Hartford Making Connections
 Making Connections Hartford is in the final year of a 10-year effort funded by The Annie E. Casey Foundation to connect individuals, groups and organizations that shared a commitment to be held accountable for implementing a comprehensive community change agenda. Its agenda has been to provide low-income families – in the Frog Hollow and Upper Albany neighborhoods of Hartford – with opportunities to increase their financial stability and to influence the policies and practices that affect their well being.
Since 2007, when the project started to wind down, CAHS has served as the “Local Learning Partner” for MCH. In this role, CAHS evaluates the initiative and convenes the remaining nonprofit partners. These include the Hartford Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) initiative run by Co-opportunity and resident engagement and leadership training operated by Hartford Areas Rally Together (HART). CAHS continues to build its evaluation capacity with support from the Casey Foundation.
As a result of Making Connections Hartford’s work, collaborative efforts to close the economic and achievement gaps between the capital city and the state have increased. The overall influence of the Making Connections Hartford initiative in Hartford has been described in the following way by Enid Rey, Executive Director of Hartford’s Office for Youth Services: “MCH nurtured a group of people who now are in a position to implement community change/family strengthening activities in meaningful ways.”
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