NewHavenBIZ

13 NEW HAVEN BIZ | NOVEMBER 2022 | BUSINESS PROFILES T he Connection is a Middletown-based human services organization that has been unlocking recovery for 50 years, working with individuals whose lives have been defined by traumatic life experiences. With a statewide footprint, The Connection has helped thousands of Connecticut residents experiencing addiction, poverty, incarceration, homelessness and mental health challenges. Its programs strive to reunite families, break the generational cycles of abuse and neglect, and create safer, healthier communities. The Connection delivers services at more than five dozen residential and outpatient sites in the Constitution State, including to residents of New Haven, Hartford, Middletown, Groton, Norwich, New London, Bridgeport, Danbury, Torrington, Waterbury and many other communities. "Our mission," says its website, "is building safe, healthy, caring communities and inspiring people to reach their full potential as productive and valued citizens." The nonprofit also operates the Institute for Innovative Practice, a social enterprise that provides professional development and essential skills training to staff and emerging leaders with community and national organizations across the country. According to The Connection's 2021 annual report, the institute trained over 1,000 frontline workers during the Covid-19 crisis and developed specialized wellness training series, such as Parenting in a Pandemic and The Science of Self-Care. The customized training "provides innovative solutions to address today's complex workforce development needs," says Deputy Chief of Business Development for The Connection Jessica Smith. "Our sessions are curated and delivered by industry experts and are available virtually for convenience." In addition, the Institute for Innovative Practice offers business consultation to assist organizations as they adapt to the current market. "Our staff are skilled leaders with experience in successful business administration and change management," Smith says. "From initiatives such as strategic planning, tactical projects and identifying workforce professional development needs to large scale transformation efforts, our services enable leaders to maximize organizational potential and thrive." Smith adds, "The Connection recognizes that we have a unique opportunity to build the Institute for Innovative Practice as a social enterprise within our nonprofit that generates revenue to support the mission-driven work that the agency does on a day-to-day basis. This means that we can use our 50 years of experience to help … businesses thrive – and not just other nonprofits. We have worked with for-profit companies, municipalities, health care systems, schools and universities." In the past three years, The Connection has served more than 400 organizations by providing training and consultation. "It was obvious that The Connection training staff and Jessica Smith had carefully thought through our unique needs, staffing configuration and business setting prior to meeting. By doing their due diligence, they were able to propose a more focused and customized training proposal than we otherwise could have conceived of on our own," one trainee says. Smith says, "The Connection stands for excellence in leadership, integrity and full transparency in the spirit of community collaboration." And these six core values – compassion; equity and inclusion; courage; knowledge is power; excellence; and capacity to change – remain at the heart of everything the agency does. Social Entrepreneurship Arrives at The Connection Administrative Office: 100 Roscommon Drive, Suite 203, Middletown, CT 060457 Phone: (855) 435-7955 (ext. 1125 for Jessica Smith) Website: www.theconnectioninc.org Product or Service: Professional development and consultation No. of Employees: 400 Top Executive: Lisa DeMatteis-Lepore, CEO Year Founded: 1972 Deputy Chief of Business Development for The Connection Jessica Smith.

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