We are committed to improving lives by partnering with the community and creating a future of greater inclusion and equity.
United Way of Western Connecticut hosts quarterly 5-Day Equity Challenges on various topics. The challenges serve as a powerful opportunity to develop a deeper understanding of how inequity and racism affect our lives and our community. Below, you will find all of the resources from the previous Equity Challenges.
TOOLS & RESOURCES
Food Insecurity Overview
Read
New Poverty and Food Insecurity Data Illustrate Persistent Racial Inequities (Read)
Watch
What is Food Insecurity? (Watch)
Listen
Hunger in America: Millions of Americans Didn't Have Enough Food Last Year (Listen)
Act
Food Research & Action Center - Bills We're Supporting (Act)
Support Resources
End Hunger Connecticut (Learn More)
Dive Deeper
Hunger is a Racial Equity Issue (Read)
Food Insecurity in Connecticut (Read)
More Americans are Going Hungry, and it Costs More to Feed Them (Read)
Impact of Food Insecurity on Children
Read
Hunger Advocates Want Free School Meals for all Kids. It's a Tough Sell in Congress (Read)
Watch
Child Food Insecurity Report on NBC Nightly News: Kids Edition (Watch)
Listen
How Food Insecurity Shapes Children and Families (Listen)
Act
Take Action for Children (Act)
Support Resources
End Hunger Connecticut (Learn More)
Dive Deeper
Before COVID, Stamford Schools Worried it Didn't Feed all its Hungry Kids. Now it can. (Read)
CT Aims to Expand Eligibility for Food Assistance Program (Read)
Child Hunger and Nutrition (Read)
Facts About Child Hunger in America (Read)
Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) Factsheet (Read)
School Meals are Essential for Student Health and Learning (Read)
Food Insecurity Among Older Adults
Read
Feeding America Study Shows Deepening Divide in Senior Hunger Rates Along Racial and Ethnic Lines (Read)
Watch
More Than 9 Million Older Adults Face Food Insecurity (Watch)
Listen
Food Insecurity Among Older Adults (Listen)
Act
Take Action and Speak up (Act)
Support Resources
Check Your Eligibility for Food Assistance Programs (Check)
Dive Deeper
Understanding Food Insecurity Among Older Adults (Read)
Get the Facts on Food Insecurity and Older Adults (Read)
Food Insecurity and Health
Read
Remembering the Impact of Malnutrition and Food Insecurity on Healthy Aging (Read)
Watch
Illuminating Intersections: Hunger and Health (Watch)
Listen
Systemic Racism, Childhood Food Insecurity, and Obesity (Listen)
Act
Take Action (Act)
Support Resources
Connecting food-insecure individuals to programs and resources (Read)
Dive Deeper
Child Hunger and Long-Term Adverse Consequences for Health (Read)
State and Federal Policy Changes
Read
CT Aims to Expand Eligibility for Food Assistance Program (Read)
Watch
How Can we Change our Food Systems? Integrated Food Policy (Watch)
Listen
Hunger, Historical Policies, and Structural Racism in the U.S. (Listen)
Act
Advocacy Action at End Hunger CT! (Act)
Support Resources
Can I Get Food Stamps: A Non-Citizens Guide to SNAP Benefits (Read)
Dive Deeper
Systemic Racism - Housing Discrimination
Read
Racial Inequities in Housing (Read)
Watch
Segregated by Design (Watch)
Listen
The Racist Architecture of Homeownership: How Housing Segregation has Persisted (Listen)
Act
5 Policy Solutions to Advance Racial Equity in Housing (Act)
Support Resources
In Connecticut, fair housing is your right - Learn to recognize the signs of discrimination in rental, sales, and lending, and how to protect yourself (Learn More)
Connecticut Fair Housing Center (Learn More)
Dive Deeper
Connecticut’s Housing Divide (Watch)
How Decades of Racist Housing Policy Left Neighborhoods Sweltering (Read)
Solutions to Racial Disparities in Housing (Watch)
White Americans Confront Legacy of Housing Discrimination (Watch)
Housing Segregation - Redlining and Financing
Read
The Lasting Legacy of Redlining (Read)
Watch
What is Redlining? (Watch)
Listen
A 'Forgotten History' of how the U.S. government segregated America (Listen)
Act
Interactive Redlining Map Zooms in on America's History of Discrimination (Act)
Support Resources
It is illegal for lenders and creditors to discriminate against anyone based on race, color, religion, national origin, sex, disability, or familial status. If you believe a lender has discriminated against you or anyone else for any reason, you have options. Submit a complaint online with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau or by calling (855) 411-2372, or file a Fair Housing complaint at HUD.gov.
Dive Deeper
RACE - The Power of an illusion: How the Racial Wealth Gap Was Created (Watch)
Housing Segregation and Redlining in America: A Short History (Watch)
Homelessness and Racial Disparities
Read
Homelessness and Racial Disparities (Read)
Watch
Youth of Color Disproportionately Impacted by Housing Instability (Watch)
Listen
Unraveling The Mystery Of Why So Many African-Americans End Up Homeless (Listen)
Act
Get involved with The Housing Collective.
