Money for Fairfield & Upcoming Forums

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December 15, 2021
As we near Winter Solstice, the days are dark and the night is long. Many of this month’s celebrations – Hannukkah, Christmas, solstice – are celebrations about light, hope, and miracles. It is my pleasure to share some good news today, to invite you to join Rep. Leeper and me tomorrow night for a conversation on criminal justice, and share a brief radio interview I did last week with WICC’s Melissa Sheketoff on the Surgeon General’s Youth Mental Health Advisory.

But first, allow me to remind you that getting vaccinated and boosted is your best protection against COVID as we see our positivity rates and hospitalizations hitting their highest number – 716 – since February 10th. Yikes!

The COVID-19 vaccine remains our greatest weapon against this deadly virus. As new variants continue to develop and spread, it is critical that everyone get vaccinated. I encourage all those who are eligible to receive a COVID-19 vaccine booster, click the button below to schedule an appointment. If you have not yet gotten vaccinated, you can also click the button below to schedule your initial vaccine appointment.

Please also find vaccine and booster eligibility below:

COVID Vaccines for Kids

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) authorized the use of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine for children aged 5 to 11.

Now that the vaccine is approved, where can my child get vaccinated?

Children and families have many options for where to receive a COVID-19 vaccine, including:

  • Pediatricians: Hundreds of pediatricians are administering COVID-19 vaccines across the State of Connecticut. However, not all pediatricians will have the COVID-19 vaccine, so if your child’s provider doesn’t offer the COVID-19 vaccine, please refer to one of the other options provided.  
  • Pharmacies: Hundreds of pharmacy locations are offering the COVID-19 vaccine to children, including many CVS, Walgreens, RiteAid, and other pharmacy chains across the state as well as independent pharmacies. Pharmacies provide a safe, convenient, and easy location to receive a COVID-19 vaccine. Pharmacies have rolled out specialized trainings for their pharmacist staff to provide vaccines for younger children.
  • Other locations: In addition to the above, several health systems and local health departments will be offering COVID-19 vaccines for children aged 5–11. 
Please utilize the button below to learn more about the COVID vaccine for children and to schedule an appointment.

FDA Booster Shot Guidelines

The FDA has amended the emergency use authorizations (EUA) for COVID-19 vaccines to allow for the use of a single booster dose as follows:

  • Pfizer - This booster may be administered at least 6 months after completion of the primary series to individuals 16 years of age and older.
  • Moderna - This booster may be administered at least 6 months after completion of the primary series to individuals 18 years of age and older.
  • Johnson & Johnson - This booster may be administered at least 2 months after completion of the single-dose primary regimen to individuals 18 years of age and older.
The FDA has also authorized the use of “Mix and Match” booster doses.

This means that a single booster dose of any of the available COVID-19 vaccines may be administered as a "mix and match" booster dose following completion of primary vaccination with a different available COVID-19 vaccine. Your eligibility for booster doses is based off your primary vaccine, which you can reference above for clarification.
COVID Vaccine Portal
Schedule Booster Shot

Pedestrian & Bike Safety Workshop Tonight

The Town of Fairfield is hosting its final public workshop for the Post Road Circle Study tonight at 6:30 pm. 

The purpose of the study is to identify safety improvements for drivers, bicyclists, and pedestrians in the vicinity of the Post Road/King’s Highway Circle. Currently, the Post Road Circle is extremely difficult for drivers to navigate. Limited crossings and sidewalks, minimum handicap accessibility, and inadequate transit amenities leave pedestrians underserved on a four-lane roadway with over 20,000 vehicles per day.

The workshop will include a brief summary of the project, community priorities and progress to date. Visualizations and simulations of the locally preferred concepts will be presented. The presentation will be followed by a discussion of the community’s thoughts on the concepts.

You can join the meeting via Microsoft Teams by clicking here. Or call in (audio only) to (860) 838-4504: Phone Conference ID: 706 845 000#

For more information about the workshop, click here.
Funds for Operation Hope

This week, the Governor announced that $1.5 million for Operation Hope’s capital needs has been placed on the Bond Meeting agenda for next Tuesday. If approved as expected, this investment will assist with the

 purchase and any necessary renovation of a property for Operation Hope to consolidate its programs into one facility. A new location will include its homeless resource center, community kitchen, food pantry, affordable housing, housing first, case management and counseling programs. This facility will provide a long-term solution to Operation Hope's needs, allowing them to continue serving over 2,000 individuals and families each year.

Operation Hope is a critical resource for community members in need of food, supportive housing and social work services. I am both happy and proud to support the state's investment in an organization that works alongside our community to empower those in need. I want to also offer a special thanks to both the Governor, and the entire Fairfield delegation for this bipartisan effort to secure funds on the bond commission's agenda.

Governor Ned Lamont said, "Operation Hope provides an invaluable service to those in need in Fairfield and throughout the region, and I am glad that we could partner with the organization on the release of this state funding and support its continued operations."

You can read more about this effort by clicking here.
Forum Tomorrow

Thursday, December 16th – yes, tomorrow- Rep. Leeper and myself will be joined by an experienced and knowledgeable panel for The State of CT’s Criminal Justice System & Where we Go from Here.

Fairfield’s own John Santa, acting chair of Connecticut’s Sentencing Commission and long time criminal justice reform advocate, will be joined by two of our own Fairfield Police Detectives as well as leaders from the CT Justice Alliance in neighboring Bridgeport. Two of the CT Justice Alliance representatives will be young people, who will share their perspective as Justice Advisors. And finally, we have two of the state’s leading experts, Mike Lawlor, Criminal Justice Professor and former OPM Undersecretary for Criminal Justice and Ken Barone of UCONN’s Institute for Municipal and Regional Policy who will provide background and data on past and current trends. We hope you will join us.

While the event will take place in person, it

 will also be streamed Live on CT-N and a recorded version will air on FairTV.
Protecting Youth Mental Health

Did you know that between 2009 and 2019 there was a 40% increase in the number of high schoolers expressing persistent sadness or hopelessness. And this was pre-pandemic.

As a Fairfield CARES leader, previously practicing child welfare social worker, and now State Rep., I have been concerned about the issue of children’s mental health since the start of my career when I served as a childcare worker in juvenile detention.

Last Friday, I joined WICC’s Melissa Sheketoff for a conversation about the Surgeon General’s advisory, Protecting Youth Mental Health. The Surgeon General is encouraging us to “Build a culture that normalizes and promotes mental healthcare.” The advisory describes individual, family, community prevention and policy steps that can be taken. The whole of society effort he is encouraging would:
  • Include mental health as part of physical health – reducing stigma
  • Empower youth and families to recognize, manage, and learn from difficult emotions
  • Ensure access to mental healthcare, including early intervention
  • Support mental health needs in the community, educational settings, and early childcare
  • Increase data collection

He outlines ideas for young people themselves, families, schools, health care providers, media, social media/tech companies, funders, employers, and governments. I hope you’ll take a few minutes to listen to our conversation and to take a look at the report. More importantly, I hope you can put some of these steps into action in your own life. Follow The Hub CT and Fairfield CARES for information and resources.