Meriden, CT

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2026

Project Category: Disaster Preparedness

Description: Disaster preparedness sessions will teach older adults how to plan for local emergencies. Participants will receive bilingual resources and basic emergency supplies.

New Haven, CT

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2025

Project Category: Reconnect Communities

Description: Decades after a highway cut through New Haven neighborhoods, residents still faced barriers created by the interstate, with older adults especially affected by unsafe crossings and limited access to public space and the river. The Arts Council of Greater New Haven led a community-driven effort to reimagine the space beneath the highway as a shared park that could reconnect divided areas. The project engaged hundreds of residents through pop-up sessions, focus groups and intergenerational design activities, translating their input into Phase I design renderings for an accessible, multi-use public space. The renderings reflect long-standing community priorities, including safer walking routes, access to nature and places to gather across generations. The work produced a clear, shared vision that now guides continued engagement and future planning, advancing a broader effort to repair the lasting impacts of past infrastructure decisions.

Project description was created using generative AI and then reviewed for accuracy.