NEXT WEEK: Courtney Hosts HHS Secretary for Visit to Community Health Center in Norwich, Followed by USDA Undersecretary for Tour of Eastern CT Agriculture and Rural Development Projects and Priorities
Cassidy, Patrick
FOR PLANNING PURPOSES
July 1, 2022
CONTACT
Patrick Cassidy
Communications Director
NEXT WEEK: Courtney Hosts HHS Secretary for Visit to Community Health Center in Norwich, Followed by USDA Undersecretary for Tour of Eastern CT Agriculture and Rural Development Projects and Priorities
NORWICH, CT — On Tuesday, July 5th, Rep. Joe Courtney (CT-02) will host U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra in Norwich for a visit to United Community and Family Services (UCFS), a non-profit Community Health Center serving families throughout southeastern Connecticut. Courtney and Secretary Becerra will take part in a roundtable discussion with UCFS leadership and staff, focused on investments made through the American Rescue Plan to support Community Health Centers, and the importance of strengthening the mental health system through behavioral health integration and telehealth.
Just last week, Rep. Courtney announced that HHS awarded a federal grant totaling $400,000 to UCFS through the office of Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). The funding will be used to expand child traumatic stress screening and treatment services in southeast Connecticut.
Tuesday’s roundtable discussion will be open to the press, and will be followed by a Q&A with Courtney and Secretary Becerra.
WHAT: Visit to UCFS and Roundtable Discussion with HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra
WHO: Rep. Joe Courtney (CT-02)
HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra
Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT)
Jennifer Granger (President & CEO, UCFS)
WHEN: Tuesday, July 5, 9:45am ET
WHERE: UCFS Norwich | 47 Town Street, Norwich, CT 06360
RSVP: Click here
Hosting USDA Undersecretary Torres Small
On Wednesday, July 6th, Rep. Courtney will host U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Undersecretary for Rural Development Xochitl Torres Small for a tour of eastern Connecticut’s rural development priorities and projects. Press are invited to join Courtney and Undersecretary Torres Small on Wednesday afternoon as they meet with farmers and USDA Rural Development stakeholders throughout the district.
At 10:00am, Courtney and Undersecretary Torres Small will visit Day Kimball Hospital in Putnam to discuss the USDA’s work to support rural health care providers. While at Day Kimball, Undersecretary Torres Small is expected to announce new federal funding awards for America’s rural health care centers—an important potential opportunity for rural health care in eastern Connecticut.
At 12:00pm, the pair will visit the Griswold Senior Center in Jewett City. The Griswold Senior Center was recently awarded a federal grant of $411,800 from the USDA Office of Rural Development’s Community Facility Disaster Grants program, an investment that will be used to help the Town of Griswold purchase fixtures, equipment, and supplies to outfit a commercial kitchen in the town’s Senior Community Wellness Center. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, the Griswold Senior Center served 4,000 meals annually through the Meals on Wheels program between home delivery and the in-house café.
At 1:00pm, Courtney and Torres Small will visit Prides Corner Farms in Lebanon for a roundtable discussion with local farmers and agriculture stakeholders. They will be joined by CT Agriculture Commissioner Bryan Hurlburt, Susan Mitchell (Cloverleigh Farm), Joan Nichols (Executive Director, CT Farm Bureau), Bonnie Burr (Assistant Director and Department Head, UCONN Agriculture Extension), and others. Lunch will be incorporated, and press are welcomed to join.
At 1:45pm, Courtney and Torres Small will remain at Prides Corner Farm in Lebanon for an agriculture-focused discussion forum with members of the eastern Connecticut agriculture community. Attendees include representatives from local farms like Broad Brook Acres, Cloverleigh Farms, Cushman Farms, Holmberg Orchards, Cop Island Shellfish, the Noank Aquaculture Co-op, and more. Press are invited to listen-in on the discussion.
At 3:00pm, the pair will travel to Windham to participate in the official ribbon-cutting of the Connecticut Resource Conservation and Development’s (CT RC&D) Access to Agriculture Pilot Program. CT RC&D received a $53,000 USDA Rural Business Development Grant in 2019 to raise awareness about food deserts in rural Connecticut, and to improve access to locally grown food for people living in rural communities. The new project aims to connect rural transit-dependent residents to local farmers through direct-to-consumer sales: pick-your-own farms, farmstands, farmers markets, food pantries, placing locally grown produce in major grocery stores, and more.
Finally, at 3:55pm, Courtney and Torres Small will visit Click, Inc. in Windham. In 2019, Click received $40,000 in USDA funding to expand their commercial kitchen through culinary and business management classes that are provided to small business kitchen users.
WHAT: Tour of Eastern CT Agriculture and Rural Development Priorities with USDA Undersecretary Torres Small
WHO: Rep. Joe Courtney (CT-02)
USDA Undersecretary for Rural Development, Xochitl Torres Small
Agriculture and Rural Development Stakeholders
WHEN: Wednesday, July 6, Tour Starts at 10:00am ET
WHERE: Day Kimball Hospital (10:00am) | 320 Pomfret Street, Putnam, CT
Griswold Senior Center (12:00pm) | 22 Soule Street, Jewett City, CT
Prides Corner Farm (1:00pm/1:45pm) | 122 Waterman Road, Lebanon, CT
CT RC&D Area, Inc. (3:00pm) | 28 S. Frontage Road, Mansfield Center, CT
Click, Inc. (3:55pm) | 41 Club Road, Windham, CT
RSVP: Click here
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