[Excerpt from article by Shaniece Harper, September 28, 2026]
STAMFORD — Why are Stamford’s most populous areas struggling to access healthy food? City officials say it’s because there aren’t enough full-service supermarkets.
City Rep. Ryan Hughes said the lack of grocery options in the city’s most densely populated neighborhoods — Downtown, South End and East Side — is harmful, especially to the city’s most vulnerable residents.
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Hughes is proposing to make these neighborhoods part of an “Urban Grocery Store Development District” designed to attract new grocers by offering financial incentives like property tax reductions and fixed-assessment agreements.
“It is the city agreeing to collect less money, but in doing that, we’re letting the grocery retailer serve our community,” Hughes said. “If you’re going to come to our urban center and open a grocery store, you’re serving our public health. I believe that it is worth it for the city to collect less tax revenue.”
However, Hughes said as work on the ordinance continues, officials can consider at what point to limit the benefits.
“We can write into the ordinance a cap of actually how much incentive the entire program can give out to make sure it isn’t something that ends up impacting the taxpayer,” he said. “We don’t want to do that, we want to be responsible for taxpayers.”
Leah Kagan, the city’s director of economic development, said she supports the plan.
“I think grocery stores are a unique business because they provide a critical service to residents, and therefore there is a higher need and urgency to support attracting that type of business,” she said. “Stamford’s grand list is very strong, and it’s a goal to continue to grow the grand list so that we have additional revenue coming into the city. We need to balance that in a variety of ways, and the short-term impact of this potential fixed assessment will provide a stronger benefit to the community than the potential loss of short-term revenue.”
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The hunt to replace Fairway Market
Kagan said the closure of the South End’s Fairway Market location at 699 Canal St. in 2020 was a “big departure” and she’s been working with Darien-based developer V20 Group, who bought the property in July 2024, to get a new business into that space.
“They’re very aware of the community’s requests. I think they’ve done a great job at trying to be responsive there,” Kagan said.
V20 Group posted a survey in August asking for feedback from the public about what type of business they wanted in that space.
The survey received 2,895 responses. The results showed that 96% of the respondents wanted a grocery store. Also, the results showed: half of the respondents were Harbor Point residents, located in the South End; and 81% of the respondents said they didn’t have a grocery store within a mile from where they live.
Unfortunately, Fairway market wasn’t Stamford’s only closing of a grocer. The West Side also lost a supermarket when its Stop & Shop location at 1937 West Main St. closed in 2024. It was one of the five Stop & Shop locations that closed in Connecticut that year.
Stamford’s ‘significant’ population growth
Officials said Stamford’s rapid population growth was the catalyst for the ordinance. According to DataHaven, Stamford’s population jumped by 10% from 2010 to 2020, resulting in a total population of 135,470 people.
In comparison, the state’s population grew by only 1% within that decade.
Currently, Stamford’s population stands at about 140,500 people, according to World Population Review.
As part of the population boom, Stamford’s housing stock also increased by 13% from 2010 to 2020, with 6,381 additional units, according to DataHaven.
In that decade, the South End saw a 140% increase in its population, totaling almost 4,500 more people; Downtown’s population increased by 23%; and the East Side increased by just 2%, DataHaven data showed.
“Each of these neighborhoods has seen population growth, and it is important that those residents have access to grocery stores in their neighborhoods and are not required to travel as far for these basic necessities,” Kagan said.
Why is it hard to get a new grocery store downtown?
Hughes said it’s difficult to get grocery stores to open in urban areas because it’s “a lot more expensive” compared to suburban communities due to limited parking, restrictive loading regulations and small profit margins.
Hughes said he’ll also be working closely with the city’s zoning board and city building department to work on easing some of those issues.
“We’re really trying to overcome that barrier of how much it costs to operate a grocery store in an urban area,” he said.
Hughes said the closest Downtown has to a grocery store is Target, and he said that is not always guaranteed, like when it temporarily closed in July due to flooding.
“There’s a Target that has a small market, but when I talk to constituents, they make it clear that that Target is not enough and doesn’t fulfill their grocery shopping needs,” he said.
