Testimonials

See what clients and supporters had to say about CAANH

A GRATEFUL LETTER FROM MRS LIZ DOYLE

Dear Mr. Smith,

I was at your agency this morning to help my brother apply for fuel assistance. He is a special needs person and we weren't making much progress at the East Shore center. I made an appointment via your phone/computer system which worked perfectly. While we waited to be taken in I had the opportunity to observe the receptionist for quite a while and was amazed at how she was consistently up-beat, polite, and genuinely welcoming to every person who came in. I asked someone her name and believe she said Miss Sybil. I've never seen anyone work like this.

Our appointment was far more simple than I ever expected. We were working with Symphoni C who was just as genuine, patient, and very knowledgeable. While we were at her desk and in the waiting room I found information about two more programs that I think will benefit my brother- the Mature Adult Activities Program and the Surfing for Seniors. She suggested I call Keisha Hull and I did as soon as I got home. She was so enthusiastic about her work and again, the caring in her words were loud and clear.

I've lived in New Haven all my life and was aware of CAA but not in a favorable way. I located your name and read about you and then understood why this agency is such a top notch performer. The office was very nicely done, everyone's work area was neat and modern, and everyone I saw or heard during my visit was just wonderful. What I learned today may benefit my brother in ways that have never been available to him before plus are incredibly inexpensive, and for all of that I am extremely grateful. But it was the professionalism and warmth of your people and the office that just left me speechless. If you haven't heard enough feedback about what an amazing job you did, I hope this message makes your day. I would have said you undertook the impossible when you started, and as a result, your agency is now on a par with the most polished organizations out there.You should teach your approach to others.At such time that I can donate, you can be sure CAANH will be at the top of the list.

Best regards,

Liz Doyle-Santini for Edward Santini

THE LIFE AND TIMES OF ENERGY MOM

On the last day to apply for energy assistance, a single mother of two, after being referred by Info-line/ 211, came into the Agency to get help because her gas at home had been shut-off. This woman recently had been through a series of unfortunate events, including the loss of employment. After being instructed by our receptionist, to have a seat and fill out the necessary forms she was greeted by one of our staff that reviewed her documentation and assured her that things would be okay. She stated that this staff member must have been a mind reader because it was just the assurance she needed at that time.
Once her name was called, she said she was greeted with yet another smiling and welcoming face, which was that of her caseworker. Her caseworker not only referred her to DSS but into HSI Case Management services where she received information through referral for job placement assistance. Even though this client had been denied DSS services in the past, her caseworker guided and instructed her on the necessary steps to take, given her current circumstances. Her case management referral brought her full circle because she is now a part of the CT Works Work Experience Program, working here at the Agency.

EVERYTHING COMPUTES FOR ANNA MARIE

In 2014, Anna Marie enrolled in the “The Surfing With Seniors Program’ because learning how to use the computer was on her ‘bucket list.’ Anna Marie discovered it when she came to CAANH for energy assistance – and she’s very happy to have discovered it! “The instructors are so kind and gentle,” she said. “If the students) don’t get it the first time, the instructors stay with you until you learn. They make you feel like you’re right where you’re supposed to be in the program. It’s a blessing for every last one of us.”
Lessons from the program even came in handy during a recent emergency. During the crisis, Anna Marie was traveling and needed to get to a hospital in Massachusetts to help a friend. “In class, the instructor had been surprised to see I had an iPhone,” she said. “She told me I can do everything we do in class on my phone. Prior to that, I had just used it as a phone. So, when this emergency came up, I didn’t have a piece of paper so I used Google to find directions to the right hospital! Ordinarily I would have called a hundred people to try and find out where to go and how to get there! Seriously!!”
According to Anna Marie, Surfing with seniors “gave (her) the tools” to better use technology – and to weather an emergency! In fact, she’s now teaching her son techniques, and is urging her 80-year-old pastor to attend the class.

