Message from Richard Porth
President, United Way of Connecticut
Successful Pilot Prevents Homelessness
Over the past year, an innovative service called the Homelessness Prevention and Rapid Re-Housing Program (HPRP) has enabled thousands of Connecticut residents, threatened with losing their homes, to remain in their homes or to move to more stable housing. United Way 2-1-1 has screened over 5,600 individuals and families for HPRP since it began a year ago. We are proud to be part of this successful program and want to acknowledge our partners at the CT Dept. of Social Services, the CT Coalition to End Homelessness and the many housing and shelter providers across the state. As 2010 comes to a close, 2-1-1 has received over 57,000 housing-related requests for services with over 12,000 seeking information on HPRP, underscoring the critical need for affordable housing in the state. Click here for more information. |
| Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act |
Childhood obesity has more than tripled in the past 30 years. According to the Centers for Disease Control, the prevalence of obesity among children aged 6 to 11 increased from 6.5% in 1980 to 19.6% in 2008, and from 5.0% to 18.1% for those aged 12 to 19. The new federal Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act is designed to increase access to nutritious foods and reduce rates of childhood obesity. Among other things, the new law provides additional funding to schools to meet the updated nutritional standards for federally subsidized school lunches and allows the USDA to set nutritional standards for food sold in schools. In Connecticut, close to 185,000 school age children and youth are eligible for the Free/Reduced Lunch Program. For information on eligibility visit the 2-1-1 e-library.
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