Edition 1 of 6 (June 25 – July 2, 2018)

Report compiled by Will Taft, NHS Community Build-

ing Summer Fellow

NEIGHBORHOOD HOUSING SERVICES

Community Building and Organizing Weekly Project Report

Women’s Empowerment Mural

We continued work on the Women’s Empowerment Mural with artist
Kwadwo Adae and his collaborators Toni Giammona and Melina
Andreson. When completed, the mural will depict 15 diverse women
holding torches in a display of solidarity. In the picture to the left, Kwadwo
Adae walks along the mural while overseeing volunteers.

On July 2nd, a group of Choate volunteers laid mulch at the base of the
mural to protect the freshly-painted wall from mud that heavy rain splatters
up.

On July 11th, NHS, in partnership with REI, is offering volunteers at the

mural free ice cream and pizza. Stop by between 2:00 pm and 8:00 pm to
make your mark on the mural and enjoy free food!

One of our summer Americorps Vista Members, Haley Brown is

coordinating volunteer activities at the mural. Contact her at
hbrown@nhsofnewhaven.org to get involved in the project.

Donate to support the project here: https://tinyurl.com/y9krucju

Community Gardens and

Greenspaces
We are working to ensure that every
vacant lot realizes its full potential. In
the past week, we coordinated with
Bradley, Anna, and Nina from the
Land Trust, Newhallville gardeners,
and Newhallville community leader
Doreen Abubakar, to install a raised
gardening bed at the Hazel St
Community Garden. Doreen and
Learning Corridor partners will use
the bed educate Newhallville
residents on
gardening techniques
and healthy living
(read more about the
mission of the
Learning Corridor
and upcoming events
hosted there in our
spotlight!)

Doreen met with New

Haven city engineer
Giovanni Zinn to
discuss bringing new
infrastructure to the
Learning Corridor.
Outdoor exercise equipment, water fountains, and street lights
are coming to the Learning Corridor soon.

We also visited the Ivy St. community garden and the Stevens
St. community garden to discuss gardening practices and
programming. NHS coordinated with the Land Trust team and
Stevens St. gardeners to bring in arable soil and reestablish
raised gardening beds. Haley Brown, a summer Vista member
at NHS, is working to get more residents involved in community
gardens. She is considering building a skill share between
experienced gardeners and residents who have a budding
interest in gardening. She wants to make gardening accessible
to everyone and capitalize on the wisdom of New Haven’s
great gardeners. Email her at hbrown@nhsofnewhaven.org to
participate in a survey to develop the program.

Two One City Initiatives

We attended the One City Initiative Kick-
Off on Thursday. This is the inaugural
year of the One City Initiative, an
initiative put together by New Haven
Community Management Teams and
spearheaded by Newhallville’s Kim
Harris to bring 60 days of affordable,
family friendly activities to New Haven.
The initiative also lays the foundation for
future cross-neighborhood
collaborations. Check out the full
calendar of events here: https://
www.onecityinitiative.org/

We told attendees about our

upcoming One City events,
including a Family Fun Day we held
on Saturday. Residents stopped by
our table at the kick-off for stickers,
bubbles, and free light bulbs. A
Balloon artist created custom
balloon creations.

On Saturday, we hosted our Family

Fun Day. Children visited the NHS
campus on Sherman Avenue to
draw chalk art, craft tiaras, bird
feeders, hanging gardens, and
lanterns out of recycled bottles, and
have their face painted. Volunteers
from Choate helped engage the children by leading them through crafts and
games.

We are so excited to partner with Doreen to host the West River Watershed Festival on July 14th. In its 8th year, the
Watershed Festival will also fall under the One City Initiative umbrella. Volunteers and community leaders will help set
up and manage festival activities which include free canoe rides, hands-on educational activities, and a cook-out. See
you there!

What we read this week...

Read this article about the One City Initiative Kick-off event. Look-out for the picture of our own Vista member Haley
Browne painting faces.

In “”Empowered” Crew Gets to Work,” Lucy Gellman writes about the Women’s Empowerment Mural. She covers the
motivation behind the mural and the people the project has impacted already.

Want to get involved in any of these projects? Sign up to volunteer here:

https://tinyurl.com/y7dt3lzo