For the People

There's groundbreaking news in the Naugatuck Valley both literally and figuratively - and we'll bring in the first of two representatives from Griffin Hospital to talk about it as the health center ramps up development of an innovative behavioral health unit to provide more effective, compassionate care for individuals who come to the ER experiencing a mental health crisis. Then, in the final segment of our Mental Health Awareness Month series, we'll introduce you to Team Woofgang & Co., a nonprofit founded by three Fairfield mothers of adults with alternate abilities looking to provide daily purpose for them as they were about to leave their state provided educational programs.  And we'll close by giving you a spectacular preview of the 2025 International Festival of Arts & Ideas, which is already expanding its programming across the New Haven region - and will culminate in hundreds of programs, concerts, exhibits, talks, and more in the coming weeks - most of them absolutely free!

Check out an informative chat with Stamford's Top Cop - the city's Police Officer of the Year. We'll hear straight from the front line how law enforcement agencies and officers are facing and addressing some of the top crime and quality of life issues facing Stamford and other communities in Fairfield County.

The next segment of our Mental Health Awareness Month series is going to focus in part on some of the unique challenges addressing mental health issues among some of the state's more rural communities with a representative from the New England Rural Health Assoc.

We're begging you to get the heck out of the house and onto one of the hundreds of diverse and accessible trail networks across the state as we prepare for CT Trails Day 2025 by chatting with a rep from the CT Forest & Park Assoc.

For the People will be begging you to get the heck out of the house and onto one of the hundreds of diverse and accessible trail networks across the state as we prepare for CT Trails Day 2025 by chatting with a rep from the CT Forest & Park Assoc. Then, the next segment of our Mental Health Awareness Month series is going to focus in part on some of the unique challenges addressing mental health issues among some of the state's more rural communities with a representative from the New England Rural Health Assoc. And we'll close chatting with Stamford's Top Cop - the city's Police Officer of the Year. We'll hear straight from the front lines how law enforcement agencies and officers are facing and addressing some of the top crime and quality of life issues facing Stamford and other communities in Fairfield County.

The next segment of our Mental Health Awareness Month series re-connects you with the Executive Director of CatalystCT, a regional agency in part addressing  and enhancing behavioral and mental health for children and teens and their families in Fairfield County and beyond.

For the People is celebrating 150 years of science and discoveries that continue to protect and benefit Connecticut residents as we engage a deep dive discussion about the the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station.

Meet a couple of new members of the For the People resource network - ALEX, Inc. and the  Startford-based Health Care Advocates International. Both of these organizations are offering important stigma-busting support services to individuals and families who are part of the regions LGBTQ+ communities.

Today we're introducing a couple of new members of the For the People resource network - ALEX, Inc. and the  Startford-based Health Care Advocates International. Both of these organizations are offering important stigma-busting support services to individuals and families who are part of the regions LGBTQ+ communities. Then, we'll help celebrate 150 years of science and discoveries that continue to protect and benefit Connecticut residents as we engage a deep dive discussion about the the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station. And we'll wrap things up bringing you the next segment of our Mental Health Awareness Month series as we re-connect with the Executive Director of CatalystCT, a regional agency in part addressing  and enhancing behavioral and mental health for children and teens and their families in Fairfield County and beyond.

We're inviting you to head to one of seven local parks or open spaces for Black Birders Week. We'll hear from an inspired organizer, as well as representatives from Gather New Haven and the Sierra Club about how and why to get involved in all the local Black Birders Week activities.

In the next segment of our Mental Health Awareness Month series, For the People is calling on one of the front line leaders of Wheeler's Mobile Crisis Intervention Services to talk about how it's responders are focusing on youth mental health support - and addressing stigmas tied to asking for help.

We're checking in with one of the new voices representing a familiar community partner - Green Village Initiative - which is successfully collaborating to address hunger, farming, and food insecurity in greater Bridgeport.

