Daniela Brighenti Photo
Murphy, middle.
“Say we have a veteran, who came back and developed post-traumatic stress disorder, got in trouble with the law, was incarcerated and now has just come out” of prison, asked Connecticut U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy. “How do you help him?”
Fresh off delivering a nationally televised speech at the Democratic National Convention, Murphy was back in Connecticut asking questions Thursday. Listening rather than doing the talking.
Murphy visited the recently-opened New Haven Opportunity Center on Dixwell Avenue, a “one-stop” resource center offering a variety of government services.
After taking a tour through the center’s minty-fresh walls and air-conditioned rooms, the senator sat for a roundtable discussion to hear more about the new initiative from administrators working at the center and its community partners.
But before diving into the discussion, Murphy had each person in the room — including the multiple reporters and the members of his own staff — introduce themselves and speak on their connection to the center.
The nearly 40 attendees varied from members of New Haven’s Board of Alders to representatives of Connecticut’s Department of Social Services to state veteran affairs Commissioner Sean Connolly.
Murphy suggested the idea of a one-stop support center could spread to other local cities. For that to happen, he said, it would be important for the New Haven center to track its progress, to make the case with data.
“I want to learn from this, because I think it could go to the federal level,” he said. “I know [the center] just started, but I want to learn. I think it can really help provide better services.”
In answer to his hypothetical question about a veteran who has just come out of prison, those in the crowd took turns speaking and saying how their particular service or group could help the man.
“We have a database tracking this person,” city Community Services Administrator Martha Okafor said. She added that there would be “co-planning” and coordination with the veteran and the center’s services to help him re-enter civilian society.
Murphy asked a final question: What were the biggest barriers to getting the center opened?
“No need to name names!” he specified jokingly.
Speaking for the crowd, Okafor noted that it had been important to make sure that they understood exactly what services were most needed by the community, which already existed and which were lacking.
She added that after speaking with community members, it was noticeable that a significant knowledge gap existed, with many residents not being aware of the services they had available to them.
Thus, giving people information and having the center at a strategic location was a priority when planning the center.
At the roundtable’s closing, Murphy promised to schedule another visit six months or a year from now to see how the center has progressed.