Impact Stories

Jamir In the early Spring, 22-year-old Jamir found herself homeless after a family conflict. She called 2-1-1 and was able to get into Beth-El Center’s No Freeze Shelter, but because of COVID-19 restrictions and capacity limits, she was unable to remain there long-term. For the next three months,…

Ralph Ralph gets up before the sun rises. His alarm goes off at 4:30 in the morning so that he can catch the bus and make the hour-long trek across New Haven. He makes it to his job by 6:30, ready to work alongside another carpenter for the day. The pair is responsible for maintenance at city parks…

Santos Santos Colon from West Haven has found his purpose. Returning home after incarceration took some adjusting, but learning new skills in the construction field gave him hope for a brighter future. Santos participated in EMERGE Connecticut, Inc. a program that helps the formerly incarcerated…

“My family depends on the pantry because it stretches what we have, allowing us to have complete meals,” stated Patricia, “I go to the pantries at the end of the month and that holds me over until I get new food stamps.” As the effects of the pandemic have increased grocery prices, Patricia and her…

Joy needed help for her son Ayomide. “When it was just me and my son at home, there was no one else his age for him to talk to or play with. He was not talking enough, so I thought he would open up and start speaking more if he could be around other kids.”   Through a friend, she was connected to…

David “Once I got my place, I took off my shoes finally.” After spending 8 months living outside during the dead of winter and having caught frostbite, 21-year-old David Wilson couldn’t wait for a place to call home. And thanks to United Way donors, David now has somewhere to lay his head, kick off…

Paula & Alicia Sisters Alicia Lakomski and Paula Maher wanted to honor the memory of their late mother, Kathleen, who was a faithful volunteer in the community. As employees of Yale University, Alicia and Paula heard about United Way’s summer Neighborhood Pantry and wanted to get involved. Not…

Zelema, a single working mother of three, was sleeping in her car while her children stayed at their grandmother’s house. Zelema is a college-educated accountant holding down a job, but she lives paycheck-to-paycheck. “I’m an adult—it’s different. I can deal with me, but they still need to grow,”…

Jermaine Everyone makes mistakes – what matters is learning from them. This truth, as simple as it may seem, has been revolutionary in the life of Jermaine Talton. If you were to meet this 45 year old New Haven native with a stable job and three thriving young children, it would be hard to believe…

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