Kristen Cooksey Stowers, assistant professor at the University of Connecticut’s Department of Allied Health Sciences, has worked with residents and community organizations in Hartford to improve grocery store access in the city’s North Hartford Promise Zone, which hasn’t had a grocery store in decades.
In both Stamford and Hartford, she said, conducting research is essential to ensure history doesn’t repeat itself.
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[Excerpt from feature article by Sasha Allen, September 25, 2026]
In Connecticut, the number of people enrolled in the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, fell by 15% from June 2025 to June 2026 — including nearly 18,000 fewer residents under 18 receiving benefits.
In total, 55,000 fewer people in Connecticut were on SNAP this June compared to last June, according to a report from DataHaven. Enrollment in the program decreased quickly under eligibility changes implemented through H.R. 1, which cut nearly $187 billion in federal program funding.
These findings follow a recent report from Connecticut Voices for Children, which found similar changes from July 2025 to July 2026.
All age groups, except for those 65 and older, saw enrollment fall. While residents 65 and older are not required to meet updated work requirements, the new rules require parents with dependents aged 14 to 17 to comply.
“People with dependents 14 to 17 are now subject to these work requirements,” Andrew Carr, a data analyst with DataHaven and co-author of the report said. “Increasing the population of those subject to work requirements, it creates new administrative burdens for people that may cause families to lose SNAP, which has consequences for children.”
The report used an adapted Program Access Index, which is the ratio of SNAP recipients to those who meet the federal income and age eligibility standards. While not a true participation rate, it is a good measure of program coverage, Carr said.
Based on this index, every town has seen a decrease. However, losses are slightly higher in urban areas like the Hartford and Waterbury areas.
“Losses spread across the state, but also that they’re a little more concentrated in cities,” Carr said. “The adapted program access index shows that some of the places where need for SNAP [is highest], at least according to the federal income and age criteria, are the areas where losses were greatest.”
Economic loss was also measured in the report. DataHaven found that some parts of the state lose more than $1 million in benefits each month, with Hartford losing an estimated $1.3 million monthly.
In total, the state loses an estimated $11 million each month in benefits.
While the impacts of eligibility changes are already seen in the state and the nation, not all changes have gone into effect. Penalties for states that exceed the error rate, or the percentage of SNAP benefits paid above or below what recipients should have received, have not gone into effect.
“We’re in this period right now between these two sets of effects from H.R. 1 on SNAP,” Carr said. “We’ve already seen the effects of H.R. 1 on just increasing eligibility requirements for people, and that’s led to losses in SNAP … what’s important to to realize is that many of the effects that are relevant for SNAP haven’t even taken hold yet.”
Connecticut is currently over the error-rate threshold, sitting at around 9%, and may have to pay more $85 million to $89 million, according to the CT Voices for Children report. Penalties are effective October 2027.
While Connecticut has put some money aside to support those impacted by the eligibility requirements, this may not be enough with the implementation of additional changes.
“Government has taken measures to to help people that have lost coverage, but there are changes coming up the pike that are going to require a more like lasting response from government,” Carr said.
[Excerpt from article by Maia Nehme, September 22, 2026]
An appeals court temporarily lifted a ban on federal funding changes last week, a move advocates say puts thousands of Connecticut residents at risk of homelessness.
Last week, the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals paused a district court ruling that had prohibited the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development from overhauling its federal homelessness funding for the current fiscal year.
The National Alliance to End Homelessness had estimated HUD’s proposed changes would endanger the housing of at least 97,000 Americans. Sarah Fox, chief executive of the Connecticut Coalition to End Homelessness, estimated that at least 2,080 Connecticut residents — primarily long-term homeless and disabled people — could lose their housing now that the appellate court has allowed HUD’s changes to take effect.
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According to Connecticut’s annual point-in-time census of the homeless population, there were 3,847 people experiencing homelessness on Jan. 27 of this year, a 3% increase from last year. A February report from DataHaven attributed the uptick in homelessness over the past few years to rising housing costs.
