NHA NEWS - Washington Village€¦ · January 2016 Vol. 11, Issue 1 Free Gentle YOGA Classes For...
Transcript of NHA NEWS - Washington Village€¦ · January 2016 Vol. 11, Issue 1 Free Gentle YOGA Classes For...
NHA NEWS
www.norwalkha.org
January 2016
Vol. 11, Issue 1
Free Gentle YOGA Classes For
Seniors Every Thursday
Yoga is a great way to help seniors manage
stress and a fantastic beginning to 2016.
You’re invited to attend FREE yoga classes
at Irving Freese, 57 Ward Street, Norwalk,
in the community room. Classes are from 10:30AM to
11:30AM. Yoga mats are provided. Cancelled if
schools are closed for bad weather.
Need Food? Get SNAP
The Norwalk Community Health Center now has staff
that will assist you with SNAP eligibility questions,
benefits pre-screening and issues with your applica-
tion. Call (203) 899-1770 X1203, 1208 or 1206 with
questions or concerns.
New WIC Satellite office at the
Norwalk Community Health Center!
Beginning on January 13th, the Norwalk WIC office
will schedule appointments at the Norwalk Communi-
ty Health Center on Wednesdays of each week. Kind-
ly call WIC at (203) 854-7885 to schedule an appoint-
ment.
Ludlow Commons Is Accepting
Applications
Owner: Norwalk Housing Authority
Located At: Ludlow Commons, 11 Roger Square,
Norwalk, CT 06855
Managed By: Elderly Housing Management, Inc.
INCOME LIMITS: $55,250 for one person
$63,150 for one people
Funded By: CT Department of Housing through its
Elderly Congregate Housing Program. Regulatory
guidelines require: All applicants MUST be 62
years and over to qualify. Eligible households must
also have a need for the congregate services offered
at the facility. NHA residents get preference points
when applying.
FOR INFORMATION CONTACT:
Catherine Saunders, Administrator
Ludlow Commons
203-899-8534 • TRS: 800-842-9710
NHA Staff Hosts Holiday
Breakfast for Seniors
Staff members Devon Moore, Paul Modugno, Mi-
cheal Crafter, Tom Ivers, Chris Tejada, Joe Jen-
kins, Marie Juleau, Barbara Antzoulis and
Guillermo Bendana prepared breakfast for sen-
iors at 20 West Ave.
A resident from Senior Ct and a resident from 20
West Ave. stop to pose for pictures during the
Christmas Breakfast.
Residents 60 & Up Eligible for
FREE Food Box Norwalk Housing Authority is
proud to work in conjunction
with the Commodity Supple-
mental Food Program to offer a
food box which contains items such as rice,
sugar, soup, beans and cheese. Persons over
sixty years old are eligible to participate. The
next distribution will take place on January 11,
2016 from 2:30pm until 4:30pm at Leroy
Downs. You must call Anabell Delacruz at
203-838-8471 ext. 140 for an application by
January 4, 2016.
CNI Office to Open in January The Washington Village Choice Neighborhoods Initia-
tive will soon be opening a satellite office next to Wash-
ington Village at 149 Water Street. The second floor
space will be the new base of operations for the NHA
staff involved with the CNI and the staff of Housing Op-
portunities Unlimited (HOU) who have been assisting
Washington Village residents from Leroy Downs. The
space will also host the WorkPlace & Career Resources
job training programs and a newly created Capacity
Building Program. A formal announcement and grand
opening will be announced next month.
Financial Management
Tip of the Month:
ABCs of Everyday
Budgeting
Living on a budget and keeping
your spending under control is as easy as the ABCs.
Consider these tips from Money Management Interna-
tional to better manage your expenses. Keep track of
everything you buy for two weeks. At the end of the two
weeks, examine your spending and determine where you
can cut back. Basic changes can equal BIG bucks. Small
expenses, like one or two dollars a day at a vending ma-
chine, can quickly add up over time. Establish priorities
and reduce or stop unnecessary spending. Commit to
small changes. Stick to a plan, revisit your budget often,
and be realistic and flexible.