We're going to open with one of the new voices representing a familiar community partner - Green Village Initiative - which is successfully collaborating to address hunger, farming, and food insecurity in greater Bridgeport. Then, In the next segment of our Mental Health Awareness Month series, For the People is calling on one of the front line leaders of Wheeler's Mobile Crisis Intervention Services to talk about how it's responders are focusing on youth mental health support - and addressing stigmas tied to asking for help. And we'll close inviting you to head to one of seven local parks or open spaces for Black Birders Week. We'll hear from an inspired organizer, as well as representatives from Gather New Haven and the Sierra Club about how and why to get involved in all the local Black Birders Week activities.

We're connecting with the Connecticut Democracy Center and focusing on Connecticut History Day, one of 58 affiliate programs of National History Day, that is encouraging students in grades 6-12 to explore local, state, national, and world history. 

Meet the co-founder of Hang Time, and learn how this highly successful program is igniting a grassroots movement to empower and reintegrate ex-offenders back into society by embracing and guiding those suffering from Post-Traumatic & Present Stress Disorder (PTSD) due to urban gun violence.

Are you feeling stressed? Then you are so not alone. But in our opening segment - and the first of several marking Mental Health Awareness Month - our guest and co-founder of Your Village Journey will explain that it's all how you deal with it. And she'll follow up with tips to help take some of the pressure of our everyday world away.

Are you feeling stressed? Then you are so not alone. But in our opening segment, our guest and co-founder of Your Village Journey will explain that it's all how you deal with it. And she'll follow up with tips to help take some of the pressure of our everyday world away. Then we'll touch base with the co-founder of Hang Time, igniting a grassroots movement to empower and reintegrate ex-offenders back into society by embracing and guiding those suffering from Post-Traumatic & Present Stress Disorder (PTSD) due to urban gun violence. And we're closing with the Connecticut Democracy Center and a special focus on Connecticut History Day, one of 58 affiliate programs of National History Day, that is encouraging students in grades 6-12 to explore local, state, national, and world history. 

This segment is delivering you a little culture - literally - as we meet the co-founder of cARTie, a nonprofit mobile art museum bus bridging inequities in education and arts access by providing families and children exciting art and museum adventures.

Tune into our enlightening conversation about domestic and family violence prevention with the CEO from the Domestic Violence Crisis Center. We'll help educate you about financial and technology abuse, and we'll also invite you to support the cause at their upcoming Voices of Courage Luncheon.

It's all ducky on For the People, as we invite you to have a blast while supporting dozens of worthy nonprofits at the 20th Anniversary Duck Race & Festival, in downtown Naugatuck, as more than 15,000 rubber ducks are launched into the Naugatuck River amidst enjoying fun festivities, vendors, games, and live entertainment.

Today it's all ducky on For the People, as we open inviting you to have a blast while supporting dozens of worthy nonprofits at the 20th Anniversary Duck Race & Festival, in downtown Naugatuck, as more than 15,000 rubber ducks are launched into the Naugatuck River amidst enjoying fun festivities, vendors, games, and live entertainment. Then we'll get serious, as we pick up the conversation about domestic and family violence prevention with the CEO from the Domestic Violence Crisis Center. We'll also invite you to support the cause at their upcoming Voices of Courage Luncheon. And we'll close delivering you a little culture - literally - as we meet the co-founder of cARTie, a nonprofit mobile art museum bus bridging inequities in education and arts access by providing families and children exciting art and museum adventures.

This chat re-engages our leading authority on kelp - Professor Charlie Yarish. Is yours one of the growing households that regularly consumes kelp - or maybe you even integrated as part of your Easter Sunday feast? Dr. Yarish explains how and why thinking about being a kelp consumer is good for your health, as well as our local and global environment.

April is World Wish Month, so we connected with Make-A-Wish CT - which is currently working with dozens of qualified families and local children toward granting their wishes. You'll be surprised at how easy it is for you to become a "Wish Maker," so stay tuned and learn how to get involved.