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A representative with one of Connecticut’s continuums of care, the Opening Doors Initiative at the Housing Collective, said in an emailed statement that the loss of permanent housing would strain the state’s homelessness response system.
“The approaches to solving homelessness that HUD wants to prioritize — transitional housing, supportive services, sober housing and partnerships with law enforcement — all have a critical role to play, but they work well as complements to permanent supportive housing, not replacements for it,” the organization’s Chief Initiative Officer Jessica Kubicki said. “We urge HUD to listen to the communities closest to this work and protect the resources that help people find and maintain a permanent home.”
State Sen. Martha Marx, who represents New London and co-chairs the state legislature’s Housing Committee, said in a text message that HUD was “abandoning proven strategies in favor of what they want to do.”
[Excerpt from TV news report by Jayne Chacko, September 22, 2026]
As food prices remain high, affording groceries is even more challenging for the thousands of Connecticut families who lost help they’ve relied on.
They were kicked off SNAP benefits after federal eligibility changed last year, following the passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
According to state social services data provided to non-profit DataHaven, there was a 15% drop in SNAP enrollment from June 2025 to June 2026.
About 55,000 people no longer had benefits, and DataHaven reports the change in SNAP’s work requirements contributed to that.
Now, adults without dependents have to prove they work or volunteer at least 80 hours a month, or 20 hours a week to be eligible for SNAP.
“From childcare to medical issues, mental health issues, homelessness, there’s a lot of different things that I think wasn’t taken into consideration when this federal work mandate was put into place,” Jendayi Scott, founder of non-profit Angel of Edgewood, said.
Scott has been dropping off food and collecting donations to help feed those in need in Hartford, one of the areas that has seen a big drop in SNAP enrollment, according to DataHaven.
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[Excerpt from article by P.R. Lockhart, September 11, 2026]
Thousands of workers with disabilities in Connecticut face barriers to employment, from lower wages to segregated work opportunities. Addressing those issues has only become more pressing as the state pushes towards “competitive integrated employment,” encouraging workers with disabilities to be hired alongside workers without disabilities, with equal chances for improved wages, benefits and promotions.
But to make that transition, the state needs to overcome a related challenge: a shortage of the counselors, coaches and support staff who help workers with disabilities succeed in the workplace.
As efforts to address broader caregiving, special education and other support-oriented workforce shortages continue across the state, the Bureau of Rehabilitation Services is stepping in with a program targeted at creating a pipeline for these workers, part of a larger group known as direct support professionals or DSPs, in Connecticut.
“We’re building to ensure that we have the right supports accessible to all corners of the state,” said David Doukas, the director of the BRS. “We believe that we can train people entering the workforce in this and that they’re going to provide the best support possible.”
Earlier in the summer, the agency announced it was launching a pilot for a 10-month paid training program called SPARK-CT, also known as Strengthening Professional Advancement in Rehabilitation Knowledge via Certified Training. The planning and development of the pilot was funded through federal grants, and the pilot is expected to cost around $3.7 million from the initial planning phase through completion and project closeout, according to program information shared with The Connecticut Mirror.
The money will be used to help develop a new cohort of Direct Employment Support Professionals, a uniquely trained subset of DSPs who specialize in job coaching and providing a wide range of employment services.
Over the course of the program, selected trainees will complete experiential and field work with community-facing rehabilitation organizations, while also receiving direct training from BRS on how to provide job coaching, handle administrative tasks and support workers with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
By the end of the program, successful participants will have the knowledge necessary to take the National APSE Certified Employment Support Professional (CESP) Examination, a credential that trainees can point to as proof of their skills.
The SPARK-CT pilot gives the state a chance to test how it can help to develop a key workforce, while also producing a cohort that can immediately fill vacant roles in a range of local organizations.
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The SPARK-CT program arrives as the state works to support people with disabilities, particularly when it comes to employment and workforce development.
According to data from the Center for Research on Disability, the national unemployment rate for workers with disabilities was 9.3% in 2023, compared to 3.9% for workers without disabilities.
In Connecticut, the disparity was roughly the same over the same period, with workers with disabilities facing a 9.7% unemployment rate while unemployment for workers without disabilities stood at 4.1%.