Attend a virtual listening session, dive into Race Equity resources, and get involved as an advocate with CT Coalition to End Homelessness
Support Resources
Anyone seeking shelter in Connecticut needs to connect directly with 2-1-1 before receiving help. Dial 2-1-1 or search online at 211ct.org.
Dive Deeper
Racial Equity & Housing with Amanda Andere (Watch)
‘A Pileup of Inequities’: Why People of Color Are Hit Hardest by Homelessness (Read)
Funders Together to End Homelessness: Racial Equity Resources (Resources)
How to Start Addressing Racial Disparities in Your Community (Read)
Zoning Policies and Practices
Read
America’s Racist Housing Rules Really can be Fixed (Read)
Watch
How Zoning can Restrict or Even Prevent Affordable Housing (Watch)
Listen
Addressing Structural Racism in Urban Planning (Listen)
Act
Get involved in one of several CT initiatives
Support Resources
Dive Deeper
A Fair Share Housing Model for CT (Read)
Zoning for Equity (Read)
CT Zoning Atlas (View)
‘Zoning for Equity’ Report by Local Nonprofit Finds Barriers Persist in Building Affordable Housing (Read)
The Freedom to Divide: Zoning and Segregation in Connecticut (Read)
Renters' and Tenants' Rights
Read
Black and Hispanic Renters Experience Discrimination in Almost Every Major American City (Read)
Watch
Can They Do That? Understanding and Protecting Tenants' Rights in Connecticut (Watch)
Listen
The Color of Evictions (Listen)
Act
Support the new Connecticut Right to Counsel Program through Eviction Help CT (Support)
Join a fair housing training from the CT Fair Housing Center (Join)
Support Resources
History and Policy that Led to Racial and Ethnic Wealth Gaps
Read
Systemic Inequality: How America's Structural Racism Helped Create the Black-White Wealth Gap (Read)
Watch
Explained | Racial Wealth Gap (Watch)
Listen
Investing in Black Economic Mobility (Listen)
Act
Center for Global Policy Solutions (Act)
CT By the Numbers (Act)
Dive Deeper
How the GI Bill's Promise Was Denied to a Million Black WWII Veterans (Read)
Racial Wealth Gap May be a Key to Other Inequities (Read)
Why We Need Reparations for Black Americans (Read)
The Economic Impact of Closing the Racial Wealth Gap (Read)
Many Minorities Avoid Seeking Credit Due to Generations of Discrimination. Why That Keeps Them Back (Read)
Employment and Wage Gap
Read
Five Ways to Win an Argument about the Gender Wage Gap (Read)
Watch
How Corporate America is Failing Black Employees (Watch)
Listen
Pay Transparency: One Way to Reduce Wage Gap for Women and People of Color (Listen)
Act
Six Steps Everyday People Can Take To Close The Wealth Gap (Act)
Dive Deeper
Earnings Disparities by Race and Ethnicity (Read)
It Takes Black Women In the US 20 minutes to Earn What White Men Make in a Year (Read)
Connecticut Passes Law Requiring Disclosure of Wage Ranges (Read)
The Impact of Structural Racism in Employment and Wages on Minority Women’s Health (Read)
Explained | Why Women are Paid Less (Watch)
Financial Aid and Student Debt
Read
How Student Debt and the Racial Wealth Gap Reinforce Each Other (Read)
Watch
Student Debt Relief Could Help Close America's Massive Racial Wealth Gap (Watch)
Listen
The Life-Altering Differences Between White and Black Debt (Listen)
Act
Add Your Name - Cancel $50,000 in Student Loan Debt (Act)
Dive Deeper
Black-White Disparity in Student Loan Debt More Than Triples After Graduation (Read)
Student Loans, the Racial Wealth Divide, and why we Need Full Student Debt Cancellation (Read)
How Student Debt and the Racial Wealth Gap Reinforce Each Other (Read)
U.S. Department of Education Releases New Data on Racial Differences in Financial Aid (Read)
Borrowers of Color & the Student Debt Crisis (Read)
Student Debt is a Racial Justice Issue. Here’s What President Biden Can Do to Help (Read)
Financial Literacy
Read
What This Black Mother is Teaching her 2 Young kids About Finance and Life: ‘Money is Power’ (Read)
Watch
How I Learned to Read–and Trade Stocks–in Prison (Watch)
Listen
Community First: Building Latinx Wealth (Listen)
Act
Call 1800-FED-INFO if you have a question about federal agencies, programs, benefits, or services related to financial literacy and education.
