For the People

This week we're wrapping up our look back at some of the key segments For the People presented during 2025. We don't do a lot of singing on the award-winning For the People, and when we do it's usually singing praises for great organizations and today is no different as we replay interviews and songs we captured during our visit with some talented and inspiring singers inviting you to lend your voice to the coed Coastal Mix Barbershop Chorus. Then, earlier last year, we covered groundbreaking news in the Naugatuck Valley addressing mental health crisis response in a whole new way. We engaged two representatives from Griffin Hospital to talk about the health center's development of their since opened EmPATH behavioral health unit - providing more effective, compassionate care for individuals who come to the ER experiencing a mental health crisis. So we'll bring you replays of those conversations back-to back.

We're continuing our look back at some of the most important For the People segments of 2025 and we'll start with: Preservation Connecticut - which turned 50 this year. Tune in and check out how they're going to continue sustaining and preserving critical buildings, sites, even social and cultural practices that helped shape the state we live in. Then we'll replay our visit with the Women's Mentoring Network. This nonprofit serving Fairfield County and beyond, is providing foundational skills for individuals to secure better employment options and encouraging individuals to seek educational opportunities as they look to become economically empowered.   And we'll close replaying our introduction of Art Pharmacy - an organization becoming active in Connecticut enabling personalized social prescribing services with healthcare, university, corporate, and government partners to address the nation’s most intractable health challenges.

Before we start rolling out our look back at some of the key segments For the People presented during 2025, we've got a new and important subject to open the show: DataHaven - the New Haven-based research non-profit recently released its latest community well-being survey, and it presents some really interesting counterpoints, bad news, and good news about how Connecticut is feeling  So, tune in and learn if you're feeling like thousands of your neighbors and other state residents as we head for 2026. Then we'll start our look back at how For the People has helped inform, educate, entertain, and engage you throughout 2025, with a reply of an interview with SCORE of Western Connecticut. No matter where you live, SCORE chapters and volunteers are waiting to advise you on ways to successfully launch or grow your business - all at virtually no cost to you Our second encore segment features our introduction of cARTie - a nonprofit mobile art museum bus bridging inequities in education and arts access by partnering with local community organizations to provide families and children with exciting art and museum adventures.

In case you missed it, two of our state's regional Council of Government or COG offices recently hosted a public webinar presenting the final Comprehensive Climate Action Plan (CCAP) for Southwest Connecticut - and there are still ways for you to offer public comment about it. So we visited the Western Connecticut Council of Governments to learn more about the basics on the plan, the resources required to make improvements, and to help you understand this climate action plan better, so you can weigh in with informed questions and comments.

We recently visited the Chapel Haven Schleifer Center - a nationally accredited nonprofit in New Haven that empowers adults 18 and over with autism and other developmental disabilities to live independent, self-determined lives. We met the center's director, and got to chat with two inspiring residents on the spectrum who recently completed a journey to Africa where they both participated in climbs on Mt. Kilimanjar- Africa’s tallest peak - and the world’s largest free-standing mountain. So, tune in and get their perspectives on the trip and their views from the mountain!

First, we headed out to the Chapel Haven Schleifer Center - a nationally accredited nonprofit in New Haven that empowers adults 18 and over with autism and other developmental disabilities to live independent, self-determined lives. We'll meet and hear from the center's director, and chat with two inspiring residents on the spectrum who recently completed a journey to Africa where they both participated in climbs on Mt. Kilimanjaro …Africa’s tallest peak and the world’s largest free-standing mountain! Tune in and get their perspectives on the trip and their views from the mountain. And in case you missed it, two of our state's regional Council of Government or COG offices recently hosted a public webinar presenting the final Comprehensive Climate Action Plan (CCAP) for Southwest Connecticut - and there are still ways for you to offer public comment about it. So we are bringing in the Deputy Director, Western Connecticut Council of Governments to learn more about the basics on the plan, the resources required to make improvements, and to help folks throughout the region understand this climate action plan better, so they can weigh in with informed questions and comments.

For the People is reconnecting with folks from the Jamie Hulley Arts Foundation to tell you about an upcoming holiday event they are holding, and to chat with a Hulley scholarship recipient about how this nonprofit is making a major difference in his pursuit of a career in the arts.

Tune in as we pick up our conversation with a representative from PACE - Peoples Action for Clean Energy. There's a lot to know about the clean energy sector locally, and a number of issues at the national level that could negatively impact progress we are making here in Connecticut, so stick around to learn what you can do about it.

Check out our discussion about the serious implications of driving while impaired with representatives from MADD - Mothers Against Drunk Driving - and our partners at the CT State Police. We'll share all the reasons why you should just say no to driving after you party, and some of the alternatives to help protect you and everyone else out on the roads this holiday season and into 2026.