In 2023, the median annual earnings for workers with disabilities in the state was $31,660 compared to $52,990 for workers without disabilities. In other words, a worker with a disability made roughly 60% of what a worker without a disability made.
A survey published earlier this year by DataHaven found that while 1 in 4 adults in the state live with disabilities, there continues to be significant unmet need in Connecticut. Looking specifically at economic well-being, the report authors found “ a particularly large difference in overall self-rated financial well-being,” between people with disabilities and those without.
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[Excerpt from feature article by Cris Villalonga-Vivoni, July 17, 2026]
Angel Lorenzana is at the doctor’s office multiple times a week between dialysis treatment, iron injections and primary care. All the appointments are vital to his care, but without reliable transportation, he was picking and choosing which doctor to see first.
He and his partner, Nilda Herrera, don’t have a car, and traveling via public transit for every appointment quickly adds up, especially while living on a fixed income.
Over the past year, however, the couple has been relying on a program through Hartford Public Library that offers city residents Uber rides and public transit vouchers at no cost. The door-to-door service has been a major help and source of relief over the past year.
“We shouldn’t have to choose, but when you’re in a situation where you are on a fixed income, you have to choose,” Lorenzana said. “Because … (doctors) are giving you the appointments, but they’re more or less saying, like, ‘You guys got to fend for yourself and find your way to get here.’”
Lack of access to reliable transportation is a well-known, longstanding barrier to routine healthcare for thousands of families nationwide.
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In Connecticut, around 15% of adults said they don’t have reliable transportation, impacting urban, low-income and Black and Latino residents at twice the rate, according to nonprofit DataHaven.
It’s an issue that continues to grow in the state, with around 150,000 more adults struggling to reach their destinations than last year. DataHaven also found a 7% increase in the number of adults who missed medical appointments.
Local municipalities and nonprofits across Connecticut are working to address transportation as a barrier to healthcare by offering no-cost or discounted rides. The state’s Medicaid also offers free nonemergency medical transport for residents.
Many of the programs, however, have strict eligibility qualifications or are limited in where they can go. Lorenzana, for example, doesn’t qualify for Medicaid, explaining that their fixed income is too high to meet the income eligibility requirements. If they want to qualify for that coverage, he said, they’d actively have to “spend down,” or reduce their excess income.
Hartford Public Library launched the Health on the Go program in May 2025 with grant funding from the Cigna Group Foundation to help address the transportation gap in Hartford.
It offers no-cost rides and vouchers for Hartford residents who don’t have reliable transportation to medical appointments, fitness programs, mobile medical care, and transportation assistance. They work in partnership with CT Transit, Uber Health, Sudor Taino, the Flyy Movement, and local healthcare providers.
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[Excerpt from feature article by Alex Putterman, June 17, 2026]
Between stints in jail or prison, Bridgeport resident Dean Henton has been homeless and hungry. He has dealt with mental health challenges. He has suffered from high blood pressure and respiratory issues. And, he says, he has generally struggled to reintegrate into life on the outside.
“We always have that stigma on us,” said Henton, 59. “It’s sort of like a civic death.”
In all those ways, Henton is typical of a formerly incarcerated man in Connecticut, according to a new report from the New Haven-based nonprofit DataHaven.
The report, based on results from DataHaven’s recent Community Wellbeing Survey, found formerly incarcerated men — particularly those who have been incarcerated multiple times — face significant challenges upon returning to their communities. They include higher rates of financial hardship, food insecurity, unemployment, untreated mental health issues, drug use and health issues.
“None of it was necessarily surprising,” said Carter Shannon, a DataHaven research associate and author of the new report. “But we found that people with incarceration histories struggled more financially and also with their mental and physical health, and that in some cases, like with employment, there was a stronger negative outcome for people who had been incarcerated multiple times.”
DataHaven surveyed nearly 400 formerly incarcerated men, as part of a broader survey that included interviews with about 7,500 randomly selected people across the state. The report was then produced in coordination with Yale’s SEICHE Center for Health and Justice and the University of Connecticut’s Children with Incarcerated Parents Initiative, with Henton as an additional “expert reviewer.”