Employment Tip of
the Month: Tailor
your resume
When submitting a resume in
response to a job posting, care-
fully review the job requirements, and make
sure they are specifically on your resume if you
have them. Don’t trust your cover letter to
speak to these details. If your resume/online
application doesn’t contain the proper key-
words, it may never make it to a human being.
Affordable Care Is Available!
Access Health CT (AHCT) is Connecticut’s
only official health insurance marketplace. It
was established to meet the requirements of the
federal Affordable Care Act. 2016 open enroll-
ment ends January 31, 2016. A number of dif-
ferent health plans are available. Don’t miss
out on the benefits of being covered! If you
don’t have health care coverage, you may pay a
TAX PENALTY of $695 per adult, $347.50
per child or 2.5% of family income . ACHT is
the only place where you can qualify for af-
fordability programs that can help you pay for
your health care coverage. For more infor-
mation, visit www.accesshealthct.org
Families-Get the Tax Credits You
Deserve!
Did you know that many families
are eligible for valuable tax credits
every year? Whether or not you
owe any income tax, you could get
thousands of dollars in tax bene-
fits. To get these credits, you
MUST file a tax return. Individuals taking advantage of
the e-file program will receive their refunds in half the
time compared to returns filed on paper – and even fast-
er when tax refunds are deposited directly into bank ac-
counts. FREE Tax preparation and e-filing services for
low-to-moderate-income residents are available. Nor-
walk VITA sites include: Family & Children’s Agency,
140 Water St. open from February 2 through April 12,
TUESDAYS 5PM – 9PM by appointment only call 203-
523-5336; South Norwalk Community Center, 98 South
Main St. open from February 2 through April 12 walk-
ins only, TUESDAYS 10AM – 5PM, and SATUR-
DAYS 9AM – 2PM; and Norwalk Community Col-
lege , 188 Richards Ave. open January 23 through April
15, walk-ins only, TUESDAYS and THURSDAYS
7PM – 9:30PM,at the East Campus Student Success
Center; and SATURDAYS 10AM – 3:30PM at West
Campus Rooms 138 and 140. **PLEASE NOTE:
Free income tax preparation will not be
available at Norwalk Libraries this year **
Want to OWN
your own
HOME? You can
do it!
Come to this FREE pro-
gram presented by
Bridgeport Neighborhood Trust, to learn
what’s involved in becoming a homeowner on
Saturday February 20, 9:00AM – 5:00 PM, at
LeRoy Downs, 26 Monroe Street. This work-
shop will take the confusion and uncertainty
out of home-buying and guide you through the
process, step by step. Topics include review-
ing your finances, determining how much you
can afford, reviewing your credit, shopping for
a home, obtaining a mortgage, preparing for
the closing, and more. Pre-registration is re-
quired, space is limited. Contact Margarette
Williams-Kelly with Housing Opportunities
Unlimited at 203-981-3734 to register for the
workshop and to learn the steps you can take
TODAY to become a homeowner!
NHA Seeks Maintenance Laborer On-site work includes cleaning common areas
& grounds. $21.51/hr. Some overtime re-
quired. Driver’s license, high school diploma
or equivalent. Send resume to Norwalk Hous-
ing Authority, 24 ½ Monroe Street, Norwalk,
CT 06856-0508 or fax to 203-838-6535 by Jan-
uary 15, 2016.
Are you between the ages of 16-24 and
want to make an impact in your
community?
Fairfield County’s Community Foundation’s Thrive by
25 Regional Summit is on Saturday, January 9th at Sa-
cred Heart University. There will be dynamic speakers,
delicious food, fun contests and giveaways and a
chance to meet and network with like-minded people
your age who want to be successful in school and
work. This event is FREE and transportation is availa-
ble. For more information or to sign up, please contact
Kim Hein at [email protected] or 203-838-8471
x190.
Washington Village Welcomes
Greg Riley
In November, Washington Village Learning Center
added a new addition to its family. Greg Riley was a
staff member at the Meadows Gardens Learning
Center and he has transferred to Washington Vil-
lage. Greg has been a great influence with the stu-
dents, especially the boys. Young males make up
about seventy five percent of the students who at-
tend on a regular basis. Greg enjoys teaching the
students how to play crazy 8’s and has even started a
tournament among them all. Can’t wait to see what
he has in store for the Washington Village future.
