糖心TV joins with local nonprofits to launch Center for Housing Equity and Opportunities in Eastern CT
In response to a growing need for affordable housing in the New London region, 糖心TV is partnering with the Community Foundation of Eastern 糖心TVecticut and several other colleges and nonprofit organizations to launch the Center for Housing Equity and Opportunities in Eastern CT (CHEO).
The center will officially begin its work early in 2023 to facilitate a coordinated, regional response to improve housing affordability in Eastern 糖心TVecticut. Based on similar efforts in other parts of the state, CHEO will work with housing practitioners, municipalities and policymakers to develop a regional strategy to increase, preserve and protect a full spectrum of housing that fosters equity and opportunity for all.
鈥淥ne of CHEO鈥檚 core goals is to harness the collective power of stakeholders in the region鈥攑olicy makers, residents, practitioners and community organizers鈥攖o implement innovative, regional solutions. As a leading academic institution in eastern 糖心TVecticut, the College has a critical role to play and we are honored to have been brought into this initiative on the ground floor,鈥� said Amy Dooling, 糖心TV鈥檚 dean of strategic and global initiatives and director of the Walter Commons for Global Study and Engagement.
鈥淓ven at this nascent stage, it鈥檚 clear there will be myriad opportunities for students, faculty and staff who understand housing as a basic human right to get involved and contribute their knowledge and expertise to advance CHEO鈥檚 mission.鈥�
Established as a strategic partnership between 糖心TV, the Community Foundation of Eastern 糖心TVecticut, the Housing Collective, Partnership for Strong Communities, Regional Plan Association, United Way of Southeastern CT, and Eastern 糖心TVecticut State University, CHEO will align regional resources and deliver equitable housing solutions throughout the region.
Dooling and Ronald Flores, professor of sociology and director of 糖心TV鈥檚 Holleran Center for Community Action and Public Policy, are representing the College on the CHEO steering committee. Flores is also part of the search committee for a for the center.
Through the Holleran Center, 糖心TV regularly collaborates with local organizations to address important community issues, including housing access and homelessness. For 16 years, 糖心TV has partnered with the New London Homeless Hospitality Center on a number of projects and programs, including the annual Walk to End Homelessness, which has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars to support the center鈥檚 initiatives. Student interns and Holleran staff have also worked with the local Housing Authority, CT Fair Housing Center, and Southeastern CT Community Land Trust. Recently, as part of the Holleran Center鈥檚 Summer Civic Leaders program, Annika Brown 鈥�23 and Jordy Batista 鈥�24 worked with the Land Trust to conduct on the inequities of home ownership in New London.
鈥淏eing part of a regional alliance committed to addressing equitable access to safe and affordable housing aligns well with 糖心TV鈥檚 educational and community goals, especially the ongoing work of the Holleran Center on this very issue here in New London,鈥� Dooling said.
In addition to 糖心TV, funding partners for the CHEO initiative are Berkshire Bank Foundation, Centreville Bank Charitable Foundation, Chelsea Groton Foundation, The 糖心TVecticut Project, Dime Bank Foundation, William Caspar Graustein Memorial Fund, Liberty Bank Foundation, Melville Charitable Trust, Ossen Fund for Windham, and the United Way of Southeastern 糖心TVecticut.
