Past Projects

The United Way of Greater New Haven recently worked with five local agencies to implement the Two-Generation Approach (2Gen). The 2Gen approach works with families to create a foundation for well-being in four areas: early childhood education, elementary education, economic stability, and family engagement. CARE developed organizational self-assessment tools and a corresponding toolkit to help organizations identify opportunities to move along the 2Gen continuum.

More than 15,000 children and adults join in Common Ground’s program in any given year, however, the 200 students of Common Ground High School are by far the most deeply involved in our work. Because these students are immersed in this unique educational setting – including an urban farm, access to West Rock Ridge State Park, unique course-based experiences that emphasize health and health leadership, etc. – we would hypothesize that these young people’s health identity, agency, understanding, behaviors, and outcomes would change significantly over their four years at Common Ground. High School students who are members of our Green Jobs Corps, and who participate in our after-school and summer programs, have an even more intensive experience, so might experience even more significant positive health impacts. This project evaluates the health impact of Common Ground High School on its students.

The goal of our community-clinical linkages work is to promote programs that connect health centers with community supports, so that people access the resources they need to be healthy.

Partnering with Project Access-New Haven, a Community Health Worker is stationed in two local New Haven food pantries to screen interested clients for their needs, related to the social determinants of health. This screening process allows the Community Health Worker to navigate clients to services related to food, transportation, housing, utilities, and medical needs. Clients are asked questions to identify what services are needed, what services they received, and if they did not receive services, was there a notable barrier to them receiving the service. This information allows CARE to address the reported needs at a systems level with its local organizational partners, when possible.

Read about how CARE has collaborated to address the transportation barrier here.

Led by CitySeed, this project is establishing a food hub that is committed to food justice, environmental preservation and justice, equitable economic development, and community building. The Community Food Systems Hub will be the nexus of urban food and agriculture in the New Haven area.

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The Hamden Partnership for Young Children (HPYC) contracted with CARE to conduct focus groups about the parenting education and skill-building needs of caregivers of young children in Hamden. The focus groups explored the types of programming parents most need, the best modes for delivering these programs, and the most appropriate outreach methods to promote the programs.

The Health Enhancement Community (HEC) Initiative is proposed by the State of Connecticut as a way to improve the health and well-being of all residents in Connecticut and to reduce the rising trend of Connecticut’s health care costs. This work depends on improving community health and health equity and preventing people who live, work, learn, and worship in communities from experiencing poor health. This is where CARE’s expertise comes into play.

This initiative will utilize the partnership between CARE and Healthier Greater New Haven Partnership to create opportunities to address the upstream and underlying factors that are contributing to poor health in the greater New Haven area. Through the HEC initiative, we will implement multiple, interrelated strategies to address aspects of income and wealth, housing, health systems and services, employment, education, transportation, social environment, public safety, and physical environment. Specifically, aspects that cause or contribute to poor health, health inequities, and health disparities in the greater New Haven area.

With New Haven being a location within the HEC, we work collaboratively with Healthier Greater New Haven Partnership to improve the social, economic, and physical conditions within communities. By improving these elements, it can enable individuals and families to meet their basic needs, achieve their health and well-being goals, and thrive throughout their lives.

CARE, along with the Rudd Center for Food Policy at University of Connecticut, developed a strong partnership with the New Haven Public School District. Because schools provide concentrated contact with children, they are a model environment to facilitate health and support nutrition education and physical activity. Health for Achievement is a 5-year study supported by the National Institutes of Health that examines the impact of health on academic achievement. With its partners, CARE has examined school-based policy interventions – through the district’s School Wellness Policies – focused on improving nutrition and physical activity. We used information collected from students, teachers, administrators and parents in 12 New Haven Public Schools to develop new policies and programs, raise awareness, and motivate positive health practices. Results have been disseminated locally and nationally, aiming to educate our communities and encourage better health for all students.

Information coming from trusted individuals resonates much more within communities. That's why we've launched the Vaccine Equity Fellow Program, training influential messengers who already have the trust and ear of their communities. These Vaccine Equity Fellows receive training in the latest scientific knowledge, communication skills, and outreach techniques.

Once equipped, these trusted messengers leverage their existing community credibility to deliver culturally-appropriate messages. Their efforts make vaccinations for COVID-19, the flu, Mpox, and other preventable conditions more acceptable and accessible, fostering a healthier future for all.

At CARE, we understand the power of education in encouraging individuals and families to make informed health decisions. That's why we place a strong emphasis on outreach and education in our vaccination efforts.

Our goal is simple: better health outcomes for all, and greater health equity and safety in communities that face disproportionate burdens from vaccine-preventable conditions. To achieve this, CARE has developed and implemented comprehensive outreach, education, and communication strategies, with a particular focus on increasing vaccination access among Black and Latine residents.

Our dedicated outreach staff connects with residents through community events, mobile clinics, and other venues, offering education, answering questions, and providing referrals to vaccination services. Together, we're breaking down barriers and fostering a healthier, more informed community.

The City of New Haven recently took part in the Working Cities Challenge, a grant competition sponsored by the Federal Reserve Bank. The competition is designed to support cross-sector, collaborative leadership to improve the lives of low-income people. Through Working Cities, New Haven aims to improve transportation options for the working-age population of West Rock, leading to a decrease in unemployment and, subsequently, poverty. CARE has conducted surveys and focus groups to incorporate the community voice in the project. It presented a final report to the city in October 2017.