Welcome our newest CONECT members!

St. Anthony of Padua Church, Fairfield

HNNA

Triumphant Christian Church, Bridgeport

Legislative Updates:

CONECT worked with the TRUST Act Now coalition to pass legislation strengthening the state's current law, which prevents Connecticut law enforcement from cooperating with federal immigration enforcement by ICE, unless that person has been convicted of certain serious crimes or there is a judicial arrest warrant. The legislation strengthens the TRUST Act by making it enforceable. The coalition plans to push Governor Lamont and the legislature during a special session this fall to include additional provisions that were removed late in the legislative session following objections from the Governor.

Our Housing Team was also active pushing two pieces of legislation with coalitions this spring. The Work, Live, Ride provision incorporated into an omnibus Housing bill (HB 5002) passed both the House and Senate and Governor Lamont vetoed. Unfortunately, the Just Cause Eviction legislation was not called for a vote in the House this session.

CONECT's Criminal Legal Reform Team worked with Advocacy to Legacy to push for reform to the state's overly harsh and punitive use of Driver's License suspensions. Working with Sen. Cohen and Rep. Berger-Girvalo, co-chairs of the Transportation Committee, we were successful in getting compromise language adopted. The legislation prohibits the DMV or CIB (Centralized Infractions Bureau) from suspending people's Drivers Licenses until they have been afforded the opportunity to enter into a payment plan. The legislation was incorporated in to HB 7160 and passed both the House and Senate and signed by the Governor on July 1.

What's Happening

Let's congratulate Dawn Grant-Lockley our Criminal Legal Reform Team Co-Chair granted a full pardon!!! A step toward a fresh start!! Go DAWN!

Farewell Matt... Celebration of 13 years of Incredible Service and Commitment to CONECT

On Sunday, June 29, we came together to celebrate and honor Matt for his incredible leadership and unwavering dedication to the work of organizing. Throughout his time with us, Matt showed remarkable courage, strength, and vision.

The gathering was filled with heartfelt reflections and shared laughter as leaders recounted meaningful moments of working alongside him.

Though we are sad to see him go, we are deeply proud of all he has accomplished and the powerful legacy he leaves behind. Under Matt’s leadership, CONECT has grown into a strong, united voice for justice, equity, and community empowerment across Connecticut.

We’re confident he will continue to make a profound impact in his new role at Greater Boston Interfaith Organization (GBIO).

Thank you, Matt!

HNNA Win!:
Persistent pressure moves $6.4 million
to "Newhall Foundations" account!

A win for collective action in Hamden!!

CONECT collaborated with property owners in the Newhall neighborhood of Hamden to establish a neighborhood association to interface with one another and with local government as a unified voice for their quality of life.

In the early 2000s, residents lived through the discovery and remediation of contaminated soil on their properties. Since then, they have been suffering with crumbling foundations and flooding caused by the contamination and (in some cases) the remediation effort.

The Mayor’s office announced last year that it would use federal funding to build a community center on the neighborhood’s abandoned middle school site, but neighbors insisted that they wanted that funding to go to finishing the work to repair their properties. The Mayor’s office stated at several contentious community meetings that the State would eventually come through with money for the property repairs and that the cash currently in hand should go to building a new community center. The residents were done waiting.

With CONECT, the Hamden Newhall Neighborhood Association launched the “Foundations First” campaign to urge the Legislative Council to invest several million dollars into property repairs while we wait for possible future state funding to complete the job. Members of CONECT’s Hamden congregations met in March to learn about this issue and commit to allyship. Neighborhood meetings informed and energized residents, pictured here saying “thumbs down” to a community center:

New Haven Independent reports "At the eleventh hour Town Council votes to allocate $6.4M for the foundation repairs", READ MORE. Residents will serve on a selection committee for the construction manager in July.

L to R Tina Jennings-Harriott (President) Rev. Caitlin O'Brien (Senior Organizer) Tonya Campell (Vice President) and Danielle Campbell (Secretary of HNNA)

Interfaith Day at the Capitol

On Thursday, May 15th, together with the TRUST Act Now Coalition, GHIAA (Greater Hartford Interfaith Action Alliance), and Make the Road CT, faith leaders from across Christian, Jewish, and Muslim traditions stood in solidarity with our immigrant brothers and sisters. CONECT clergy Fr. Jim Manship and Rabbi Daniel Schaefer spoke about the need to create and preserve trust, embrace the stranger and get our scriptural mandate to "welcome the stranger" right this time. After a press conference and brief training session, leaders visited legislator's offices, aides, and lobbied in the Capitol in support of strengthening the TRUST Act, HB 7212. Here is the full press conference.

