Impact Blog
Closing the Housing Gap
Jason Rinaldi, Western Connecticut Manager for the Housing Collective, landlords, investors, and community leaders gathered in the basement of the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception Church in Waterbury to enjoy breakfast and discuss the ever-widening gap between...
The Greater Waterbury Reentry Council Achieves More Together
Tracie Bernardi Guzman, Case Manager at the Waterbury Reentry Welcome Center reflected upon what it means to return home after incarceration. As a formerly incarcerated person who spent 23 years in jail, Tracie is familiar with the steep challenges facing returning...
Youth Mentors Lift Teens’ Prospects
A morning routine at the Hamden REGIONS* Residential Treatment Program for male youth in the phase II component is like many homes in Connecticut. The teens wake up, eat breakfast and head out to class at a local community-based educational center, which mirrors a...
Hartford Reentry Program Manager Leads with Empathy
Virginia Lewis started her career at Community Partners in Action (CPA) in the 1990s as a Substance Abuse Counselor, working with people with HIV/AIDS. Virge previously struggled with her own addictions, so it was a natural fit that allowed her to help others based on...
43rd Prison Arts Program Annual Show 2022/23
March 20 – April 22, 2023 Opening Reception: Thursday, March 23, 4-7 p.m. The Art Gallery at Eastern Connecticut State University Community Partners in Action is preparing for the 43rd exhibition of artwork from Connecticut’s prisons. This diverse, inclusive...
Preparing Testimony to Overcome Barriers to Housing
Finding a decent place to live for those who have a criminal record is challenging. Even for individuals who were released several years ago. CPA participants who experience repeated housing denials from landlords and property managers based on their prior...
2023 Advocacy Priorities
As a result of our ongoing conversations with advocates and service providers within the Connecticut Reentry Collaborative working group, Community Partners in Action is supporting the following priorities for 2023 and beyond. Gus-Marks Hamilton, a brand-new member of...
Conversations about Race
Black History Month is here, and we are creating brave spaces to raise our awareness for unconscious bias and societal privileges. As a multi-cultural organization where the vast majority of our staff and the participants we serve are black, we are moving along on our...
Alternatives to Incarceration Powered by Everyday Heroes
Joanne Rivera has worked as a Human Services Worker at Community Partners in Action (CPA) for over six years. Her office is based in Waterbury at the Transitional Housing program where she helps residents who are pre-trial or sentenced, referred by the Court Support...
Mack Young Creates a Second Chance at Life
Mack Young watched as the gate of Cheshire Correctional facility closed behind him and he climbed into the car that would take him to his temporary home at Cheney Halfway House in Hartford. Observing the world go by, the South End streets of his youth, the people and...