Social Justice
UUSE is committed to social justice in all its forms.
UUSE fully supports GHIAA is all its endeavors. To find out more check the GHIAA website
Social Justice News for November
GHIAA Power Summit
Thursday, Nov. 21, 2024
6:30-8:30 pm
Weaver High School
415 Granby Street Hartford, CT 06112
Doors open at 6 pm
We are aiming to bring 75 people to this event. You can support this important coalition working for justice by attending. Sign up after the 9 and 11 am Sunday services. There will be carpooling for those interested. Questions? Contact: uuseoffice@uuse.org.
GHIAA 2024-2025 Issues:
GHIAA is intentional to ensure our issue campaigns are in alignment with our core values. We demonstrate our ongoing commitment to embodying these values in every facet of our work through these guiding principles:
- Accountability
- Center BIPOC & Under Represented Voices
- Balance Power Dynamics
- GHIAA Leader Led Campaigns
- Partnership
- Racial & Economic Justice
- Strategic Analysis
GHIAA Research Teams have diligently broadened their understanding of the issues to ensure that our next action campaigns reflect our guiding principles. We maintain our commitment to only move forward with action campaigns that are in alignment with our organizational values.
Housing Affordability
Municipal Action Teams: There is a need for thousands of units of affordable housing in CT. Currently, most affordable housing exists in urban areas, with many suburban towns employing any number of tactics to prevent the inclusion of affordable housing in their communities. GHIAA intends to organize leaders in our member congregations to build power in their local towns to overcome these barriers and become part of an organized movement to increase affordable housing across our state.
Eviction Protection: Most tenants in CT can be evicted for no reason at all. These “no-fault evictions” occur two to three times more often against tenants of color, and have been on a steady increase, leading to homelessness and precarious housing situations for many low-income renters. With our allies, GHIAA supports legislation to expand eviction protections so that no one can be evicted without cause.
Fiscal Policy Reform
CT is a wealthy state. Recent budgets have run billion-dollar surpluses. The Rainy Day Fund is projected to reach $4.7 Billion or $21.1% of the net General Fund in 2024. Yet, when it comes to vital social services such as special education, mental health, elder care, child care, and support for people with disabilities, we continue to be told that there is “not enough money.” The state continues to outsource these services to nonprofits and then underfund those same organizations.
State leaders often refer to our budget policies as “fiscal guardrails.” But guardrails are supposed to keep us safe. Instead, we are stuck with Fiscal Roadblocks that are preventing the resources we have from reaching the communities and individuals who need them. While fiscal responsibility is important, we cannot afford to starve current and future generations in order to pay excessive fees and penalties for the mistakes of the past. It’s time to change these outdated policies and create a budget that meets human needs while also maintaining our state’s fiscal health.
Combating Racial & Religious Hate
In response to stories shared by GHIAA members, we have established a working group to address the harm caused by antisemitism, anti-Muslim bigotry, and racism as they show up in our local communities. We are developing opportunities for learning, leadership development, and relationship building, so that we can continue to deepen our shared understanding and strengthen the connections we share in the work of justice. Opportunities will begin in the new year.
MIRA Polluted Land Remediation
The plans for remediation of the land surrounding the former incinerator plant in the South End of Hartford are moving forward. However, our work is not done. During a recent planning meeting, the MIRA Dissolution Authority (MDA) reproposed using the property for an updated trash processing plant. Despite previous guarantees that MIRA land would not be used for trash processing, they have included this possibility in order to “keep their options open.”
Hartford residents have borne the negative health impacts of this site, and of the region’s garbage, for generations. Residents in the surrounding neighborhoods have some of the highest asthma rates in the state. It is time to hold decision-makers accountable and stop this environmentally racist practice.
#NovemberNewsletter