Interfaith Education and Solidarity Forums

Aida Mansoor shared 5% of all physicians are Muslim and this graph shows the biases/hate
they encounter even as health providers.

Our first Interfaith Education & Solidarity Forum was held on Monday, May 19th, "Confronting Islamophobia &Anti-Muslim Hate," led by Aida Mansoor, Director of Field Education at Hartford International University for Religion & Peace. Aida is a leader with the Muslim Coalition of Connecticut, the Islamic Association of Greater Hartford, and the Greater Hartford Interfaith Action Alliance.

Over 60 participants attended and our post survey feedback showed that participants thought the presentation was engaging, relatable, informative, and compassionate. Also, personal stories, real-life examples, and the tone of compassionate truth-telling made the topic approachable. Others expressed similarities between Jewish and Muslim experiences of faith and prejudice, which reinforced the value and importance of interfaith solidarity.

With this visual Sophia McGee explains the 3 stages of anti-semitism and Jewish hate

On Wednesday, May 21st, we held our second Interfaith Education & Solidarity Forum "Confronting Anti-Semitism & Anti-Jewish Hate" led by Sophia McGee, Facilitator and Coach with Project Shema. Sophia is a founding member of the Center for Ethnic, Racial and Religious Understanding (CERRU) at Queens College, CUNY. McGee is also a lecturer in the History Department at Queens College.

About 60 participants attended and Sophia invited both pre and post presentation survey feedback. Respondents described the presentation as excellent, powerful, and well-delivered. Participants appreciated that it addressed serious issues with depth, while not becoming overly political. Several attendees highlighted that all Christians should hear this presentation because it prompted deeper thinking around binary thinking within Christian faith traditions and encouraged more open, empathetic dialogue with Jewish friends. Folks were moved by the historical narrative and real-life implications of what it means to be Jewish in the U.S. today.

Organizing 101

CONECT's Spring "Organizing 101" training series took place the last week of April and first three weeks of May. A dozen leaders participated, predominantly from our new member congregations, Triumphant Christian Church and St. Anthony of Padua Catholic Church.

Strategy Team Retreat

Members of CONECT’s Strategy Team and staff gathered on Sunday, June 22^nd at St. Joseph’s of Stratford National Catholic Church for an annual Strategy Team Retreat. In keeping with CONECT’s stated goal to strengthen its anti-racist culture, the bulk of the meeting was devoted to anti-racist training led by Varissa McMickens-Blair of NOWWellspring Consulting.

The five-hour session covered topics such as identifying and responding to micro-aggressions (defined as the verbal, nonverbal, and environmental slights, snubs, or insults which communicate hostile, derogatory, or negative messages to target persons based solely upon their marginalized group membership) and "how can we walk through the world as antiracists today?" Through interactive exercises, journaling, and small and large group discussion, participants were asked to dig deep into their own assumptions, stories, and contributions toward racist behavior.

This is, by no means, the end of this often hard and vitally important work. CONECT will continue to offer opportunities to unpack our individual beliefs and stories to ensure our growth as an anti-racist organization. – Debra Tangarone

Thanks to our webpage developer, Phillip Simon, of Insightful Media LLC.

Issue Actions & Teams

Immigrant Solidarity

On the afternoon of Friday, June 20th, members of the TRUST Act Now coalition gathered to celebrate their work together and the progress in strengthening the state's TRUST Act this legislative session. Sen. Gary Winfield, Rep. Anne Hughes, and Rep. Laurie Sweet joined in the celebration and thanked the coalition for its work and promised continued support. The coalition will press Gov. Lamont and the legislature in a fall special session for additional provisions to strengthen the TRUST Act that were left out due to Gov. Lamont's objections very late in the legislative session.

Bridgeport Immigration Forum

CONECT, Make the Road CT, and the entire TRUST Act Now Coalition, gathered on Saturday, May 17th at Burroughs Community Center for a Bridgeport area Town Hall meeting about the TRUST Act and the pending legislation to strengthen the existing law (HB 7212), which passed out of both the House and Senate and is now awaiting Gov. Lamont's signature.

We heard from community members and elected officials, including Rep. Steve Stafstrom, Rep. Cristin McCarthy-Vahey, Rep Sarah Keitt, and Sen. Sujata Gadkar-Wilcox. Rev. Matt Lindeman, Trinity Episcopal Church Southport, led the opening prayer and Therese LeFever, St. Anthony of Padua, welcomed everyone to the Town Hall.

