Middlesex United Way Inc

Programs: Education: our vision: students succeed academically. Local investment: middlesex united way focuses on school readiness, parent education, and family literacy. Along with our partners, middlesex united way's school readiness initiative is working with schools, early childcare providers, and parents throughout middlesex county to identify and assist children who have social and emotional problems before they start kindergarten. We support programs to prepare kids for school and educate their parents about the important role they play in their child's earliest years. We are currently working with schools in all fifteen towns in middlesex county. United way is also a national partner in the born learning initiative. Born learning provides simple activities and ideas to create learning opportunities throughout the day with your child. One of the key tools of born learning are trails, which can be installed in any public setting. Middlesex united way has worked to install 10 born learning trails in middlesex county. Income: our vision: individuals and families are economically stable. Local investment: middlesex united way focuses on job training and employment supports, basic needs, and tax preparation assistance. Middlesex united way provides leadership and support to the middlesex vita (volunteer income tax assistance) coalition. The volunteer income tax assistance program provides free income tax preparation services to low- and moderate-income families and increases the number of households that access the tax credits they've earned. In 2018, irs-trained volunteers helped prepare taxes for more than 500 middlesex county residents who received more than one million in tax refunds. Health: our vision: youth and adults avoid risky behaviors, and individuals and families are healthy and safe. Local investment: middlesex united way focuses on positive youth development, support for seniors and people with disabilities, substance abuse prevention and treatment, and mental health services. Middlesex united way is partnering with youth and family service organizations in middlesex county to implement the healthy communities- healthy youth assets model in their towns. The approach increases young people's participation in their local communities and results in reduced high-risk behaviors, especially the use of drugs and alcohol. Middlesex united way also works to ensuring that health and wellness services are available, including mental health services, counseling, substance abuse services, sexual assault crisis services, programs that help adults with disabilities thrive, and services to help continue living at home. Housing: our vision: everyone has safe and affordable housing. Local investment: middlesex united way focuses on homelessness prevention, emergency shelter, supportive housing, and affordable housing. Middlesex united way funds and partners with several organizations in middlesex county to help people attain safe, affordable and stable housing. United way supports programs throughout the county that provide safe emergency housing as well as services and supports to ensure individuals and families can remain safely and stably housed. Middlesex united way is also a leader in the middlesex county coalition on housing & homelessness which is working to end and prevent homelessness, through strategies including homelessness prevention and creating supportive housing. Familywize prescription drug discount program: middlesex united way partners with the national familywize prescription drug discount program to help individuals and families reduce the cost of prescription medicine. The card is free and available to anyone. 2-1-1 information and referral: middlesex united way supports connecticut's united way 2-1-1 system, an information and referral service that is available 24 hours, 7 days a week by dialing 2-1-1. United way 2-1-1 handled 251,046 calls this past year, including over 12,294 calls from middlesex county. Top requests statewide are for mental health and addictions, housing and shelter, and employment and income. Community collaboratives: united way participates in several community collaboratives, including the aforementioned volunteer income tax assistance program and middlesex county coalition on housing & homelessness. In addition, united way participates in the middletown community thanksgiving project, which assembles and distributes nearly 1,000 thanksgiving baskets for families in need in middletown. Middlesex united way and its staff are also involved in many other community collaboratives, including but not limited to: the credit for life fair; middlesex coalition for children; middlesex area interagency council; middletown school readiness council; opportunity knocks steering committee; middlesex community college civic engagement task force; safe schools healthy students committee; refugee resettlement coalition; racial justice coalition; and the shoreline basic needs task force.