MELODY HAS A MIND FOR PROPERITY

Melody Vasquez, Case Manager and Passport to Prosperity Coordinator at the Community Action Agency of New Haven (CAANH), was honored Saturday, Feb. 8, by the Connecticut Center for Arts and Technology (ConnCAT) for her work as a successful community partner.
Melody referred two of her clients to ConnCAT’s phlebotomy course as part of CAANH’s Passport for Prosperity service, a referral process among partners that provides services to clients in an expedited manner. Those two clients are now graduating from ConnCAT!
Melody received the first ConnCAT Commitment Award for her success with implementing CAANH’s and ConnCAT’s Passport partnership. After attending the graduation at ConnCAT, Melody said, “I was a client at CAANH before I started working here. Now I have a chance to give back. I love my job—I feel like I make a difference in people’s lives!”

A HEALTH ADVOCATE FOR DONNA

CAANH’s certified Assisters helped to enroll more than 700 individuals in health-insurance plans.
Donna was one grateful client. She lost her insurance when her husband was laid off from his job. Searching for help, she called Connecticut’s 2-1-1 Info line. An operator referred her to CAANH.
When Donna met with one of CAANH’s Assisters, the response was rapid. “It was so quick!” she said. “You people were on target. Everything [the Assister] told me to do…worked.”
Not only did Donna get the health insurance she needed, she also applied for energy assistance while she was at CAANH. “I got everything in one day,” she said. “I didn’t have to wait!”

A WARM LETTER FROM BARBRA

I apologize for not writing sooner to thank you for the “Operation Fuel” assistance you procured on my behalf on January 8th of this year.
I cannot express my gratitude enough for this most timely consideration and your understanding concerning the unfortunate problem I experienced with my furnace Christmas Eve day.
It is the most comforting feeling to know a warm home will be waiting for me on extremely cold weather this season.
In this respect, I shall increase my donation each month through the UI toward “Operation Fuel” to hopefully contribute help to others in need.
Again, I most humbly thank you for your kindness and your help during these last years.

THE FUTURE BELONGS TO JOSEPH

Manage Your Future (MYF) provides youth between the ages of 14 and 18 with financial-literacy, job-readiness and social-development skills. CAANH recently received from the Connecticut Department of Social Services (DSS) $300,000 per year for two years to expand the program locally and establish a similar program administered by the Urban League of Greater Hartford.

Part of the reason for the expansion of the program was the impact MYF has had on its participants. One participant, Joseph, joined the program in 2011 to complete a community-service requirement for his high school. During his time in the program, he learned how to better manage his money and his emotions. “I underwent a lot of character development,” he wrote in an essay. “I also got to see [the amount of] good that is done [at CAANH] in regards to helping people in need, especially with energy assistance.”

THE MANY SIDES OF CYNTHIA

Single Mothers Activily Reaching the Top program (S.M.A.R.T) assists women with meeting the demands of daily living, improving their parenting skills and increasing their levels of self-sufficiency. The program was designed to create an environment for shared learning and support and provides life-skills, job-readiness and financial-literacy training to help its clients achieve these goals.

In 2013, Cynthia—a single mother—enrolled in SMART after contacting CAANH for assistance with a security deposit. She was unemployed, new to Connecticut and had been caring for her mother, who had just passed away from cancer. To meet Cynthia’s needs, the SMART Program Development Coordinator assisted Cynthia with updating her resume, improving her soft skills and learning how to select an apartment. Within two months, Cynthia obtained a job, found an apartment and started saving for an Individual Development Account (IDA). Needless to say, she quickly improved her family’s situation. At a moment of crisis in her personal life, CAANH provided Cynthia with the support she needed and helped her get back on her feet!

A BOLD PLAN TO BEAT THE COLD FOR BEVERLY

I am writing to thank you for all that you have done for me this past summer. Words cannot be said for all that these crews of men have done for me. I am so appreciative. Each group that came into my home were so friendly and they explained to me all the work they would be doing and how they were going to do it – each day. I had my friend and neighbor come over to be with me, as I cannot go up and down stairs very well. These guys would explain to my neighbor what they were doing and she would relate the information to me.

