Where We Live

Connecticut Public Radio

Produced by Connecticut Public, 'Where We Live' puts Connecticut in context. Host Catherine Shen brings us fascinating, informed, in-depth conversations and stories beyond news headlines.  We start local, but we take time to explore domestic and international issues and consider how they impact us personally and here at home.

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Untangling the 'predictable calamity' of Connecticut's child care industry to find solutions
4d ago
Untangling the 'predictable calamity' of Connecticut's child care industry to find solutions
Local advocates and experts in early childcare education say funding and staffing shortfalls were only deepened during the pandemic. With federal relief funding set to expire at the end of the month, posing another short-term hurdle, or "cliff," what are the long-term solutions? Connecticut Senator Richard Blumenthal is pushing Congress for $16 billion in federal funding through the Child Care Stabilization Act. "Childcare was in crisis even before the pandemic," said Senator Blumenthal on Monday. "But the pandemic has brought it to the brink of collapse." He also highlighted the Child Care for Every Community Act, and the Child Care for Working Families Act. At the same press conference on Monday, Merrill Gay, Executive Director at Connecticut Early Childhood Alliance, called the upcoming funding cutoff a “predictable calamity." This hour, we hear from Connecticut Office of Early Childhood Commissioner Beth Bye, and members of the recently-formed Blue Ribbon Panel on Child Care. A new draft of a five-year plan, expected to be finalized by December, outlined possible solutions, including a pay raise. GUESTS: Beth Bye: Commissioner, Connecticut Office of Early ChildhoodMonette Ferguson: Executive Director, Alliance for Community Empowerment in BridgeportKaren Lott: Executive Director, Women’s League Child Development Center in HartfordAllyx Schiavone: Executive Director, Friends Center for Children in New HavenJessica Sager: Executive Director, All Our Kin Where We Live is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode.Support the show: http://wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
'What's eating at America': Addressing the loneliness and isolation epidemic
1w ago
'What's eating at America': Addressing the loneliness and isolation epidemic
Approximately half of U.S. adults reported experiencing loneliness, even prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. The issue recently moved U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy to issue an advisory around the "loneliness epidemic" in America. Soon after, Connecticut Senator Chris Murphy introduced a bill that would launch an Office of Social Connection Policy, and fund CDC research to "better understand the epidemic of social isolation and loneliness." While on The Colin McEnroe Show in July, Murphy said the move was "part of a broader exploration for me of what is eating in America... I have come to the conclusion that there's a lot of new and unique things that are hurting Americans and making them feel unhappy today," chief among them loneliness or "aloneness." This hour, we explore how loneliness, isolation and social disconnection are being addressed where we live. Deb Bibbins and Gary Sekorski founded For All Ages, and more recently, the Connecticut Collaborative to End Loneliness, to help bolster and centralize resources. How does loneliness or isolation affect you? GUESTS: Deb Bibbins: Co-Founder and Chair, For All Ages; Co-Founder, Connecticut Collaborative to End LonelinessGary Sekorski: Co-Founder and Chair, For All Ages; Co-Founder, Connecticut Collaborative to End LonelinessConnie Malone: Canton ResidentSiri Palreddy: Senior at Amherst CollegeSupport the show: http://wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Grade inflation, grade bias and grade anxiety
Sep 1 2023
Grade inflation, grade bias and grade anxiety
Once, receiving an A meant that a student had excelled in their coursework. But now, receiving an A means access to advanced classes, scholarships and of course, college admissions. No two school districts, or even two teachers grade in the exact same way. Which means that grade bias is a real problem. So two students that might have the exact same academic performance, could receive two very different grades. With all this emphasis on grades, are students missing out on learning? Today on Where We Live, we talk about the history of grading, where the A through F system came from and how some educators are rethinking the way we grade students. We hear from one Connecticut school district that’s changing the way they grade their students. And we want to hear from you too, is grade anxiety keeping you or your student up at night? GUESTS:  Ethan Hutt: Associate Professor of the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, author of Off the Mark: How Grades, Ratings, and Rankings Undermine Learning (but Don’t Have To)Joe Feldman: author of Grading for Equity: What It Is, Why It Matters, and How It Can Transform Schools and Classrooms and CEO of Crescendo Education GroupDr. Thomas McBryde: Norwalk Deputy SuperintendentEdgar Sanchez: Lead Research Scientist at ACT Where We Live is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode.Support the show: http://wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Feeling safe or creating trauma? How lockdown drills are impacting our schools
Aug 28 2023
Feeling safe or creating trauma? How lockdown drills are impacting our schools
In 1999 the Columbine shooting shook the country and made everyone aware of the threat of gun violence in schools. As a result, schools made an effort to implement lockdown procedures as a way to keep students and staff safe. But with the rates of shootings only continuing to rise, these threats of mass shootings are feeling too real, and the lockdowns that were meant to keep students safe are instead inflicting trauma. So what is going on in these lockdowns that are causing negative impacts and a decline in mental health? Today we look at what is happening inside the school walls during these lockdowns and what it is doing to our students. A common solution that many schools have turned to is School Resource Officers or SROs. What do you think should be done to protect our schools while minimizing trauma? Mo Canady: Executive Director of National Association of School Resource OfficersKate Dias: President of Connecticut Education Association and High School Math teacher in Manchester School DistrictDavid J Schonfeld: Director, National Center for School Crisis and Bereavement at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles Stacey Addo produced this show that originally aired on July 28, 2023.Where We Live is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode.Support the show: http://wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