Its findings included:
– Black and Hispanic men are vastly over-represented among the formerly incarcerated, as compared to white men.
– Those who have been incarcerated multiple times are more than three times as likely to report facing discrimination from law enforcement than those who have never been incarcerated.
– 77% of men who have been incarcerated multiple times and 49% of those who have been incarcerated once report struggling financially, compared to 28% of those who have never been incarcerated.
– 47% of men who have been incarcerated multiple times and 27% of those who have been incarcerated once said they were experiencing food insecurity, compared to 8% of those who have never been incarcerated.
– Formerly incarcerated people are less likely to be employed and less likely to own homes.
– They are far more likely to be at risk of a depressive episode, to have mental health needs they haven’t received treatment for and to have an opioid use disorder.
– 48% of men who have been incarcerated multiple times report being in “fair” or “poor” health, compared to 20% of those incarcerated once and 17% of those never incarcerated.
– Formerly incarcerated men are also more likely to have high blood pressure or hypertension, to have diabetes and to have asthma — and less likely to have health insurance.
Shannon noted it would be wrong to draw a “direct causal connection” between incarceration and some of these effects, given that, for example, people with low incomes are both more likely to be incarcerated and more likely to struggle financially or have health issues.
Still, Shannon said, it’s important “for folks to know that these disparities exist despite a lot of the progress we’ve made” in reducing incarceration and providing reentry services in Connecticut.
The report “reinforces what reentry providers across Connecticut have long known: The challenges associated with incarceration do not end when someone is released,” said Beth Hines, executive director of Community Partners in Action, a Hartford-based organization that helps people transition from incarceration back to their communities, in a statement.
“Reentry is not simply a criminal justice issue,” she said. “It is also a housing, public health, workforce and community issue.”
The findings underscore the need to invest in reentry services that help address people’s needs as they leave incarceration, Hines said.
Research has found mental health needs, substance misuse, employment problems and low income are among the top risk factors associated with recidivism, suggesting efforts to better manage these issues could reduce the number of people who commit new offenses.
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[Excerpt from article by By Sujata Srinivasan, June 16, 2026]
Young adults in some parts of the state are more likely to not have access to health care, according to a new report from DataHaven, a nonprofit.
Overall, nearly one in four young adults in Hartford experience anxiety and depression, according to the study conducted across Greater Hartford. But they may not be getting the care they need, said Mark Abraham, executive director at DataHaven.
“Younger adults in the region may be new to getting care on their own, they may have jobs less likely to provide insurance through their employer,” Abraham said.
Even if some younger people in the region had health insurance, Abraham said it may not be adequate.
“That coverage might not cover health needs like mental health services as well as it does for older adults,” he said.
Data also showed that in the wider service area, the highest rates of diabetes were among Black residents and Latino residents. Asthma was most prevalent among young people. The study found 18- to 34-year-olds have an average rate of 17%, with Latino residents having a rate of 21%.
Rising costs were also impacting vulnerable families.
“Particularly for families with children, we see food insecurity rates at an all-time high,” Abraham said. “As housing costs rise, we see families with children reporting much higher levels of running out of money for food.”
The study was conducted on people living in 29 towns served by the nonprofit Greater Hartford Gives. The organization distributes funds to nonprofits throughout Greater Hartford and its service area is made up of more than 750,000 residents.
Kate Szczerbacki, the group’s director of learning, evaluation and capacity building, said the report brings together publicly available data alongside insights from the DataHaven Community Wellbeing Survey. Those insights capture residents’ lived experiences through in-depth phone interviews.
“Those perspectives are not available anywhere else, and they enhance our understanding of community strengths and where more attention is needed,” she said. “This report is an important resource for grounding our decisions in the experience of the people who live in Greater Hartford.”
[Excerpt from news article by Sean Krofssik, June 11, 2026]
A new regional equity profile report shows persistent racial and geographic disparities in the Greater Hartford Gives Foundation’s 29-town service area.