On Easter morning, we delivered introductions and an invitation from 100 Black Men of Stamford. Their reps dropped in to invite all 6th to 12th graders to their FREE, 2nd annual STEMFest - an all-day interactive event with exciting workshops and activities that aims to deliver fun, learning, and connections.

On Easter morning, we're delivering introductions and an invitation - as we welcome 100 Black Men of Stamford. They dropped in to invite all 6th to 12th graders to their FREE, 2nd annual STEMFest - an all-day interactive event with exciting workshops and activities that aims to deliver fun, learning, and connections. Then, since April is World Wish Month, we're connecting with Make-A-Wish CT - which is currently working with dozens of qualified families and local children toward granting their wishes. You'll be surprised at how easy it is for you to become a "Wish Maker," so stay tuned and learn how to get involved. Then, we'll circle back with our leading authority on kelp - Professor Charlie Yarish. Is yours one of the growing households that regularly consumes kelp - or maybe even has it integrated as part of your Easter Sunday feast? Dr. Yarish will explain how and why thinking about being a kelp consumer is good for your health, as well as our local and global environment.

In late March, the Bridgeport Regional Business Council hosted the Engage & Grow Expo and For the People was there - connecting with dynamic leaders from local nonprofit, educational, and business support organizations like SCORE, the CT Institute for Refugees and Immigrants, the Southwest Community Health Center, the Southwest CT Manufacturing Partnership, the Housatonic Community College Advanced Manufacturing Technology Center, the Coastal Chapter of Habitat for Humanity, the Center for Family Justice, and more. Check out the conversations - and get prepared to "engage and grow!"

Each April - National Safe Digging Month (NSDM) AND "Call Before You Dig Month" in Connecticut - we bring back an expert to discuss 8-1-1 and the state's Call Before You Dig program that could not only save residents from utility interruptions and worse, while helping train and educate construction professionals on the safest ways to operate when excavating.

Meet a 20-year CT Dept. of Transportation staffer engaged in an outreach effort to help educate state residents about the agency's Active Transportation Plan. If you thought you could never have a say about how Connecticut handles transportation matters, listen in and learn how to lend your voice to improving things on our roadways.

The wait is over. After two years and a number of interviews on For the People, the Greater Bridgeport Symphony has selected its new Music Director - so stick with us as we pick up the conversation with Eduardo Leandro, to let you know what he has in store for the upcoming GBS season.

The wait is over. After two years and a number of interviews on For the People, the Greater Bridgeport Symphony has selected its new Music Director - so stick with us as we pick up the conversation with Eduardo Leandro, to let you know what he has in store for the upcoming GBS season. Then we'll steer ourselves toward a CT Dept. of Transportation staffer engaged in an outreach effort to help educate state residents about the agency's Active Transportation Plan. If you thought you could never have a say about how Connecticut handles transportation matters, listen in and learn how to lend your voice to improving things on our roadways. And as we try to do each April, we'll bring back an expert to discuss 8-1-1 and the state's Call Before You Dig program that could not only save residents from utility interruptions, but also helps train and educate construction professionals on the safest ways to operate when excavating.

The annual celebration of CT Ag Day was held recently at the State capitol in Hartford, and For the People was invited back to humbly receive an award from the CT Agricultural Information Council, and to grab an opportunity to chat with a number of the participants including the CT Nursery and Landscape Assoc., the Farmer Veteran Coalition, the CT Farm Bureau, the UConn Extension, the School Nutrition Assoc. Of CT, Very Alive, the Dean of UConn's College of Agriculture, Health, and Natural Resources, and even the state's Dept. of Agriculture's Commissioner. Stay tuned and hear some inspiring stories and important information straight from the folks who tend our farms and deliver Connecticut's farm-grown fare to our markets and tables.

