or meaton@ccahelping.org

Educational Programs

AEP sponsors outreach events that are designed to engage new individuals in advocacy. The Project hosts training and educational institutes that prepare participants to become powerful agents of change in the community. Past effort have been a Leadership Institute,  to help people develop leadership skills for use in their personal and professional lives and a Public Policy Institute, featuring elected officials and policy makers, which teaches how our governmental system works and how people can create positive change within that system.  

One of the new educational initiatives is the Parent Leadership Training Institute. It is a free twenty week program available to the community to train, inspire and empower parents to become effective advocates for change.  Over 1,600 parents have participated in the program throughout Connecticut.  More information about the program can be found at www.plti.org

The program begins with a Saturday all day retreat to develop good group communication skills. There is 10 weeks of leadership and public speaking training and 10 weeks spent learning about local and state government and public policies. Participants must choose and implement a community project. Childcare and a family dinner are provided.

Advocacy efforts

AEP also connects and partners with statewide advocacy groups that welcome and desire to hear from those voices who have unmet needs in important arenas such as housing, healthcare, prison reform and economic security.

One of the newer activities is the No More Crumbs campaign.

It has been our experience that people who are poor are so weighed down by the challenges of living in poverty that they are content to take “the crumbs” offered to them by the government.

For the past two years, the Advocacy & Education Project has partnered with Clifford Beers Guidance Clinic to present a marketing campaign that says “ No More Crumbs” and  “We Believe There is Enough”.  A Recipe for Success was created (see below). The campaign is designed to build a grassroots constituency that joined service providers and advocates in the community to speak out on the issues that impact their lives. 

To become involved in AEP efforts, contact Merryl Eaton, Project Director at (203) 777-6072 or at meaton@ccahelping.org  

 

 

Children’s Programs

CCA is committed to the many children served by our programs. After-school programs are available on selected days at our Hillside Family Shelter and Stepping Stone sites. These programs focus on nurturing the children and helping them develop the skills they will need to succeed in school and in their interactions with other children and adults. The program also includes mentoring and tutoring.  CCA also offers a Children’s Summer Program that brings together children from all the housing program sites for a five-week "camp" focused on the development of socialization skills. Activities include arts, crafts, games and field trips.

For more information about this program, contact Maribel Kelly at (203) 777-7167 or mkelly@ccahelping.org for the Stepping Stone children’s program Lillian Marquez, Director of Emergency Services at (203) 777-7172; or lmarquez@ccahelping.org for Hillside Family Service children’s programs.

 

Thanksgiving Distribution

Annually, CCA sponsors a Thanksgiving distribution to more than 1,000 families and seniors in the Hill neighborhood of New Haven, This effort could not be possible without the assistance of hundred of volunteers from greater New Haven. Working individually or as a group, through their congregations and schools, these volunteers make this event possible by sponsoring food drives, donating money, sorting food and distributing baskets.

If you would like to be a part of this year’s Thanksgiving Distribution effort, contact Lillian Marquez, Director of Emergency Family Services, (203) 777-7173, lmarquez@ccahelping.org. If you would like to organize a food drive or volunteer contact Albert May, (203)777.7848 or amay@ccahelping.org