The Greater Hartford Gives Foundation service area 2026 Equity Report is compiled by New Haven-based DataHaven. It was completed last month and shows persistent inequities and challenges related to housing affordability, food access, transportation, income and education.
The Greater Hartford Gives Foundation area includes more than 750,000 people in 29 towns. People of color make up 41 percent of the foundation’s area compared to 37 percent statewide, according to the report.
“We hired them [DataHaven] to do this kind of deep dive into the 29 towns that we serve where possible,” said Chris Senecal, Greater Hartford Gives Foundation’s senior public policy and media relations officer said. “These are individual people who take the time to answer quite a few questions, and it really gives you a kind of a snapshot of where people are at now.”
“I’m optimistic that providing these reports are a really an important part of the process to help our region and people who live here,” he said.
The report shows racial disparities that include lower median incomes for Black and Latino households.
“This report from DataHaven provides a concise overview of resident wellbeing, while still reflecting a wide range of indicators that matter for our neighbors and communities,” said Kate Szczerbacki, the Greater Hartford Gives director of learning, evaluation and capacity building.
“It brings together publicly available data alongside insights from the DataHaven Community Wellbeing Survey, which captures residents’ lived experiences through in-depth phone interviews. Those perspectives are not available anywhere else, and they enhance our understanding of community strengths and where more attention is needed. This report is an important resource for grounding our decisions in the experience of the people who live in Greater Hartford.”
Basic needs also are a part of the report. The Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program provides food assistance to those in very-low-income households which are those earning less than 130 percent of the poverty guideline.
The 2026 Equity Report shows that the need for SNAP use is higher among Black and Latino households, and households in Hartford.
Usage of SNAP statewide and in the foundation area is at 12%; for Black households it stands at 25%; for Latino households at 35%; and for white households at 5%. For Hartford residents the rate is 37%.
“If people lose access to SNAP, that’s going to be a real challenge,” Senecal said. “We’re fortunate to live in a state where our state government is financially in a better position than most states in the Rainy-Day Fund and in policy on how we answer needs in the community.”
“We heard last week the governor announced they were going to hand out $300 grocery cards for (about 25,000) folks losing their access to SNAP. It’s extremely helpful in the short term but in the long term, the government will need to look at long-term remedies to make people more stable,” Senecal said. “It’s really the onus is on these agencies to develop a plan to respond to this and develop the infrastructure necessary to respond to the increased demands and needs of folks who are in danger of losing access to the federal services and federal support.”
Senecal said this data is invaluable in those discussions.
As far as access to a personal vehicle for reliable transportation, 29% of households in Hartford have no vehicle, compared to 9% statewide, the report says. Also, statewide 19 percent of Black households lack access to a vehicle. The number is 16% for Latino households and 6% for white households.
As far as housing, the report said that home values in the state have increased 32% from December 2019 to December 2025.
Thirty-five percent of Latino households, 44% of Black households and 77% of white households own their own homes in the Greater Hartford Gives service area.
Twenty-six percent of all residents in Hartford own their home. In the Capitol Region Council of Governments service area, which represents 38 Metro Hartford municipalities, 35 percent of adults ages 18 to 34 own their homes, including 46 percent of white households, 21 percent of Black households and 21 percent of Latino households, the report says.
As far as housing cost burdens, 53% of Hartford residents are housing cost-burdened, which compares to 32%, when factoring in the entire Greater Hartford Gives service area. Housing-cost burden is measured by households spending 30% or more of their income on housing, while severe cost burden refers to spending 50% or more.
“Once the child credits and things like that went away post COVID, we saw numbers picking up as far as food insecurity, housing insecurity and many struggling to pay their rent or mortgage. None of that is new, but what sticks out to me is that it’s continuing,” Senecal said. “We haven’t turned that around and with some of the federal changes the concern is that these things are going to get worse.”
The report shows 26% of Hartford households lack a high school diploma. Statewide, the number is 9%, and for the Greater Hartford Gives service area, that number is 8%, for Black households is 12%, Latino households is 25% and white and Asian Households is 8%.