They cleaned up after each job and were so friendly. They worked in the heat in the attic area and second floor, and believe me, it was very warm. My sincere thanks go out to all of them and I’ll always be thankful to your office for all that was done here in my home. I’m sure it will be a big help this winter. I can already feel that there’s not a draft at the bottom of my stairs. I now know that people do care about us seniors who are on small incomes. I’ll be grate always, believe me. The past few winters have been cold but now I think it will be better, thanks to your department and work that was done here. My thanks, again to all of you there at the agency and also my thanks to Daisy.

God Bless, Beverly H, West Haven October 2014

CAANH CREATES A BETTER WEATHER REPORT

I just can’t thank everyone enough at Community Action Agency New Haven. You guys do an awesome job – I am blessed and grateful that I was accepted into the program. I have a health problem and any help I get is appreciated. The staff at CAANH are very understanding and compassionate – they know they’re helping someone less fortunate, and I’m blessed to receive the help I got. They did window and door weather stripping, blown in wall insulation, caulked around the house, and in the cellar they put in insulation around the rim joist to help keep the weather out. They gave me light bulbs, and aerators for the sink, and a new showerhead to save water and lower my energy bill … I even got a brand new refrigerator! You don’t understand how thankful and happy I am. Whenever I meet someone down there, everyone is friendly and so helpful. I think you guys are not in a position where it’s easy, but you’ve made my life so much more enjoyable. I’m thankful for the assistance you’ve given me. You are helping so many, with such little resources … and you’re doing a wonderful job. You’ve done so much for me over the past couple of years and have gone above and beyond.

A SMART HELPING HAND OF HOPE FOR KRISTIN

CAANH has given me hope back .. when I first came in I felt hopeless and felt my situation would never change and that it would be the way it always was … and I felt helpless to be able change things … but the S.M.A.R.T women program gave me my hope back and taught me that there were things I could do to make my situation better. Now I’m hopeful!

SMART showed me how to look up my credit report and taught me things to do to repair it and how to take things off the report- I’m now using those tools to repair my credit. Then through the case management offered with Dawn, I decided I wanted to go back to school. She helped me and supported me in what I wanted to do, because once I graduated S.M.A.R.T I went and entered the Community Health Worker program at Gateway College. After completing that program I did an internship at CAANH in the energy department and when my internship was over they offered me a job. I wasn’t working before, so the experience in a field I want to get into has solidified for me that this is the field I want to be in, and has made me decide that I want to go back to school and get a degree in Human Services. I always liked helping people, but the help I got here made me feel like I want to give other people the help I got here.

Kristin Calderon testimonial - SMART woman graduate, client and current Case Worker at CAANH.

TURNING UP THE HEAT IN NO TIME FOR KAREN

Community Action Agency of New Haven has helped me tremendously and without them I honestly don’t know what I would have done. And the service is tremendous, the calling for oil, and the 72 hours turnaround time - the response is incredible and it’s an unbelievable help for people who don’t have resources. I don’t know what I would do without CAANH, I probably wouldn’t be here, and I don’t know where I’d be ... I’m thankful for every day how this service has helped me…

Karen Biondi, Energy Fuel client, West Haven

A SMART WAY OF MAKING YISEL SMILE AGAIN.

I came to apply for the energy assistance program at CAANH, and when I was in the cubicle I saw the paper about S.M.A.R.T women hanging on the wall ... It appealed to me and I wanted to find out more and asked at the front desk who I should speak with about the program. Earlier that morning I saw Dawn in the lobby and we had smiled at each other and I said her that I wanted to be part of it. I started the S.M.A.R.T Woman class less than a month later. The class was everything I was expected and more. It was motivating and at the first class I had to face the things that were keeping me from my dreams or the completion of things I really wanted to do. So we talked about it .. and I felt this was a good start to get me where I wanted to get .. and I kept me coming until the end.