Dive Deeper
The Wealth Gap: Addressing Economic Inequality in the U.S (Read)
A History of Income Inequality in the United States (Read)
FT Financial Literacy and Inclusion Campaign: The U.S Must Confront Financial Illiteracy Head-On (Read)
Disparities in Wealth by Race and Ethnicity in the 2019 Survey of Consumer Finances (Read)
#BossTalks | Taking Control of Your Finances with Sallie Krawcheck (Watch)
Report on the Economic Well-Being of U.S. Households in 2020 (Read)
Generational Wealth
Read
Connecticut has Among Nation's Largest Wealth Gap by Race and Ethnicity (Read)
Watch
The Racial Wealth Gap in America (Watch)
Listen
The Growing Racial Divide In Millennial Wealth (Listen)
Act
Advocate for change. Be aware of legislation coming up before the CT General Assembly and sign up to testify in support of bills that address issues of equity. Learn more (HERE)
Dive Deeper
The Land of Our Fathers, Part 1 (Listen)
Disparities in Wealth by Race and Ethnicity in the 2019 Survey of Consumer Finances (Read)
Feature
Creative Ways To Get Kids To Thrive In School (Watch)
Read
Raising Race Conscious Children (Read)
Watch
Community Adverse Experiences (Watch)
AC360 - Kids on Race: The Hidden Picture (Watch)
Listen
Talking Race With Young Children (Listen)
Act
Start a Conversation With Your Child About Race and Injustice (Read)
Feature
Conversation with Kevin L. Walston, Superintendent of Danbury Public Schools (Watch)
Read
Reimagining School Board Leadership: Actions for Equity (Read)
Fighting Systemic Racism in K-12 Education: Helping Allies Move From the Keyboard to the School Board (Read)
Watch
The "Opportunity Gap" In US Public Education — And How To Close It | Anindya Kundu (Watch)
How America’s Public Schools Keep Kids in Poverty (Watch)
Listen
School Boards: A New Front Line in the Culture War (Listen)
A Tale of Two School Districts (Listen)
Act
Advocate for Students to Serve on or With Your Local Board of Education (Read)
Bargaining for the Common Good (Watch)
Dive Deeper
Dismantling Institutional Racism in Education (DIRE) Initiative (Read)
Systems Change and Governance: School Boards that Lead for Equity (Read)
Feature
Achieving Racial Equity in Education Through a Restorative Lens (Watch)
Read
Restorative Justice In Schools: Designing For Equity (Read)
Pinellas County Schools Try ‘Restorative’ Approach To Deal With Racial Disparities (Read)
Watch
A Restorative Approach to Discipline (Watch)
Why Black Girls Are Targeted For Punishment At School & How To Change That (Watch)
Listen
Restorative Justice is Racial Justice (Listen)
Why There’s a Push to get Police out of Schools (Listen)
Act
Sign up for the FREE School Climate and/or Restorative Practices Training sponsored by Stamford Cradle to Career
- School Climate Training: January 27 & 28, 2022 8:30 am – 2 pm (Virtual) (Register Here)
- Restorative Practices Training: February 3 & 4, 2022 8:30 am – 2 pm (Virtual) (Register Here)
Dive Deeper
The Adolescent Brain (Watch)
How Childhood Trauma Affects Health Across A Lifetime (Watch)
Feature
Antonio Santiago, Dean, Naugatuck Valley Community College, Danbury Campus (Watch)
Read
Perspective | Understanding And Connecting To Students To Increase Degree Attainment: The Power Of Community College Stories (Read)
Pledge To Advance Connecticut (PACT) (Read)
Watch
The ABCs Of Racial Inequality In Education (Watch)
Access Ain’t Inclusion (Watch)
Listen
'The State Must Provide' Is A Lesson On Inequality In Higher Ed, Past And Present (Listen)
Act
Public Colleges And Universities Should Be Free (Read)
3 Ways Federal Policy Solutions Can Level The Playing Field In Higher Education And The Economy (Read)
Dive Deeper
Higher Ed Faces Racial Equity, Affordability Challenges This Year—But There’s Reason For Optimism, Too (Listen)
United Way of Western CT Rejects Racism And All Forms of Discrimination
United Way of Western Connecticut is committed to building our community into a place where every child, family, and person has the opportunity to thrive. We focus on households at or below the ALICE® (Asset Limited Income Constrained Employed) threshold who have had the least opportunities for success. In doing our part to uplift this population, we are active on many fronts. Today we are speaking out louder than in the past to condemn with zero tolerance acts of racism, bigotry, xenophobia, and expressions of discrimination stemming from one’s race, ethnicity, faith, gender expression, sexual orientation, disability, sex, age, national origin.
We act by using our resources to tackle the structural barriers to equity from the long shadow of systemic racism that has impeded the health, education, safety, and wellbeing of many members of our society. United Way of Western Connecticut recognizes the power and privilege of our brand. As leaders in our community, we are using both to take action in being part of the solution for positive change. Therefore, we commit to:
- Transforming systems and instituting systemic changes that create a more just and equitable future.
- Requiring accountability and transparency at all levels - from our organization to all institutions with whom we partner.
- Advocating for justice and speaking up in unity and in action whenever we see justice not being served.
- Elevating the voice and power of our community.
- Learning and growing together as a community through ongoing training and conversations about race and equity.
We are committed to improving lives by partnering with the community and creating a future of greater inclusion and equity.