Mona Mahadevan photos
The Easter bunny and Sofia ...
... at Friday's Project Longevity Easter Egg Hunt.
Parents and volunteers gathered in the morning sunshine at Lenzi Park Friday and watched one of over 100 kids at the Project Longevity Easter Egg Hunt crack open an elusive golden egg.
That golden-hued plastic container was scattered alongside pastel, candy-filled eggs across the park. The girl who found it carefully extracted a wadded up five-dollar bill from inside the egg — and looked up at the crowd with a triumphant grin.
Friday marked the first ever Easter egg hunt hosted by the New Haven chapter of Project Longevity, a nonprofit devoted to reducing gun violence through deterrence, targeted enforcement, care coordination, and community outreach for returning offenders, victims, and their families.
Project Longevity Social Network Family Case Manager Nancy Jordan put together the event with the support of her colleagues. Her goal was to give families an opportunity to spend time together.
Over the course of the morning, parents and kids worked side-by-side to fill their bags with plastic eggs.
Hanief and mom Gaynell Hayes had never attended a Project Longevity event, but they loved the experience, especially, according to Hanief, “the bag [full of snacks], the candy, and the new friends.”
Tori Geter and Emani Johnson shared Hanief’s excitement over the goodie bags, painstakingly put together by Jordan overnight. Tori’s mom, Nakia Black-Geter, appreciated how the event “[brought] out the children and [gave] them something to do…[something with] good energy,” especially given the trauma of this week’s shooting death of 15-year-old New Havener Aaron Robinson in the Hill.
Black-Geter was touched that prominent community leaders, including Assistant Police Chiefs Bertram Ettienne and Manmeet Bhagtana and Capt. Brendan Borer attended the event.
Ettienne said he sees “space between the police and adults and kids and Project Longevity,” and he and his colleagues take part in community-sponsored events to “show kids that [police officers] are people, just like them.”
Mia Launor’s favorite part of the day was getting a new pair of purple sunglasses, one of the many gifts given to the Easter Egg Hunt participants. Her mom, Karen Robison, learned about the event from Tracey Harris, a retired probation officer in Connecticut. Both Harris and Robinson are lifelong New Haven residents, and they spoke of the value that Project Longevity adds to their community. For Harris, “the more, the better” when it comes to giving back.
Christina Forgione, Marissa Doherty, and Kate Gunning were all juvenile probation officers in Connecticut, and after retiring, they joined Project Longevity to continue working with families. Forgione believes in giving people returning from prison a “second chance” by helping them find employment, vocational training, housing, and “whatever else they might need.”
Nancy Jordan, a former city police officer of over 20 years, spoke of how she is committed to showing the New Haven community that she is “here for [them] and [their] kids.” She said she believes deeply in treating people with the respect and kindness that she wanted when she was a child living in high-rise projects in New Haven.
Alongside four of Project Longevity’s clients and with support from the New Haven Parks Department, her team cleaned up Lenzi Park in just 38 minutes, providing the neighboring residents with a safe, sunny green space.
Ettienne stated, with conviction, “Nancy is fabulous, passionate, and a true asset to the New Haven youth and community.”
The New Haven Project Longevity chapter will host a Read Aloud on May 6 and May 7 and a school supply giveaway at the end of the summer.
Hanief Haynes, showing off a goodie bag almost as big as her.
The Project Longevity Team celebrating a successful egg hunt.
Kyrie and Nova Ocasio collecting their goodie bags.
The sun is out in Lenzi Park.