Median annual income for Capitol Region Council of Government Service Area for men overall is $78,000, and $65,000 for women; Asian men ($100,000), Asian women ($79,000); Black men ($52,000), Black women ($50,000); Latino men ($51,000), Latino women ($41,000); white men ($85,000) and white women ($73,000).
About 119,000 residents, which is 16% of the foundations’ area residents, are foreign born, the report says. The largest numbers born outside of the United States were born in Jamaica, India and China.
As far as health, the highest rates for diabetes in the Capitol Region COG service area among those 65-and-over include Black residents (41%) and Latino residents (38%), the report says.
The report shows asthma is most prevalent among 18- to 34-year-olds in the Capitol Region COG service area with 17%. White residents have a rate of 14%, Black residents 16% and Latino residents 21%.
In the Capitol Region COG service area, mental health issues such as depression and anxiety affect 19% of adults 18 to 34. In Hartford alone, that number jumps to 23%.
In a part of the report called Civic Life, residents were asked whether they trust their neighbors. In the Capitol Region COG service area, 84% of residents say they trust their neighbors. Seventy-four percent of residents say their community is a good place to raise children. That number in Hartford is 37%.
Another category was named as “Neighborhood Assets.” The report showed that, of adults in the Capitol Region COG, 59% of respondents have stores, banks and other places they need to access within walking distance. The statewide number is 57%. In Hartford, 76% of residents are within walking distance of stores and banks.
Seventy-seven percent of households in the Capitol Region COG have several free or low-cost recreation facilities such as parks, playgrounds and public swimming pools. The number is 76% in Hartford and 72% statewide.
DataHaven Executive Director Mark Abraham said the report “gives policymakers, nonprofit leaders, and residents a shared set of facts about how people are experiencing life across the Greater Hartford region.”
“It combines multiple sources of public data with results from DataHaven’s survey of thousands of randomly selected adults in the region, using innovative statistical methods to provide insights by population group that are not available from any other local data source,” Abraham said. “This level of detail allows communities to make better decisions, target resources more effectively, and track whether progress is reaching everyone.”
[by Drew Thomas, June 9, 2026]
High school students from across Connecticut gathered at New Haven City Hall on Thursday, May 28, to present original research on pressing community issues, capping a year of data literacy training through a first-of-its-kind youth program.
The DataHaven Youth Action Council held its inaugural end-of-year research symposium, showcasing student projects on topics including affordable housing and homelessness, the legacy of redlining in Connecticut cities, teen mental health and social media, environmental issues, and transportation access.
The council is entirely youth-led, with students designing their own curriculum, research focus areas, and events.
“This student-designed, student-led program reflects exactly what public data are for: working together with people across different backgrounds and geographic areas to understand the world more clearly, so we can make it more just,” said Mark Abraham, Executive Director at DataHaven. “It is so impressive to see the students’ graduate-level work in analyzing and visualizing community-level information, and their efforts to execute such an outstanding program with strong participation from high school students in multiple events throughout the year.”
In its inaugural year the DataHaven Youth Action Council drew students from Fairfield County, Greater Hartford, the Naugatuck Valley and Greater New Haven. Over the past school year, about 15 participants met every other Saturday at the New Haven public library to develop skills in data collection and analysis, visualization, and research reporting.
The program was conceptualized last summer by two high school seniors interning at DataHaven — Janet Fan and Linda Chen — and was then designed and facilitated throughout the school year by Fan, Chen and Saanika Tipnis, with support from Drew Thomas, a doctoral student and teaching fellow at the University of Connecticut.
Mayor Justin Elicker attended the symposium, which was open to the public and drew student family members, DataHaven staff and community partners.
The council’s reach extended beyond the symposium. In April, DHYAC members led a module at the Yale School of Public Health, facilitating an interactive data activity for other high school students in the New Haven area.
Many of the students plan to continue their work beyond the school year, sharing findings and supporting advocacy efforts across Connecticut.
The program will continue in the coming school year with a new cohort. High school students interested in participating can find more information on DataHaven’s website.
DataHaven credited The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven, Greater Hartford Gives Foundation, The Connecticut Project, and individual donors with supporting the program.