Criminal Legal Reform

GOOD NEWS! Legislation passes to curb
Driver's Licenses suspensions

Several months back, Rev. Tom Blake and Trinity Episcopal Church leaders in Branford hosted a meeting with Senator Christine Cohen to hear the stories of people who've been excessively impacted by drivers license fees and suspensions. In collaboration with our colleagues at "Advocacy to Legacy", we pushed for reform that resulted in House Bill 7160. The new law prohibits the DMV or CIB (Centralized Infractions Bureau) from suspending people's Drivers Licenses until they have been afforded the opportunity to enter into a payment plan.

On June 4, the last day of the legislative session in Hartford, the State Senate passed House Bill 7160. The State House passed the same bill this past Saturday, May 31st. Now having passed both the House & Senate, the bill heads to Gov. Lamont's desk for his signature.

The compromise language prohibits the DMV or CIB (Centralized Infractions Bureau) from suspending people's Drivers Licenses until they have been afforded the opportunity to enter into a payment plan.

Special thanks to all those who courageously shared their personal stories and also to Rev. Tom Blake and Trinity Episcopal Church leaders in Branford for helping us get this on Senator Cohen's radar early in the year!

The actual legislative language is in Sec. 59 of HB 7160. You can find that here (see underlined language on lines 2602 thru 2646): https://cga.ct.gov/2025/lcoamd/pdf/2025LCO09710-R00-AMD.pdf

2025 Clean Slate Convening

Leaders from CONECT's Criminal Legal Reform Team traveled to Chicago in early June to attend the Clean Slate Initiative's annual Convening, which marked the 5th anniversary of the launch of the Clean Slate Initiative. Rogsbert "Tammy" King, Dawn Grant-Lockley, Rodney Moore, Phil Kent and Matt McDermott learned about the challenges other states implementing Clean Slate are also facing as well as about potential public education and notification strategies once automated erasures are implemented.

DO NOT STANDY IDLY BY

For the past few years, our DNSIB team has worked with the National Gun Safety Consortium (NGSC) to reduce firearm thefts, injuries and deaths, and to create a safer firearm culture by distributing the latest safety devices, primarily to police departments and cities around the country.

Currently, the 13 CT departments participating in the National Gun Safety Consortium program are: Bridgeport, Fairfield, Guilford, Hamden, Madison, Middlebury, New Haven, North Haven, Norwalk, Waterbury, West Haven, Woodbridge and the University of New Haven PD. Thanks to Team members who have helped with outreach to police departments and city officials in a variety of towns and cities.

Special thanks to our dedicated team leader Roye Anastasio and others who have helped with outreach to police departments. The team plans to share the data we were able to gather and the good news of this program at the South Central Criminal Justice Administration and the CONECT delegates assembly in the fall.

Housing Team

The Waypoint at Fairlington- 80 Apartment Units on the parking lot of Fairlington Presbyterian Church, Alexandria, VA member of VOICE (Virginians Organized for Interfaith Community Engagement)

The Housing team is focusing in on the concept of YIGBY (Yes, In God's Back Yard!) How might faith communities serve their mission through land use for affordable housing? How might we promote legislation to streamline this? On Thursday, May 13, James Pearlstein of VOICE and Cynthia Marshall of Action in Montgomery County (AIM), our sister organizations in the Just Power Alliance, shared powerful insights on advancing affordable housing through faith communities. James described the zoning challenges faith institutions face, noting that in states like Connecticut—with 169 separate towns—local processes are often lengthy, costly, and unpredictable.

VOICE supports SB 1351, which would enable streamlined zoning for faith-based and tax-exempt organizations. Their work in Alexandria County, VA shows that administrative rezoning with clear criteria is key to success.

Cynthia outlined AIM’s threefold approach to housing:

Supply – Build new, transit-oriented affordable homes
Stability – Help families stay rooted for generations
Subsidy – Support the lowest-income residents

This model helped pass the FAITH Zoning Text Amendment in Montgomery County in April 2024, allowing congregations and schools to develop housing on their land.

Speakers emphasized the importance of state-level action, honoring legacy, and partnering with mission-aligned developers. Reach out to join the conversation to Melanie Lee of Union Baptist Church and Debra Tangarone of Spring Glen Church, who co-chairing the Housing Team!