Episode 1: Getting to Know United Way, with Our President & CEO

In our first episode of Rooted in Impact, we sit down with our President & CEO Isabel Almeida, to explore who United Way of Coastal and Western Connecticut is, what we stand for, and how we’re creating meaningful change for families in our community. 

Transcript

SPEAKER_02 0:00

Welcome to Rooted in Impact, a United Way Coastal and Western Connecticut podcast. I'm your host, Ashley Gattiano, and today we're joined by United Way's CEO, Isabel Almeida. Coming up, we'll be having a conversation about who we are and the work we do, an introduction to all things United Way. Today we're diving into who United Way of Coastal and Western Connecticut is, the impact we're making, and the challenges Alice households face. Welcome, Isabel. Hi, Ashley.

SPEAKER_00 0:28

I'm really here. It really is. I'm so excited to be launching this podcast. I know. I know it's been a long time coming. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 0:35

Yeah. I'm excited.

SPEAKER_00 0:36

So who are we? Who are we?

SPEAKER_01 0:39

So United Way of Coastal and Western Connecticut serves 27 towns across Fairfield County and southern Litchfield County. Um, we came together via merger about two years ago, a little more than two years ago now, um, bringing together United Way of Western Connecticut and United Way of Coastal Fairfield County. Um we are an organization that for the last 10 years has put a population called Alice at the center of all that we do. Um, and Alice is a United Way acronym that stands for asset limited, income constrained, and employed. These are people who are living paycheck to paycheck households that are struggling to afford the basics, um, working hard, but but really in need of support and, you know, oftentimes don't qualify for a lot of social service. Um, and so our United Way has really made it our mission to look at the needs of this population and figure out ways to innovatively bring solutions to community to support these uh individuals and families, um, and also find ways to partner with other organizations and municipalities and other partners to really look at the barriers that exist for these households and what we can do together to lift them up.

SPEAKER_02 2:04

And so I guess if I had to kind of categorize our work in two ways, I would say we're looking at how to support the most basic needs for Alice households. And then what are the big barriers, right? What are the big policy barriers, systems barriers that we can tackle that may take a long time, but eventually, if we can change those things, we get to stop putting a band-aid on the problem and really solve for community needs at a scale.

SPEAKER_01 2:32

Absolutely. And that has been a real evolution in our work over the last 10 years, right? Looking at both what we can do from addressing critical needs in the moment, but also what are those long-term systems change um needs, right? The systems changes that need to happen in order to change outcomes for families in the long term. And that can only happen through advocacy efforts, um, through policy changes, and really through a lot of our collective action work.

SPEAKER_02 3:04

Yeah, I think those are some of the things that set us apart, right? Our goal is never to duplicate efforts in community, um, but to instead identify gaps that exist and figure out where we can either solve through a direct service program, right? Through an actual program that we provide to families and individuals, or to partner with somebody who's already running an existing program. Or if it's not something we can tackle now, right? Again, what is the policy angle? How do we work with our legislators to come up with solutions in the long term? Um, so there's, I was gonna highlight three programs, um, if that makes sense. Sure. Um, so we, like we said, run a handful of direct service community level programs. Um the first that we do is probably our most basic needs focused. It's called the Alice Fund. And it is a rapid response financial assistance program that actually puts cash in the hands of those who need it most. Um, it looks at things like uh food costs, childcare costs, housing utilities, and says if you're in a crisis in this moment, right, if you can't pay for your utility bill, you can come apply to the Alice Fund and get funding on a digital debit card or a physical debit card to actually go pay that bill. The second program that I'm really excited to talk about is our Cora's Kids Family Childcare Initiative. And this is our effort to help uh solve for a child care gap that exists in our community and for the high cost of childcare that exists in the community. And so when we launched this about seven, eight years ago, we recognized that there was a problem with unlicensed childcare businesses running in the city of Danbury. And so we started working with women who wanted to become licensed childcare providers to help them go through the licensing process, um, gain the skills that they need to run established businesses and provide really high quality care. And the results of that program have been so fantastic. We are known in Greater Danbury as the resource to go to for those who want to have licensed businesses, but also those who just want to become um more educated in that space, gain higher accreditations, and really take the field of family child care to the next level. And I know that Isabella, you and I are both so proud of that team.

SPEAKER_01 5:42

Absolutely. It's it's been work that has evolved so beautifully over the last seven, eight years. Um, and as you pointed out, right, it really came about, you know, as a result of a crisis that was taking place in across the state, but really in community around unlicensed care and the dangers of that. Um, and what we have built is a remarkable network of more than 150 providers, um, more than 50 additional substitutes who've been trained. Um, and these um these folks, predominantly women, predominantly minority women, um, have really embraced this network as um uh a real resource for for themselves, a support network, a support system for each other. Um, and when one business is full, they refer to one another. It really has become a beautiful ecosystem. Um, and I think what's most remarkable about it too is that it's a multifaceted economic driver for the community, right? In addition to these women um running profitable businesses for themselves and for their own families, right? Oftentimes these providers are also caring for their own children in these settings and able to earn an income to help support their own families, they are also providing safe and quality childcare for others to be able to return to the workforce. Um, and these are all small businesses in and around this region. And so the economic driver that it is for a community that is hosting um these family child care providers is also immeasurable. And so there's just so much uh benefit to this program, and we're so proud of it. And um, we were honored um this past Friday to have received uh the Community Hero Award from the New American Dream Foundation for the Korus Kids program and for what it has done for uh immigrant families and immigrant women in and around Danbury. And we were so proud of the work of our Korus Kids team, uh Liz Kinonez and uh and her team. And it was just an amazing night. It was pretty special, wasn't it?

