Impact Stories

David “Once I got my place, I took off my shoes finally.” After spending 8 months living outside during the dead of winter and having caught frostbite, 21-year-old David Wilson couldn’t wait for a place to call home. And thanks to United Way donors, David now has somewhere to lay his head, kick off…

Paula & Alicia Sisters Alicia Lakomski and Paula Maher wanted to honor the memory of their late mother, Kathleen, who was a faithful volunteer in the community. As employees of Yale University, Alicia and Paula heard about United Way’s summer Neighborhood Pantry and wanted to get involved. Not…

Zelema, a single working mother of three, was sleeping in her car while her children stayed at their grandmother’s house. Zelema is a college-educated accountant holding down a job, but she lives paycheck-to-paycheck. “I’m an adult—it’s different. I can deal with me, but they still need to grow,”…

Jermaine Everyone makes mistakes – what matters is learning from them. This truth, as simple as it may seem, has been revolutionary in the life of Jermaine Talton. If you were to meet this 45 year old New Haven native with a stable job and three thriving young children, it would be hard to believe…

During Week of Action, be part of the Live United movement by working with our partners across the region to host a community dinner, expand access to community garden resources, collect healthy multicultural snacks and more! Sign up to help us promote a more sustainable and equitable food system…

Ivanna & Carmello “For all of us sometimes it feels like the hardships will never end, but remind yourself how far you’ve come and that you were able to bounce back from something that not just anyone can. You are so strong!” The hand-written message from a United Way supporter brought Carmello…

Sierra “The reason why I was able to make it to where I am is because I had support. So I need to pass down the knowledge to others. I don’t think I’ve said this to anyone, but if I could not find childcare for Zoe, I was not going back to Southern. That would have been it for me.” Zoe’s mother…