Today we're going to discuss the serious implications of driving while impaired with representatives from MADD - Mothers Against Drunk Driving - and our partners at the CT State Police. We'll share all the reasons why you should just say no to driving after you party, and some of the alternatives to help protect you and everyone else out on the roads this holiday season and into 2026. Then we'll pick up our conversation with a representative from PACE - Peoples Action for Clean Energy. There's a lot to know about the clean energy sector locally, and a number of issues at the national level that could negatively impact progress we are making here in Connecticut, so stick around to learn what you can do about it. And we'll close reconnecting with folks from the Jamie Hulley Arts Foundation to tell you about an upcoming holiday event they are holding, and to chat with a Hulley scholarship recipient about how this nonprofit is making a major difference in his pursuit of a career in the arts.

We have come to understand that high-quality early care and education is one of the most effective, evidence-based ways to support children’s long-term success. However, CT Voices’ new analysis of ECE data from 2014 to 2024 shows that the system has struggled to meet demand. So, we're bringing in the co-authors of the latest Connecticut Voices for Children 2025 State of Early Childhood report to continue our conversations on this important topic.

As we arrived at the final day of National Family Caregivers Month this November, we're circling back with our partners at AARP Connecticut to unpack some key points from the organization's latest report on Family Caregiving. Nearly three out of every 10 Connecticut residents are family caregivers, and the numbers are growing - so stay tuned and learn what you need - or may need to know about this important public health trend.

We're bringing you a bird's eye view of new career opportunities and training as we bring in a panel to talk about Connecticut's own Drone Academy - a pilot program developed in collaboration with The WorkPlace, Southern Connecticut State University (SCSU), and Career Resources to create a technology-oriented career pathway for out-of-school youth, aged 18-24, within the growing unmanned aerial vehicles/drone industry sector. 

We're going to open with a bird's eye view of new career opportunities and training as we bring in a panel to talk about Connecticut's own Drone Academy - a pilot program developed in collaboration with The WorkPlace, Southern Connecticut State University (SCSU), and Career Resources to create a technology-oriented career pathway for out-of-school youth, aged 18-24, within the growing unmanned aerial vehicles/drone industry sector.  Then as we hit the final day of National Family Caregivers Month this November, we're circling back with our partners at AARP Connecticut to unpack some key points from the organization's latest report on Family Caregiving. Nearly three out of every 10 Connecticut residents are family caregivers, and the numbers are growing - so stay tuned and learn what you need - or may need to know about this important public health trend. And finally, we have come to understand that high-quality early care and education is one of the most effective, evidence-based ways to support children’s long-term success. However, CT Voices’ new analysis of ECE data from 2014 to 2024 shows that the system has struggled to meet demand. So, we're bringing in the co-authors of the latest Connecticut Voices for Children 2025 State of Early Childhood report to continue our conversations on this important topic.

For the People is circling back with the New England Rural Health Association. We'll recap their recent conference which was held here in Connecticut, and learn about how our state may benefit from the organization's recently announced Rural Health Transformation Program. Rural communities are closer than you think, so tune in and find out why their health needs are so unique.

We're reconnecting with our community partners at Abilis, and celebrating the opening of the agency's first medical model residential home in Fairfield County for adults with complex medical needs and developmental disabilities. Tune in and hear about the journey toward completion of this fully accessible residence and why Connecticut will need a lot more of them in the near future.

One of the last things you need to worry about if you or a loved one needs expensive durable medical equipment or certain medical supplies is out of pocket costs. So, we want to introduce you to the founder of Wheel It Forward, an innovative Fairfield County nonprofit that provides a durable medical equipment lending service and more - all at no direct cost.

One of the last things you need to worry about if you or a loved one needs expensive durable medical equipment or certain medical supplies is out of pocket costs. So to open the show today, we want to introduce you to the founder of Wheel It Forward, an innovative Fairfield County nonprofit that provides a durable medical equipment lending service and more - all at no direct cost. Then we'll reconnect with our community partners at Abilis, which is celebrating the opening of its first medical model residential home in Fairfield County for adults with complex medical needs and developmental disabilities. Tune in and hear about the journey toward completion of this fully accessible residence and more. And we'll close circling back as promised with the New England Rural Health Association. We'll recap their recent conference which was held here in Connecticut, and learn about how our state may benefit from the organization's recently announced Rural Health Transformation Program. 

Meet the leader of LifeBridge Communty Services - a Bridgeport based human services nonprofit. During these uncertain times, and with the holidays quickly approaching, we want to help highlight the critical behavioral health resources that may be helpful to those in the LifeBridge service community.

Catch the latest buzz from our friends at the Backyard Beekeepers Association. Thie next session of Bee School is taking applications now, so if you've ever entertained an interest in keeping and raising these important pollinators, tune in!