Elm City Speaks YaleUniversity

EMERGE CT is a social enterprise working to assist formerly incarcerated people in integrating back into their families and communities. In this episode, Jessica Yu (Yale MAR '21) will be talking to Rich Watkins, the Personal Development Coordinator at EMERGE. They discuss the importance of reflection and community building at EMERGE, as well as the unique programming EMERGE offers for crew members.

Elm City Internationals is a college preparatory program based in New Haven that uses soccer as a way to engage low-income youth in academics. In this episode, Dylan Campbell talks to Lauren Mednick, Founder and Executive Director of ECI. They tell us about ECI's origins, its unique structure and curriculum, and the role of soccer in its students' lives.

Love146 is an international human rights organization working to end child trafficking and exploitation through survivor care and prevention. In this episode, Hannah Kiburz will be taking to Shirley, an HR manager at Love 146. They will discuss the origin story of the organization, how it has grown over the years, and how you can get involved as well!

IRIS, or Integrated Refugee and Immigrant Services, is a leading resettlement agency in the nation and a household name in Connecticut. In this episode, Savannah Crichton has a conversation with Chris George, the executive director of IRIS. They take a deep dive into the history of IRIS, the hardships refugees face, and what work IRIS does to make our communities stronger.

Dyuthi Tharakan Matthews, a student organizer for Y2Y New Haven, talks to co-founder of Y2Y Harvard Square, Sam Greenberg, about the origins of the first student-run youth homeless shelter in the nation, discussing the unique challenges that youth experiencing homelessness face, when compared to adults experiencing homelessness. In the past few months, the pandemic has exacerbated the problem of youth homelessness in New Haven and nationwide. Sam and Dyuthi discuss the challenges and solutions that Y2Y New Haven has been considering during this time. During the 2019-2020 academic year, Sam Greenberg was a Dwight Hall Changemaker-in-Residence. Y2Y New Haven is also a member group at Dwight Hall at Yale.

Current Executive Director of Dwight Hall, Peter Crumlish, shares his perspective on Dwight Hall’s changing role in New Haven’s social justice and public service landscape amidst the issues that are shaping modern day life.