News

Connecticut faces a crisis in children’s mental health that only seems to be getting worse here and across the country.

Just in the nick of time, donors contributed new backpacks and school supplies for more than 1,000 students in Hartford and surrounding communities through a back-to-school drive hosted by The Village for Families & Children.

Citing inflation and the rising cost of school supplies, The Village kicked off a back-to-school drive in partnership with Staples on Monday. The Hartford-based nonprofit is hoping to collect 1,000 backpacks this week — along with other school supplies — just in time for the start of school in Hartford.

Thanks to the patronage of shoppers across Greater Hartford and the dedication of volunteers, The Village for Families & Children’s four Second Chance Shops—in West Hartford, Glastonbury, Simsbury and Suffield—have raised a combined $440,300 this year to support The Village’s services at that help families in need face and overcome challenges in order to heal and thrive.

The Village launched a Back-to-School Drive today in partnership with Staples to help local families who are struggling to provide their children with the basic supplies—such as backpacks, pencils and uniforms—needed to start the school year.

The Village and Genoa Healthcare celebrated the grand opening of a new full-service, on-site pharmacy within The Village’s Wethersfield Ave campus, Village South, that will increase help for people facing challenges with mental health, substance use disorder and other chronic conditions.

Nearly 350,000 households in Connecticut are eligible for the 2022 Connecticut Child Tax Rebate, though only about 150,000 have applied as of July 15 according to the Connecticut Department of Revenue Services.

A local middle school student is celebrating his bar mitzvah with a special project to provide toys and games for children who are living at The Village and receiving mental health support after facing significant challenges.

The Village has named Speaker of the Connecticut House of Representatives Matt Ritter and Deputy Majority Leader and State Representative Tammy Exum as The Village’s 2022 Champions for Children, recognizing them for leading passage of landmark bipartisan legislation addressing Connecticut’s mental health crisis in the 2022 legislative session.