 | | | Friend, welcome to Health Equity Solutions' monthly newsletter! | | Wishing you a happy and healthy New Year! | | | | A Year-End Message: Thank you for your support! | |  | | | | | | | | | | | | | 2026 Policy Agenda: Building Toward Health Equity Health Equity Solutions (HES) is excited to share our 2026 Policy Agenda: Building Toward Health Equity. This year’s agenda is grounded in the lived experiences of 348 community members across 34 towns, who courageously shared their experiences during our 2025 community conversations. Their voices shaped the priorities we’re advancing at the Capitol in 2026. Our 2026 Legislative Priorities For questions or to connect further, please contact Kally Moquete at kmoquete@hesct.org. | | | | | | | | | | ICYMI: 2025 Community Conversations on Health Equity Health Equity Solutions engaged 348 residents across 34 Connecticut towns to learn directly from community members about their experiences with health inequities and their ideas for change. Through conversations and surveys, residents identified key priorities that shaped HES’s 2026 Policy Agenda. Top Community Priorities: Access to Care (70%); Comprehensive, Quality, and Unbiased Care (67%); Environmental, Social, & Systemic Challenges (55%); Affordability (51%) and Language Equity (22%). These conversations highlight the real barriers Connecticut residents face from affording care to navigating biased systems and the community-driven solutions needed to advance health equity statewide. For more information, read the full report or reach out to Megan Scharrer at mscharrer@hesct.org. | | | | | | | | Become a Health Equity Ambassador in 2026 Are you ready to take action toward anti-racist policies and community health equity in Connecticut? The Health Equity Ambassador Program is seeking passionate individuals who want to develop hands-on skills in community organizing, policy advocacy and mobilizing neighbors for change. Program includes: weekly training, a stipend, food and interpretation services. Applications are open now — please apply by your county’s deadline to join a regional cohort. -
Greater Hartford County: 12/08/2025: CLOSED - Greater Fairfield County: 1/05/2026
- Greater New Haven County: 2/02/2026
- Greater Middlesex County: 3/02/2026
| | | | | | Final Call for Applications: Hartford - CARE Program Health Leaders 2026! Do you know or are you an adult (18+) in Hartford interested in promoting health equity and making a positive impact on your community? The CARE Health Leaders Program offers a paid 9-month fellowship. Participants learn about health equity, the social drivers of health, advocacy, project planning, and leadership development. Fellows meet twice a month in person in the Hartford area on Wednesdays (5:30–7:30 PM, from January to September 2026) and work together in small groups to create grassroots projects that address real health issues in their communities. Past initiatives have included community gardens, health fairs, mental health events, neighborhood walks, and more. No prior experience needed, just commitment and a passion for your community. 📅 Application Deadline: January 2, 2026 📍 Location: To be announced 📝 Apply in just 10–15 minutes! | | | | | | | | | | | | We love to highlight the work of our partners and interesting events in the health equity neighborhood. Have content to contribute? Fill out this form. We're eager to learn about what you're working on. Know someone who might be interested in receiving our newsletter? Share this subscription link! | | EMAIL GOVERNOR LAMONT TODAY: Spend the full $500 million before the February deadline - CT Families are hurting In the past few months, thousands of CT residents met with legislators, sent emails, made calls, delivered postcards, talked to neighbors, and held rallies—demanding a clear response from the Governor and legislature to federal attacks. Together we secured a $500million emergency fund for housing, food, healthcare, and other basic needs. Some of that money has started to be allocated to mitigate harms to health care coverage and homelessness programs—we applaud our government for those actions. We must keep going—Let's call on Governor Lamont and legislative leadership to spend the full amount available before the February 4th deadline. If they fail to spend the money, it will once again go to making additional debt payments to Wall Street. OUR GOAL IS TO SEND 1000 EMAILS BEFORE THE END OF THE YEAR. CAN YOUR ORGANIZATION JOIN THIS ACTION?  | | | | | | 25th Tax & Budget Forum - January 8, 2026 Join Connecticut Voices for Children for their 25th Tax & Budget Forum: a virtual, statewide conversation on building a fair, equitable, and sustainable fiscal future for Connecticut’s children and families. About CT Voices: Connecticut Voices for Children is a researched-based advocacy organization (aka a “think and do” tank). They envision a Connecticut that is thriving and equitable, and where all children achieve their full potential. | | | | | | National SPEAK UP Champion™ Implicit and Explicit Racial Bias Education - January 9 & 16, 2026 Are you working in perinatal care and aiming to lead change? Don’t miss the upcoming SPEAK UP Champion Conference — a powerful two-day virtual event designed to help practitioners, team leads, and QI professionals deepen their ability to eliminate implicit and explicit bias in perinatal care and build actionable quality improvement plans. Join the SPEAK UP Champion Conference January 2026
Friday, January 9 & Friday, January 16 · 9:30 AM – 1:30 PM ET
Hosted by Perinatal Quality Foundation | | | | | | | | The State of Housing in Connecticut 2025 - January 16, 2026 The State of Housing in Connecticut 2025 is the Partnership for Strong Communities’ first annual report, created to bring visibility, clarity, and accountability to the housing challenges and opportunities across our state. Grounded in data and human stories, this report captures both the facts that define the housing landscape and the lived experiences that show why our work matters. It’s a resource for policymakers, advocates, funders, and residents—designed to track progress, highlight emerging trends, and chart a path forward toward affordability, creation, choice, and stability for every household in Connecticut. Together, we’re transforming data into action and turning the vision of homes for all into reality. | | | | | | 28-Day Anti-Racisim Challenge - February 2026 The Institute for Perinatal Quality Improvement (PQI) invites you to participate in a meaningful month-long journey aimed at advancing anti-racism in perinatal care. What to expect: - A daily email delivered throughout February with a short action, reflection, or learning prompt focused on dismantling both implicit and explicit biases.
- A framework that encourages speaking up, actively engaging, and building genuine respect as part of the broader “SPEAK UP” pathway for perinatal equity.
- Flexible engagement designed for busy professionals who want to integrate anti-racism work into their everyday practice and mindset.
| | | | | | | | | | Stay informed about the latest developments in health equity, social determinants of health, racial justice, and more! Every week, we feature relevant news articles and reports on our social media. Check out a few highlights below: | | - Harmful Republican Megabill Takes Away Health Coverage, Food Assistance, Tax Credits From Millions of Immigrants and Their Families: The recently enacted Republican “megabill” cuts health coverage, food assistance, and key tax benefits for millions of low-income people and immigrants, while funneling large tax breaks to wealthy households and expanding funding for immigration enforcement. These changes narrow eligibility for programs like Medicaid, the ACA marketplaces, SNAP, and the Child Tax Credit, leaving many families with fewer supports to meet basic needs. Read the full story, HERE.
- One Big Beautiful Bill Act Complicates State Health Care Affordability Efforts: Connecticut and several other states have set caps on health care spending to ease rising premiums and deductibles, but the new One Big Beautiful Bill Act is complicating those efforts by reducing federal Medicaid funding and increasing the number of uninsured people, which may push hospitals to raise prices to cover costs. State regulators and providers are now in a tug-of-war over how to balance affordability targets with financial pressures on the health care system. Read the full story, HERE.
| | | | | | | | Health Equity Solutions
53 Oak Street | Hartford, Connecticut 06106
860.461.7637 | info@hesct.org | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
