Christian Community Action assistance programs in New Haven.
Hundreds of families receive referrals, assistance, and support from Christian Community Action each and every month. The charity is focused on helping the less fortunate, children, seniors, and the working poor in New Haven County. The staff do their best to fulfill the needs of those that are struggling.
The organization will coordinate assistance by helping residents learn about and apply for public and private resources that are available to them. This will often involve making referrals to other New Haven County and Connecticut based agencies. However some direct aid for families in a crisis may be available, such as eviction prevention, rent help, heating bills if service shut off, and disaster assistance.
Programs for children, including after-school programs, are sometimes available at the Stepping Stones location as well as their Hillside Family Shelter. Support will help the child develop the skills they will need to succeed over the long term in school. It coordinates mentoring and tutoring as well.
Thanksgiving assistance is overseen from Christian Community Action. Free turkeys, fixings, toppings, and other goods are passed out to hundreds of families, the disabled, and elderly around the holidays. There are many partner agencies that contrite money to buy the food or maybe volunteer hours. Examples include the Connecticut Food Bank and dozens of churches, businesses, schools, charity civic organizations and individuals. They all work together to collect and distribute free bags of holiday-related food and turkeys to more than 2,000 families, seniors and persons with disabilities.
Churches partner with Christian Community Action to help the less fortunate. The name of the program is F.A.I.T.H. Partners. These other groups help by donating supplies, funds, or food, or even by advocating for the poor.
This additional support is used to provide services and maintain apartments in the local New Haven County emergency shelter. The staff from CCA are involved in numerous coalition-building efforts at the local, state of Connecticut and national levels.
Many of these resources are offered as part of the Advocacy and Education Project. It focuses on social services, economic justice, and advocating on behalf of the poor and low income. It involves empowerment, leadership training, and grass-roots organizing to support the poor, seniors, and disabled.
The Stepping Stone Transitional Housing Program is a housing and apartment complex. Guests can stay for up to two years, and they will be furnished an apartment based on their family income and size. Families throughout the Greater New Haven County Connecticut area who are homeless, facing eviction or at risk of homelessness are eligible for support from the CAA Stepping Stone program.
One of the key goals of the temporary housing program is to offer low income and homeless families case management services in a safe, supportive environment. It will foster the growth of the client and also increases the self-sufficiency of each family member. Families will go through a process of responsibility and self-sufficiency attending school, budgeting workshops, job training programs, etc.
The people who stay in the housing units will work with a case manager to develop a comprehensive, Family Service Plan for those that need help. The plan will be the road map to ensure resident’s success as they focus on family and individual goals. Throughout their time living at Christian Community Action Stepping Stone, residents participate in many social services offered to them. Programs may offer Job oriented life skill training, Computer training, Parenting education, Income/budget training, Childcare for workshops, and After school programs.
A Food Pantry is part of Neighborhood Services. It is for senior citizens, families with children and New Haven residents with disabilities. The location was set up as a "Client Choice" Program for people from the community and clients are given the opportunity to shop for their needed grocery and food items rather than receiving a pre-made bag of goods. The Connecticut Food Bank is a key partner.
Heating bill assistance is coordinated by Christian Community Action as they are an application site for the state’s Connecticut Energy Assistance Program as well as the Community Fuel Bank. Referrals and information on other utility bill assistance programs are readily available as well.
Hillside Family Shelter provides very short term housing facilities for families who were evicted and are homeless. Working from two different sites in New Haven, the Hillside Family Shelter has several fully furnished apartments at the Sylvan site and Davenport sites.
The goals for people at the Family Shelters include decreasing family stress, increasing family stability and searching for permanent housing and employment in the eastern CT region. When it is time to leave, get help in locating and paying the rent on permanent housing. Hillside Family Shelter has two locations. The Davenport Site, 166 - 168 Davenport Avenue, New Haven, CT 06519 as well as the Sylvan Site, 124 Sylvan Avenue, New Haven, CT 06519, call (203) 777-7172.
There are a few locations of Christian Community Action. They are as follows
Administrative Office, 168 Davenport Avenue, New Haven, Connecticut 06519, Main telephone: (203) 777-7848
Stepping Stone Transitional Housing Program, 660 Winchester Avenue, New Haven, Connecticut 06511, dial (203) 777-7167
Advocacy and Education Project / Mothers for Justice, 660 Winchester Avenue, New Haven, CT 06511, main phone number is (203) 777-6072
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