NEWS IN BRIEF AGENCIES PARTNER TO SERVE DANBURY’S HOMELESS The Greater Danbury Continuum of Care and the Danbury Housing Partnership will host the eighth annual Project Homeless Connect in the city Dec. 12. at Western Connecticut State University. Community members, nonprofit organizations, government agencies and corporations will provide services and information at the event, with the goal of lowering barriers, removing obstacles and increasing results for individuals and families who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless. Last year, services were provided to more than 200 individuals and families at the event. Organizers said they expect this year’s event to serve the same number of participants, who will receive a hot breakfast and lunch, winter coats and clothing, flu shots, dental care and eye exams. In addition, more than 60 area agencies will have information available for residents on mental
health services, housing, family and youth services, employment and more. The event will run from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. in WCSU’s Bill Williams Gymnasium on Osborne Street. The first Project Homeless Connect was held in San Francisco in 2004 to welcome homeless neighbors into the community and change the way resources are accessed. The Danbury community hosted its first event in 2007. It is now joined by more than 300 cities in the U.S. in delivering services that lead to housing and self-sufficiency. – Crystal Kang
DEEP RECOGNIZES GREEN BUSINESSES
Connecticut’s Department of Energy and Environmental Protection on Tuesday recognized 16 businesses and individuals in the state for protecting the environment and natural resources at its GreenCircle awards ceremony in Hartford. Three Fairfield County businesses —
Cartus Corp., Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals Inc. and Aptar Stratford – were among the award recipients. Cartus, in Danbury, was recognized in part for its employee ridesharing program. More than 600 employees signed up for the program and more than 350 actively use the service every week, according to a DEEP press release. Cartus employees also participate in Danbury’s Adopt-A-Street program and are involved in a street-cleaning program. Boehringer Ingelheim in Ridgefield was honored for its BE Green program, which aims to conserve energy, reduce carbon dioxide emissions, reduce the use of natural resources and increase the level of recycling at the company. Through the program, employees have thought of ways to improve environmental performance, including replacing paper towels with hand dryers, replacing water coolers with water bottle filling stations and using recovered solvents for
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cleaning operations. Aptar Stratford in Stratford won an award for building an energy-efficient warehouse. The warehouse features highefficiency lighting, occupancy sensors, highefficiency HVAC units, LED outdoor lighting, cool roofing and insulation, and a natural gas condensing furnace. Since DEEP launched the GreenCircle program 16 years ago, about 1,085 individuals, businesses, schools and organizations have been recognized for improving and protecting the state’s environment. According to the press release from the department, projects recognized by GreenCircle have each year reduced water use by more than 646 million gallons, air emissions by 13 million pounds, hazardous waste generation by more than 1 million pounds, spent solvents by more than 920,000 gallons and solid waste by more than 9,200 tons. – Crystal Kang
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destroying our communities and I think it’s absolutely ridiculous.” McKinney said once she earns her business degree, she wants to start a nonprofit geared toward educating and empowering young girls who face racial, economic and social inequities. She said she grew up experiencing the challenges of a young black girl and wants to provide ways to nurture and educate those like her not to let society hold them back. “In my generation, I feel like when people hit middle school, that’s the moment you realize you have potential or you decide you’re just going to live at home for the rest of your life,” McKinney said. “The mindset we form so early on is what affects the mindset we have now. So we have to catch them when they’re at that critical age between 12 and 14.” In the wake of the Brown case, President Barack Obama announced a funding package to equip local police forces with 50,000 body cameras nationwide. The Bridgeport Police Department does not have dashboard cameras in its 63 patrol cars, but Police Chief Joe Gaudett said it is worth discussing with the police union, according to OnlyinBridgeport.com. The East Haven Police Department, which is facing a federal investigation into racial profiling, including federal criminal charges against four officers, has installed dashboard cameras in 16 cars for $115,000.