March is Problem Gambling Awareness Month, so we're taking the opportunity to bring back representatives of the CT Council on Problem Gambling to talk about the latest trends they are seeing here in the state, as well as reaching out to those to offer help and hope if they are trapped in the spiral of problem gambling.

Catch up with representatives from the Greenwich Historical Society to learn more about "Rediscover Greenwich," a new series of interactive programs created in partnership with Untapped New York that will showcase the unique history of Greenwich's neighborhoods, architectural landmarks and more.

If you missed the first part of our interview with Bryan Caferelli - the CT Consumer Protection Commissioner, you can catch up by hitting the Podcast Tab for our last show on any of our radio station websites. In the meantime - we're bringing you Part 2 of that chat, which will give you even more insight on the many ways this agency touches our lives, and protects us all from scammers and bad actors.

If you missed the first part of our interview with Bryan Caferelli - the CT Consumer Protection Commissioner, you can catch up by hitting the Podcast Tab for our last show on any of our radio station websites. In the meantime - we're bringing you Part 2 of that chat, which will give you even more insight on the many ways this agency touches our lives, and protects us all from scammers and bad actors. Then we'll catch up with representatives from the Greenwich Historical Society to learn more about "Rediscover Greenwich," a new series of interactive programs created in partnership with Untapped New York that will showcase the unique history of Greenwich's neighborhoods, architectural landmarks and more. And finally, March is Problem Gambling Awareness Month, so we're taking the opportunity to bring back representatives of the CT Council on Problem Gambling to talk about the latest trends they are seeing here in the state, as well as reaching out to those to offer help and hope if they are trapped in the spiral of problem gambling.

Check out some important news and solid advice in the first of a two-part chat with the Commissioner of the state's Dept. of Consumer Protection on the heels of Consumer Protection Week. You'll probably be surprised how many ways this agency touches our lives, and protects us all from scammers and bad actors.

We're catching up with our friends at ARI, to invite you to participate in or sponsor their 19th Annual Walk for Independence. We'll also bring in a member of the Stamford Police Dept. to discuss how officers in that community are training to work more successfully and effectively with alternately abled and neurodivergent individuals they may encounter in the line of duty or elsewhere.

If you live in or near the Meriden / Wallingford area, we want to introduce you to the fine folks at Master's Manna, a very busy nonprofit working to tackle hunger insecurity and supporting individuals and families facing financial challenges.

If you live in or near the Meriden / Wallingford area, we want to introduce you to the fine folks at Master's Manna, a very busy nonprofit working to tackle hunger insecurity and supporting individuals and families facing financial challenges. Then we'll catch up with our friends at ARI, to invite you to participate in or sponsor their 19th Annual Walk for Independence. We'll also bring in a member of the Stamford Police Dept. to discuss how officers in that community are training to work more successfully and effectively with alternately abled and neurodivergent individuals they may encounter in the line of duty or elsewhere. And we'll wrap things up with some important news and solid advice in the first of a two-part chat with the Commissioner of the state's Dept. of Consumer Protection on the heels of Consumer Protection Week. You'll probably be surprised how many ways this agency touches our lives, and protects us all from scammers and bad actors.

Connecticut's Northeast Organic Farming Association - or CT NOFA - held their 43rd Winter Conference last weekend at Eastern CT State University, and For the People was there to put together a live Special Report that digs into everything from worms and bugs to a proposed state Constitutional Amendment and making agriculture more sustainable and equitable - especially for veterans, minority community members, and new Connecticut farmers. So stay tuned and hear from participants including She Worms Composting, the CT Agricultural Experiment Station (CAES), CT NOFA's Director of Advocacy, the CT Land Conservation Council, Phocas Seeds, CT REsource & Conservation Development, and the New CT Farmer Alliance.

The CT Data Collaborative just released an important report on "How New Federal DOT Policy Would Disadvantage Connecticut, Especially Our Urban Centers.” So, we'll unpack that as well as examining highlights from CTData's latest annual report. Data was never so timely and important - find out why!

