Students from Classical Magnet School in Hartford discuss the work they’re doing around youth homelessness in the city.

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Got Equality? Not if you’re 51% of the population.

The new campaign slogan for the Permanent Commission on the Status of Women certainly gets right to the point. And if anyone is unconvinced of their assertion, then I wish you could have attended Women’s Day at the Capital on Tuesday.  Invited speakers and the public submitted testimony on Tuesday and called attention to many issues like health care, domestic violence and protection, education, employment, women in politics, and childcare.  Two high school students from the Young Women’s Leadership Program essay contest also read their winning essays which focused on breaking the cycle of domestic violence and the need for more women in leadership positions. Read the full story

February 9th is fast approaching and the Permanent Commission on the Status of Women is looking for oral or written testimony from the public on issues that are important to women.

Any interested individuals may testify by submitting oral and/or written or electronic testimony. For oral testimony, sign-up will begin at 9:00 a.m in the same room as the hearing. Oral testimony should be no longer than 3 minutes. Read the full story

Concerned residents rallied at Hartford City Hall in support of a no-freeze shelter downtown and for additional support to combat homelessness.

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Reverend Paul Goodman, of Center Church, discusses the controversy and compromise surrounding the relocation of Hartford’s emergency “no freeze” shelter.

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Downtown Hartford residents, business owners and activists will gather at City Hall, 550 Main Street in Hartford, Tuesday from 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM to protest the relocation of the No-Freeze Shelter from Center Church in Downtown Hartford to Lafayette Street. The original proposed location of the shelter resulted in howls of protest from certain downtown business leaders, who used stereotypes and baseless arguments to force the move. A “Tent City” will be erected during the protest, then donated to those in the homeless community. Warm food and drinks will also be provided to those in need.

Citing concern that opening a shelter so close to the city’s “business and entertainment” hub would be bad for business (amongst a host of other crazy reasons), members of the Hartford Business Improvement District (BID) are trying to railroad the city into rethinking its proposal to open a no-freeze shelter. Read the full story

Brian Baker from South Park Inn, a shelter in Hartford, Natalie Matthews and Sara Zucker from the Connecticut Coalition to End Homelessness discuss CT’s current homeless situation, in a time when the economy is making getting by a lot more difficult.

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(Change.org End Homelessness blog) A knife wielding homeless man was shot and killed by Police in Philadelphia on Friday.

The 20 year veteran Police didn’t elect to use a Taser, they didn’t use a night stick, they didn’t retreat to a safe distance. They did what they were trained to do = use deadly force / shoot to kill with a gun. (more…)

(Middletown Eye) “It’s an opportunity to cooperate with another community group,” Wesleyan student and Food Not Bombs member Abe Bobman said about the group’s decision to accept the help of Middletown’s First Church. “And it’s an opportunity that’s too good to miss.” (more…)