(LOB= Legislative Office Building)

2021 public hearings are wrapping up. EVERY issue on our 2021 policy agenda has received a hearing! HES testimony is regularly updated here where you can also find our policy agenda. Interested in a specific policy? See our recent policy update. Have a question? Please reach out. We are so grateful for all of your hard work on the many legislative priorities related to health equity.

This year, we are launching Connecticut's 3rd annual Health Equity Week from April 4-10. Health Equity Week is a week-long annual campaign created to raise awareness and start conversations about advancing health equity throughout the state of Connecticut.

Join us for Health Equity Week 2021 from April 4-10!

• We will launch the week with a panel discussion about "CT’s Path to Health Equity" on April 5th at 6 PM. To pre-register and check out the panelists click here.
   
• On Tuesday, April 6th at 6 PM join CONECT for a discussion: "Health Equity Week: Race, Ethnicity & Language (REL) Data!" To register click here 
   
• On Thursday, April 8th at 4:30 PM, join the Ministerial Health Fellowship, Make the Road CT, and CT Students for a Dream for a discussion about HUSKY Health;The event will be streaming on Facebook live

  Official Event Flyer

• Recordings of our 2-part webinar series on Declaring Racism a Public Health Crisis can be found here. If you would like your town to make this declaration, materials are available here or reach out for support.
  
  
  For social media events and more opportunities to participate, follow us on Facebook and Twitter

Health Equity Solutions and Premier Consulting in partnership with the State of Connecticut, are providing virtual webinars to help dispel the myths of the COVID 19 Vaccine and provide an opportunity for a Q&A session. We have a Speakers Bureau with trusted community representatives and experts where we will focus our outreach on religious organizations, education-based networks, and community-based organizations to reach the widest audiences throughout the State of Connecticut to dispel myths and share facts about the COVID-19 vaccine.  

As we reflect on our communities there is a lot of work that must be done to help inform and educate.  With the release of the vaccine, many in state government and health care are hopeful that people will willingly and as quickly as possible take the vaccine. However, longstanding mistrust in government and health care among Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) individuals and communities make this difficult to achieve without a well-planned strategy employing trusted community representatives.  We have been able to reach over 5,600 people with our trusted messengers.

In 2021, HES staff are reading one book per quarter for a total of 4 books. 

This quarter, we discussed Permission To Feel by Marc Bracket, a book that explores how we understand and respond to our emotions. Our team discussed Bracket’s message and approach to identifying and choosing how we express our feelings so that we do not feel controlled by them.

Developing these skills can strengthen mental health, reduce stress, prevent burnout, improve interpersonal relationships, and bolster career performance. Bracket’s work has been taken up by many schools, including in New Haven, where he is based. This is one approach to social emotional learning, which is crucial to health equity in schools. The method teaches adults and kids to ask why someone is having a hard time rather than yelling, punishing, or dismissing an emotional response. As advocates, we are constantly assessing our reactions to charged situations and information and challenging ourselves to lead with curiosity, humility, and integrity.  

Overall, this discussion has offered a new way of thinking about how we work together. 

Join us in future months:

Fatal Invention: How Science, Politics, and Big Business Re-Create Race in the Twenty-First Century by Dorothy Roberts

Fragmented Democracy by Jamila Michener

Mediocre: The Dangerous Legacy of White Male America by Ijeoma Oluo

We have expanded our organization with a new office location.

Our new address is:

53 Oak Street
Hartford CT 06106

Please update your records with our new address. Our phone numbers and email addresses will remain the same, as will our website address and social media accounts. Our new office space offers us the opportunity to better serve our mission and work with our valuable partners. We look forward to continuing our work with you at our new location.

Feel free to contact us with any questions