Opinion: Norwalk ACTS director’s weekly shout outs

Anthony Allison is the executive director of Norwalk ACTS.

Shout Out to Norwalk ACTS member Fairfield County’s Community Foundation, for providing a $20,000 grant to Person-to-Person (P2P), in support of programs that provide a safety net to low-income and food-insecure residents of Fairfield County in the form of financial assistance, food, clothing, casework counseling and access to a variety of interconnected services. Last year, P2P provided food, clothing and financial assistance to more than 23,000 men, women and children – from $481,585 in financial assistance for 1,172 families to 748,944 meals from groceries for 10,044 people, many of which reside in Norwalk.

Shout Out to United Way of Coastal Fairfield County for updating the 2-1-1 website designed to improve the lives of Connecticut families by connecting them with human services and resources in their area. The searchable site, https://www.211ct.org includes a comprehensive database of 4,100 agencies providing over 40,000 programs and services such as utility assistance, food, housing, child care, after school programs, elder care, crisis intervention and more. There is also a confidential, free, 24-hour a day infoline 2-1-1 where a specialist will assess the caller’s needs and provide referrals.