Meet the entire leadership team from Impact Fairfield County. We'll talk about their 2nd Impactful Conversation of the 2024-2025 grant year on the topic of “Gaining Space for Mental Wellness,” exploring how peer pressure, isolation and attachment to technology are shaping children, families and local communities, and let you know how to get involved in - or support future activities.

Thanks to an amazing $5 million endowment announced just days ago, the transformation of Greenwich Library from a traditional library into a comprehensive cultural and educational center will pick up where Connecticut's most visited library left off with its recent "Reimagine" renovation project. So we'll call on the Library Director to expand on this news - and to let patrons and the public know what's in store for the future.

Thanks to an amazing $5 million endowment announced just days ago, the transformation of Greenwich Library from a traditional library into a comprehensive cultural and educational center will pick up where Connecticut's most visited library left off with its recent "Reimagine" renovation project. So we'll call on the Library Director to expand on this news - and to let patrons and the public know what's in store for the future. Then we'll welcome the entire leadership team from Impact Fairfield County. We'll talk about their 2nd Impactful Conversation of the 2024-2025 grant year on the topic of “Gaining Space for Mental Wellness,” exploring how peer pressure, isolation and attachment to technology are shaping children, families and local communities, and let you know how to get involved in - or support future activities. And we'll wrap things up with the CT Data Collaborative. The agency just released an important report on "How New Federal DOT Policy Would Disadvantage Connecticut, Especially Our Urban Centers.” So, we'll unpack that as well as examining highlights from their latest annual report. 

We want to introduce a couple of members from the Chi Sigma Chapter of Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority. This local chapter is dedicated to giving back, and they're hosting a FREE Annual Youth Symposium March 8 to empower and inspire youth ages 8-18 through engaging workshops, music, and community connection. So tune in and we'll let you in on how to get involved.

We're circling back with a couple of folks from reSET - which is providing coworking space, accelerator, and mentoring programs, while supporting entrepreneurs responding to community challenges. reSET just acquired New Haven based Collab, so we'll find out why, and how this newly fortified nonprofit is going to work advancing Connecticut's future.

PreservationCT - formerly the Connecticut Trust for Historic Preservation is turning 50 this year, so we'll kick off a series of interviews with its representatives to learn more about how this agency is going to continue sustaining and preserving critical buildings, sites, even social and cultural practices that helped shape the state we live in.

PreservationCT - formerly the Connecticut Trust for Historic Preservation is turning 50 this year, so we'll kick off a series of interviews with representatives to learn more about 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're circling back with a couple of folks from reSET - providing coworking space, accelerator, and mentoring programs, while supporting entrepreneurs responding to community challenges. reSET just acquired New Haven based Collab, so we'll find out why, and how this newly fortified nonprofit is going to work advancing Connecticut's future. And we'll close with a couple of members from the Chi Sigma Chapter of Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority. This local chapter is dedicated to giving back, and they're hosting a FREE Annual Youth Symposium March 8 to empower and inspire youth ages 8-18 through engaging workshops, music, and community connection. So stick around and we'll let you in on how to get involved.

Meet two leaders from Liberation Programs, a key substance abuse and prevention agency serving Fairfield County. We'll talk about a bill they are supporting in the statehouse this session that has the potential to save thousands of lives in the state, as well as how they are working with schools to help ensure kids never venture down the road to substance use.

We're connecting with ConnCORP - the Connecticut Community Outreach Revitalization Program - which is focused on economic development and providing opportunities to New Haven's underserved residents. ConnCORP just launched its 'State of Black Business' survey, so we'll explain how you can participate - and why it's so important. 

We're keeping things flowing with our first segment, as we visit the Naugatuck Valley Council of Governments (COG) to continue our series about the ongoing Kinneytown Dam removal project. How could the removal of one deteriorating dam have regional - even global environmental implications? Tune in and find out.