Newhallville Neighborhood Heroes Honored

Ann Swain wiped tears from her eyes as Newhallville Community Management Team Chair Kim Harris listed all of the little reasons that make her a neighborhood hero — from returning trash cans to neighbors’ homes after the garbage truck comes to going door-to-door to making sure every kid on the street gets treats from block parties they couldn’t attend.

The crowd cheered and called out in agreement, shouting out more reasons why they’re grateful for Swain’s Newhallville neighborly kindness.

With a shaky voice, Swain accepted a framed award from Harris and shared the wisdom her mother imparted that is behind her generosity and compassion: ​“When you make room for somebody else, God makes room for you.”

Swain was the first to be recognized among six Neighborhood Heroes on Sunday at the Newhallville Community Management Team’s 10th annual holiday celebration.

The festivities began at around 2:45pm at the Science Park-based job training center, Connecticut Center for Arts and Technology (ConnCAT). As partygoers arrived, they could enter into raffles to win gift cards and sign up to receive a free meal from Orchid Café during the party hours. 

Harris said she was proud of the work that the team had done to put this year’s event together to celebrate outstanding individuals.

“Our biggest goal is to make sure that Newhallville is filled with enrichment experiences that will enhance literacy and math. We can do more on the Community Management Team than just report on statistics and crime. There’s so much good here to be celebrated and seen,” Harris said.

Upstairs, Harris and Tucker School teachers ran several activities for children. At one table, kids could get their photo taken on a Polaroid camera and then adhere and decorate a foam frame to create a holiday ornament. At another, they strung together friendship bracelets with multicolored beads.

Harris and Tucker School toddler teacher Adrienne Sheats, in her third year of helping out at the annual Newhallville management team party, helped facilitate an ornament painting station at one end of the room. 

She was joined by her daughter and granddaughter, Laurynn and Simone, and was delighted to see that some of her students at the school were in attendance as well.

One particularly creative artist, Rickelle Byes, painted a Christmas tree ornament to look like an emoji, which wowed the other children at the table. Byes said she loves art and often draws her own anime characters. 

Her mother, Nadine Crimley, said she was grateful to have something to do with her daughter and niece before the holidays. She was even spreading the word to other parents at the grocery store before the event.

James HarrioTT of Neckbone Photography was on site to take photo-booth style pictures for guests, like for Board of Education member Darnell Goldson, a former longtime Newhallville resident who came by to say hello to his old neighbors.

Representatives and nurses from the Cornell Scott-Hill Health Center were on site as well, offering health information and flu and Covid vaccinations to attendees in need.

The award ceremony kicked off at around 3:30 p.m., with remarks from elected officials such as State Rep. Robyn Porter, Newhallville Alder Devin Avshalom-Smith, ex-Newhallville/Prospect Hill Alder and current city climate czar Steve Winter, Newhallville Democratic Ward Committee Co-Chair Barbara Vereen, and more. Sentiments focused on the importance of civic engagement, and tools to learn more about government services.

Then, leaders of the Newhallville community went up one-by-one to announce their selections for neighborhood heroes and allowed each recipient to speak for a moment about their honor. 

Throughout the award ceremony, Harris brought up people from the audience to pull raffle tickets to award gift cards to children and adults in attendance.

After Swain accepted her award and was escorted back to her seat, Shirley Lawrence announced James Scott as the next honoree. Lawrence shared that Scott, who has lived in Newhallville for over 50 years, has been volunteering to take care of the Watson and Bassett Street park since 1995.

“It’s because of you, when people walk by that park they say it’s ​‘Mr. Scott’s park.’ So we wanted to honor you today. We appreciate you, and even though you don’t see us, we see you,” Lawrence said.

Another honoree was Jeanette Sykes, who was recognized among other accomplishments for her youth leadership program called The Perfect Blend, her work creating the Newhallville holiday lights contest, and efforts with the Stop the APT Foundation initiative to prevent a methadone clinic from moving to a former school on Dixwell Avenue.

After presenting the award to Sykes, Fawcett received a recognition of her own, for serving on the Community Management team for seven years and managing the Shepard and Huntington green space for 9 years, among other acts of community service. Fawcett said that none of the work she has accomplished is ever done alone, and thanked the entire Community Management Team for working together on these projects.

Sean Reeves was the next to be recognized as an ​“agent of change” in the neighborhood, for his tireless efforts to reduce gun violence in the neighborhood. Reeves, whose son was shot and killed in 2011, said that he needs things to change for ​“every child that’s sitting here, every mother that’s sitting here, every grandparent.” 

“We can’t sit on our butts and just allow things to happen here anymore. We have to galvanize, we have to organize, we have to stay organized and become a community with a purpose,” Reeves said.

The final honoree of the night was Jahmal Henderson, whom Sykes called an ​“energizer bunny” because he never runs out of energy in his efforts to serve the community, from canvassing for rent assistance to serving as a union steward and organizing with New Haven Rising to working in the Peace Commission. 

Henderson used his opportunity to thank the senior leaders in the community for inspiring him and others to get involved with bettering the community.

Following the ceremony, attendees could help themselves to a sheet cake that read ​“Merry Christmas Newhallville,” while children posed with Santa. Santa and two helper elves handed out gifts to the children, like toy cars, legos, and dolls.