Again welcome to Washington Village Mr. Riley!
Literacy Corner!
Our Literacy Program has a WORD OF THE
MONTH for you. VOCABULARY.
All families want their kids to be good read-
ers. One way to help your children do better in
school is to BUILD, BUILD, BUILD their vo-
cabulary. The more words a child knows, the
more they will be able to understand what they
are listening to and reading, in and out of
school. Asking a child questions and having
conversations about interesting words is an
easy, comfortable way to integrate new and ex-
citing vocabulary into your child’s world!
When talking about a new word with the
child, be sure to keep the following hints in
mind:
Provide a kid-friendly, easy-to-understand
definition of the word. Ex: Scrumptious
means something that is really, really tasty.
Give the child a kid-friendly example of the
word in his/her everyday life. Ex: Remember
those scrumptious cookies that Grandma
made? They were so delicious.
Encourage the child to come up with an
example of his/her own. Ex: What can you
think of that is scrumptious? Did you eat any-
thing really good today? You are right. That
pizza was scrumptious! I can't wait to eat it
again!
Going forward, take advantage of any oppo-
tunities to use the new word in conversation to
keep introducing the child to the word’s uses.
Talk about things you see around town,
throughout the neighborhood, or that you see on
TV, books, texts, stories, etc. These real-life
examples will help build the child’s understand-
ing of the new word(s).
Use interesting new words with your child
that he or she may not have heard or read
before: “I know you’d love a snow day to-
morrow, but the probability is low. Maybe
next week!” or “Great job on that math
test! You are so diligent!"
Enjoy watching your child’s new vocabulary
grow and the pride he/she feels when using a
word in the right context! Winterfest
Norwalk Housing Authority col-
laborated with Norwalk Commu-
nity College on December 19,
2015 to host its first Winterfest
sponsored by students of Phi The-
ta Kappa Honor Society. Guests
were treated to an afternoon of
students playing the violin and singing Christmas carols.
Norwalk Housing Authority invited 64 families to partici-
pate in this event in which children from ages one to
twelve were selected to receive a Christmas gift. NCC
culinary students treated the guests to specialty sandwich-
es and decadent desserts.
Meadow Gardens Learning Center
Attends The Holiday Classic “The
Nutcracker”
Students from the Meadow Gardens Learning Center
celebrated the holiday season by attending The Nut-
cracker, which was performed by The New England
Dance Theater and New England Academy of Dance.
Students ventured through the story of Clara and how
she dreamed that her beautiful new Nutcracker turned
into a prince. This beautiful performance of the Nut-
cracker was a feast for the eyes and ears with colorful
and imaginative costumes. The students had a won-
derful time meeting the friendly cast, taking pictures
and enjoying the sweet treats. Tis the season to cele-
brate with learning center friends and family.
Pictured students: (Left to right) - Benita Moono,
Adrianna Richardson, Aniyia Prince, Mark
Moono, Dayana Gonzalez and Emily Sarmiento.
Do You Know Brittani McCrae?
Brittani is a junior at Norwalk High School
and she attends the center periodically be-
cause she strives to improve her grade in
U.S. History. Her willingness to seek assistance
from William Peter, NHA’s Bridge to College
facilitator, is admirable. We welcome all high
school students who aim for success but need
academic assistance along the way. 20 West
Learning Center hours of operation are 2:30
p.m. until 6:00 p.m. Monday through Friday.
Diageo Children’s Holiday Party Diageo hosted its ninth annual Diageo 100 Chil-
dren’s Holiday Party at the Stepping Stones Chil-
dren’s Museum in Norwalk. Each year the com-
pany hosts hundreds of children from different
community organizations. This year’s event ben-
efitted five local charities including the Norwalk
Housing Authority, the South Norwalk Commu-
nity Center, Family & Children’s Agency,
Achieve and After the Bell.
Back to front: Angel Navarro, Amine Zakaria,
Kyle Briceno and Bazan Devallon.
Mark Moono and Diageo Staff
In the picture left to right are Isaiah Jackson,
Ivy'anna Young, Patrick Priest, Alysandra
Figueroa, Heaven Nash, Janeia Dickens, Layla
Glover, Jangle Mccoy, Ziare Palmer, and
Nayloni Nash.