Every class was different, and every class was a reminder that there are certain things you have to do to get you where you want to go. One of the main problems I had was my English, not knowing the language, and that was one of the things that pushed me back. Dawn encouraged me and gave me tips on how to learn more and find resources. She said don’t say you can’t speak English, because you are speaking it! The words went down to my heart and they are still there. After I graduated from S.M.A.R.T I had a Christmas break and in January I started my internship at CAANH and I decided to be here as many hours as possible since I was learning to learn as much as possible before I went to my part time job in the afternoon. I worked in the Family Services Division during my internship. Everyone made me feel so comfortable and welcome. Kisha made a space in her office for me with a desk and a heater and that made me feel good and that I can do this. That’s the best thing, having people caring for you and helping you get to to where you want to go. I’m going to be starting to getting my bachelor’s in Human Services from Albertus Magnus and I’m so excited. Jenell the HR VP asked me if I was interested in getting a job at CAANH.

I interviewed with Sharon and Jenell and then they offered me the Case Worker position in Energy. I had butterflies in my stomach all week, I was so excited and so thankful and grateful for the opportunity. I want to learn everything and try to do my best, because I know they’re 3xpecting me to be good, and so I will.

Yisel Ortiz - Client, energy assistance, SMART and now CAANH employee.

A MEETING OF HEAT AND HERBERT'S HOUSE

The oil assistance was invaluable, this is a drafty old house and without that I would be in deeper financial trouble .. I probably wouldn’t be living here without the help because I couldn’t afford it. Oil assistance was fabulous … really did help.

Herbert Mesirow, East Haven energy client

ABRAHAM CLICKED HERE TO MAKE OLD AGE GO OFF LINE

First of all, I like this group because it stopped me from getting old. I was at my house having nothing to do all day until this program came up. It was the best thing that ever happened to me … this and Surfing with Seniors are the best things that ever happened to me ... now I’ve got something to look forward to do in my day .. I’ve got a whole new family since I got here, I love it …I try not to miss it because it keeps me going and keeps my mind going … I don’t eat breakfast in the morning before I come here because the food is that good.

Abraham Gallishaw, New Haven

A GREAT ROADMAP FOR ALL WALKS OF LIFE FOR DORTHY

When I retired I used to walk the trails, but when it got cold I couldn’t walk … so I found out about this from a friend and we started coming together, and I love it … my daughter wakes me up if I’m asleep and she’ll say c’mon Ma you gotta go … and sometimes I’ll say I don’t feel good and she’ll say you’ll feel better when you get there. And I do. I like all the people here, I’ve met so many people … I just love it

Dorothy Bigard. New Haven

A WHOLE LOT GOING ON WITH VIVIAN

I look forward to just getting up and coming, rather than staying at home sleeping and getting more lazy. I enjoy going to different places and going out to eat and what not ... it’s wonderful because everyone here feels like family. We all stick together and help each other out, which I think is a beautiful thing. I just love coming here!

Vivian Robinson New Haven

A PLACE TO MEET FRIENDS FOR ANNETTE

Everybody is so nice and friendly and we all look forward to getting out of our house … we’ve reached the age where we need some friends and company, but not everybody is coming to your house - so this way you can meet new people, enjoy yourself, and talk about things you need to talk about, enjoy life and look forward to where you’re going and what you’re going to do.

Annette Johnson, New Haven

A FULL CALANDAR AND STOMACH FOR EDDIE

I enjoy all the different trips we go on. I’ve been to places I never thought I’d be and places I never knew existed ... this is something to do and keep your mind occupied and I’ve met a lot of nice people who I enjoy being around. It’s a good program. You come in hungry and leave full .. the food is great!

Eddie Whitehead, New Haven

THE END OF HOME FATIUGE FOR LYNN

Lynn Gattison, New Haven