January 9, 2025 – by Marti LoMonaco - All In for Milford welcomed the New Year with one of its largest Community Gatherings to date - Housing for All: What We Can Do Now! Over eighty people, from Milford, Orange, Woodbridge, and towns up and down Route 8, gathered at 6:00 PM in the Fellowship Hall at First United Church of Christ where a delicious spread from Pop’s Restaurant provided a hearty dinner.
Jamie Mullen Rude, “the hostess with the mostest,” welcomed everyone on behalf of First Church at 6:30 PM with Rachel Merva giving an overview of the evening’s focus on “Housing for All” with emphasis on the potential of expanding Connecticut’s Just Cause Eviction Protections.
The evening kicked off with a fun and informative guerilla “pop-up” performance by All In’s resident theatre company, “Acting Out with All In” featuring Sarah Bromley, Jamie Rude, Sara Locke, and Jacqui Bayas.
There was no stage; the actors just got up and started performing in and amongst the crowd (many of whom were still eating), spreading awareness of food insecurity and what we can do to address it (hence “guerilla” theatre).
Although they had scripts-in-hand, they frequently went off-book to chat with the audience about their favorite foods and what they would miss if they weren’t able to afford them. This was Act One of their new play-in-development, which will address other key issues in subsequent acts.
Facilitators at each table led a post-show discussion of what resonated from the performance and why folks had decided to come to the gathering. This proved a terrific way for everyone to get to know each other better and to hear personal stories and concerns that, we quickly discovered, overlapped with desires, passions, and enthusiasms of others.
Flyers on each table detailing Milford’s Fair Rent Commission and info on the proposed Connecticut Just Cause Eviction Law helped propel attendees into the main event, spearheaded by Alex Kolokotronis, Director of the Naugatuck Valley Project, who shared his moving story of being unjustly evicted from his apartment house in New Haven.
Alex, who is a seasoned community organizer, knew all the right things to do and invited members of various city agencies to assess damages and make recommendations to him and fellow displaced tenants, some of whom were with us at the gathering.
After Alex finished, table discussions reconvened to consider all we had just heard. Designated reporters shared people’s outrage and Rachel filled a flip chart with their responses: So Unfair, System Broken, Happening in Lots of Places, People Being Left in the Dust, Ripple Effects of Stress and Disrupted Lives.
Attendees also offered solutions, with education and enforcement of standing laws at the forefront: Educate Community on Their Rights, Educate Landlords on their Rights and offer classes in Best Practices, Reach Out to Others, Form Tenant Unions, Talk to Elected Representatives, Tell Stories, Get Young People Involved.
The gathering program concluded at 8:00 PM but a large group stayed on to plan next steps related to Just Cause for the All In Alliances.
All In for Milford
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All In for Milford is an alliance of community leaders and neighborhood organizations that strive to make Milford a city where everyone has a place to live, everyone's voice is heard, and we all can thrive.
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All In for Milford