New solutions to eliminating homelessness: Moving beyond the shelter model
Aug 25 2023
New solutions to eliminating homelessness: Moving beyond the shelter model
The number of people who became unhoused in Connecticut increased by 13 percent between 2021 and last year. And in most places around the country, cities rely on shelters to accommodate people who are unhoused. But those who’ve lived there say this model isn’t working. Families are separated. There’s a 90-day stay limit. There’s little to no security for personal belongings. And at dawn, everyone’s asked to leave, rain or shine. Today on Where We Live, we hear from the founder of Rosette Village, a transitional housing community on Rosette Street in New Haven. It's a housing model where people live together with their families and stay for as long as they need to, which can improve health outcomes for unhoused people. Their tents are provided with electricity. Everyone has lockers for personal belongings. And they say their health has improved. Residents are hoping to live in prefabricated tiny homes set up on site so they can live safely.Later, we talk about the health impact on people without housing. GUESTS: Suki Godek: an unhoused activist living at RosetteMark Colville: the housing activist behind Rosette VillageNew Haven Mayor Justin ElickerDr. Caitlin Ryus: Instructor in Emergency Medicine and the Co-Director of the Yale Emergency Scholars Fellowship Where We Live is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode.Support the show: http://wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Wheelchair repairs can take months: What local advocates are doing to change that
Aug 22 2023
Wheelchair repairs can take months: What local advocates are doing to change that
Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh have estimated that more than half of wheelchairs break down in a typical six-month period. Many Connecticut residents say those repairs can take months. This hour, we hear from local advocates with the Connecticut Wheelchair Reform Coalition about a recently-formed legislative task force and their goals for next session. In particular, they hope to study and set limits on repair turnaround times. UPitt researcher Dr. Lynn Woroby also shares her findings on the frequency of wheelchair breakdowns. Plus, how does private equity impact health care? Private Equity Stakeholder Project is a nonprofit watchdog organization investigating this question. The business model and priority for private equity investments is to maximize profit, Eileen O'Grady explains. "In order to produce those kinds of returns, it might mean cutting staffing, reducing training hours, or relying on staff or clinicians that have a lower level of licensure. It might also mean financial shenanigans, like adding lots and lots of debt to a company to pay their shareholders... All of these things can have really material impacts on the quality of care and on the quality of jobs." GUESTS: Jonathan Sigworth: Member, CT Wheelchair Reform Coalition; Member, State Independent Living Council; Consumer Spokesperson, Connecticut Wheelchair Task Force; Co-Founder, CEO and President, More Than WalkingFarrah Garland: Member, CT Wheelchair Reform Coalition; Member, State Independent Living CouncilLynn Woroby: Research Assistant Professor, Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at the University of PittsburghEileen O'Grady: Research and Campaign Director, Private Equity Stakeholder Project Where We Live is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode.Support the show: http://wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Arts and culture check-in in Connecticut, plus a preview of 'America 250'
Aug 21 2023
Arts and culture check-in in Connecticut, plus a preview of 'America 250'
Virtually all Connecticut residents engage in the arts, culture and humanities, either formally or informally, a recent survey found. But attendance rates at many cultural organizations haven't quite returned to pre-pandemic levels. This hour, we get the latest from Connecticut Humanities executive director Jason Mancini, and hear about a recent push for a "roadmap" that would better fund and link the arts, culture and tourism in the state. We also check in with the Maritime Aquarium, and the Connecticut Museum of Culture and History, formerly the Connecticut Historical Society. Have you taken advantage of Connecticut's Summer at the Museum? Listeners this hour shouted out locations like the New England Air Museum, the Vintage Radio and Communications Museum, and more. Plus, we preview early plans to highlight the state's revolutionary history in 2026, the 250th anniversary of the country's founding. Former Secretary of State Denise Merrill spoke about the creation of the Connecticut Semiquincentennial Commission in advance of "America 250." We also revisit a recent conversation on Connecticut Public's Disrupted with Maisa Tisdale, CEO and President of the Mary and Eliza Freeman Center for History and Community. The homes in Bridgeport are some of the last remaining structures of Little Liberia, one of the earliest settlements of free people of color in pre-Civil War Connecticut. GUESTS: Dr. Jason Mancini: Executive Director, Connecticut HumanitiesCyndi Tolosa: Development Director, Connecticut HumanitiesDenise Merrill: Former Connecticut Secretary of StateJason Patlis: President and CEO, Maritime Aquarium in NorwalkRobert Kret: CEO, Connecticut Museum of Culture and History Where We Live is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode.Support the show: http://wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.