NewHavenBIZ

www.HartfordBusiness.com • May 25, 2020 • Hartford Business Journal 11 LEADERSHIP IN A TIME OF CRISIS NewHavenCT.gov | (203) 946 4949 Dear New Haven Residents, As we continue to work together to confront the current health and economic crisis, we must reflect on all we have accomplished together and the work toward recovery that still remains. I'm proud of the heroic work of first responders, essential workers, City departments, and community partners. Most importantly, though, I am grateful for our City's residents and how they have responded in helping to defeat this unprece- dented virus. Challenging times like these define a community's character and values. We see first-hand the health and economic inequality in our neighborhoods struggling the most. Many residents are faced with the challenge of generational poverty. This pandemic has exacerbated this challenge. Throughout this crisis, we have been mindful of those disparities while imple- menting inclusive solutions, let me name a few. Thanks to the support of our City partners and under the leadership of Health Director Maritza Bond, we were able to scale up our COVID tracking response team quickly. With the help of Governor Lamont, the State, and CVS, we were one of the first cities in the State to begin offering high capacity, rapid result, COVID-19 testing on Sargent Drive. Working with our community partners, we have handed out over 60,000 masks and expanded COVID testing throughout the City. Since our testing began, we have tested over 11,000 residents, and now operate seven testing locations throughout the Elm City. These testing sites are located in the neighbor- hoods hit the hardest by COVID-19. Positive tests are followed up with robust contact tracing under the leadership of the City's Health Department and a dedicated team of over one hundred and seventy community volunteers. New Haven is a model for what a contact tracing program should look like. Our Economic Development Administration, led by Mi- chael Piscitelli joined forces with the Department of Arts, Culture and Tourism Director Adriane Jefferson along with community partners and created Together, New Haven — an economic resiliency program to support and promote local and small businesses, non-profits, and the arts community for the duration of the pandemic. The program offers webi- nars, provides resources and technical assistance for busi- nesses that must find new ways to engage customers at a distance, and to stay connected with one another as a region and as a community. The Community Services Administration (CSA), under the direction of Dr. Mehul Dalal, has been working to ensure our residents' health and social well-being needs have been met during this crisis, including our populations in great need: individuals experiencing homelessness, immigrants and ref- ugees, and those in need of food, shelter and health services. Early on in our response to the pandemic, Dr. Dalal, with the help of community partners, worked hard to decompress homeless shelters by providing hotel rooms for these individ- uals. Today the CSA has successfully supported the relocation of over one hundred individuals experiencing homelessness into housing — a feat not easy even in normal times. New Haven's character and values are rooted in collaboration, inclusiveness, compassion, and caring. Thank you for continuing to do your part in helping to end this health and economic crisis. And take care of yourself, your neighbors, and those you love. Remember to #MaskUp and get tested for COVID-19. For more information on the City's COVID services and testing sites, please visit www.newhavenct.gov or call the Health Department at 203-946-4949. Together, we will get through this! Always serving you, Mayor Justin Elicker

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