Our Legacy is distributed every month so that you can learn about the Village and the work we do in the community. As we begin 2010, we are renewing our 200 year-old commitment to ensure positive outcomes for all children. One way we achieve this is by providing the tools families need so they can maximize their ability to become self-sufficient.  We help these families manage the effects of a recession and become financially stable by providing financial education and coaching in order to reduce child poverty and create stable families. Especially when people find themselves in a situation where they must visit our Food Pantry, we open the door for them into our Family Financial Literacy program.

    “Income helps you get by: Assets move you ahead.”

Making ends meet can be a struggle for some families regardless of the state of the general economy. To make matters more complicated, the recent economic recession has hit Connecticut families hard and the percentage of people in poverty in Connecticut has increased by the largest margin of any state in the country. Now, more of Hartford’s children live below the poverty line than ever before.

Here at the Village, we have been working to minimize the impact of poverty on children and families in Greater Hartford. In particular, our Financial Literacy Coach has been working toward creating a behavioral change in our clients by helping them understand financial facts, principles, and using the right tools to make good financial decisions.

The Village established Our Legacy to help you learn a little more about the work and issues that we must grapple with every day. We also want everyone to know why it is important to become a Champion for children.

The month of November has always been particularly important because of it being recognized as National Adoption Month. The Village has worked tirelessly for 200 years to place children into homes with caring foster and adoptive parents. We also want you to learn more about our HOME FOR GOOD initiative, which is a priority in our three year Champions for Children Bicentennial Campaign.

We must look forward to a day when every child will have a warm and loving home.

30 Years of Placing Children into Loving Homes

Starting out as a Village social worker in adoption, RunaWassermann has been a consistent advocate for children for nearly 30 years. Since the merger of adoption and therapeutic foster care 5 years ago, she has been a program director in Permanency Services which focuses on placement of children. With so much experience and wisdom, Legacy E-news asked Runa some basic questions about adoption and how the Village for Families & Children prepares and supports adoptive families.