SPEAKER_02 7:59

Very special. Um shout out to the New American Dream Foundation for putting on a really amazing gala with a whole their flight theme to it, a a takeoff and a trip around the world. Yes. But really at the end of the day, it was just wonderful to see the Coors Kids team recognized for the incredible amount of work they have done and the impact they have made for uh quite honestly, thousands of families each year in the Danbury and New Milford communities. So um, that's a good one. That program is is a real cornerstone of who we are and what we do, especially in the northern Fairfield County, greater Danbury area. Absolutely. And then the last program that I just wanted to highlight here, and we could spend lots of time talking about all the work, but the last that is also a really special program is our food pharmacy. And this is something that we launched about two years ago in partnership with Nubance and uh the Connecticut Institute for Communities, our federally qualified health center. We received some funding from the federal government to actually stand up a food as medicine brick and mortar program. And so you can go visit the food pharmacy in downtown Danbury, but it enrolls individuals who are uh screened for both food insecurity and hypertension. So we're looking at both the food security or insecurity side of things and the health side of things. And they're now able to access uh, like we said, a brick and mortar space where they can shop for healthy food. They can meet with a registered dietitian on a monthly basis. They uh can attend cooking classes and nutrition classes and demos. And I think more than anything, and Isabel, you hear me talk about this anytime I go to the food pharmacy, right? The space and the community that the team has created at the food pharmacy is just magical, right? Anytime you need to pick me up, you either need to go read to children or you need to go visit the food pharmacy because people are coming in having had their health outcomes changed, having learned so much about how to eat better, uh, what types of foods to use, how to cook different recipes. And it is just a space that is so warm and welcoming. And so to have a space that is warm and welcoming and a program that feels good, but also changes people's lives is a pretty tremendous duo.

SPEAKER_01 10:34

Yeah. And I think what's extra special is that it doesn't just stop with the individual who's enrolled in the program, but it's sending a ripple effect through their families as well, right? They're learning how to cook better for uh for their children, for for their family members. And that is going to have a positive future impact for generations to come. So this is such a great, great innovative um program and so proud of the partnership that we have with um with New Vans, now Northwell, um, and Civic and the UConn Extension. Yes, so many partners who action. There have been so many who have been a part of this um exciting, exciting program. And it's just another example of United Ways approach to problem solving, which is innovation and collaboration, right? How do we bring partners together to address the needs of community and how do we think differently about how to solve those uh community problems through innovative solutions?

SPEAKER_02 11:33

Yeah, and I think um, you know, when you talk about meeting basic needs and looking at long-term systems change, something like the food pharmacy is the perfect example, right? So we are putting food into the hands of people who need it. We are providing them with a space and a place to get a medical health component layered on top. And we're looking at how do we make this sustainable in the long term so that philanthropy and, you know, uh a government grant aren't the ways to fund this, right? What are the actual policy, legislative solutions to make sure that food can always be medicine and not just because we have, you know, the good fortune of a great partnership with Dubans and Northwell, absolutely.

SPEAKER_01 12:25

I'm so proud of all of this work and everything that United Way has done over these many years and really excited about the direction that we're heading as well. I think there's some really exciting things happening in the collective action space. Um, we're backbone to three incredible strive together partnership um place-based uh initiatives in Stanford and Bridgeport and Danbury, and um really working with the coalition across the state that includes partnerships in Norwalk and Waterbury. We're doing so much in the advocacy space now and um around really educating community on civic engagement and the importance of lifting their voice and the power uh behind getting engaged in in community and in our systems. So I'm really excited about what's happening and and the direction that we're going.

SPEAKER_02 13:16

I know, I am too. And for those who maybe don't know what the coalition is or what it means to do civic engagement work, uh, I think the answer is stay tuned because you've just given me some ideas for our next few episodes. Very exciting. All right. So with that, thank you, Isabel, so much for sharing your insights, uh, your vision for the organization, and really helping us highlight the impact of our team here at United Way Coastal and Western Connecticut.

SPEAKER_01 13:44

It was my pleasure and just a shout out to all of the donors, volunteers, corporate partners, sponsors. We can't do this without all of them and really grateful for the partnerships that we have in community that make this work possible.

SPEAKER_02 13:59

Agree. And I'm going to actually end by shouting out our team as well and our marketing team who said, let's do a podcast. So thank you everybody for tuning in to our very first Rooted in Impact podcast. At United Way of Coastal and Western Connecticut, we work side by side with our community to address critical needs and advance equitable pathways to well-being and financial security for everyone. Rooted in Impact is a podcast that highlights how we are making a difference in our communities. Thank you so much for listening. If you want to learn more about us, visit UnitedwayCWC.org. And if you're interested in being our podcast sponsor, we'd love to have you. You can find new episodes every other Tuesday wherever you get your podcasts, including Spotify and Apple Podcasts.