Greater Hartford progressive religious coalition calls for rent control, insurance coverage for undocumented immigrants

Declaring that it takes communitywide action to foster social justice, a coalition of nearly 50 churches, synagogues and mosques in Greater Hartford called for rent control, Husky insurance coverage for young undocumented immigrants and $275 million to better fund Connecticut’s urban schools.

The Greater Hartford Interfaith Action Alliance listed several other goals in a two-hour presentation Wednesday night at Hartford’s Weaver High School, where eight progressive-friendly state lawmakers pledged their support.

The coalition’s “Power Summit” drew more than 700 people to Weaver’s auditorium, mostly as a show of early support for initiatives that will likely hit opposition when the General Assembly convenes after New Year’s.

Among the coalition’s newest goals are a 3 percent cap on annual rent increases, $20 million of state funding for violence prevention campaigns in Connecticut cities, and contributions from suburbs and rural towns toward the cost of homeless shelters in Hartford and Manchester.

The rally was made up chiefly of Christians, Jews, Muslims and Quakers who worship in Hartford, West Hartford, East Hartford, Wethersfield, Manchester, Newington, Bloomfield, Simsbury, Glastonbury and Berlin. In addition to the crowd at Weaver, organizers said another 300 took part remotely.

“We come together as GHIAA because we recognize the social issues facing us and our communities are too big to tackle alone. No single individual, no single congregation, no single religion can solve these things alone,” said Ilene Frank of Bloomfield, a member of Congregation Beth Israel and co-chair of the gathering.

Eight Democratic legislators listened on Weaver’s stage as the coalition made its case for various social justice initiatives, and then were asked to publicly go on record supporting them. Each legislator agreed.

The group included Rep. Maryam Khan of Hartford, Rep. Jason Doucette of Manchester, Sen. John Fonfara of Wethersfield, Sen. Doug McCrory of Hartford, Rep. Joshua Hall of Hartford, Sen Derek Slap of West Hartford, and Rep. Tammy Exum of West Hartford.

The coalition said another goal is 2023 is to press the Materials Innovation and Recycling Authority to put up money for remediating environmental damage from the decades-old trash incinerator near the Connecticut River in Hartford

Rep. Jordan Rebholz of Asylum Hill Congregational Church in Hartford told lawmakers that the crisis of mental health in the state is “overwhelming.” The coalition’s goal is to get more aid to the poor — particularly young undocumented immigrants.

And it’s also campaigning for a community-based, voluntary short-term overnight program to help people through psychological crises.

“Care is too expensive, and people who are uninsured or underinsured simply can’t afford it. You can go to the emergency room and wait there hours, days or even weeks to be helped. If you’re lucky and a bed opens up, you are in a locked psych unit, often involuntarily,” she said. “If things escalate in a certain way, you could find yourself incarcerated.

“Of you can be given a phone number for an outpatient clinician who may not have an opening for months. People of color, immigrants, LGBTQ folks and other marginalized communities often cannot find care that honors the fullness of their human experience,” Rebholz said. “People in crisis have far too few options.”

Several municipal leaders also attended the session, including Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin. He praised the coalition for its success in previous legislative campaigns including ending welfare liens and passing Clean Slate legislation to erase the records of thousands of residents convicted of marijuana possession.

“You got most of it done,” Bronin said. “On behalf of the city, thank you for choosing the issues you’ve chosen tonight to focus on.”

He said the city is proud to host 90 percent of the homeless shelter beds in the region, and is proud to have teams working on emergency mental health interventions and opioid abuse reduction because those factors are often connected with homelessness.

“But we would be even more proud if we were the capital city of a state that recognizes that we all have a stake in doing what’s right,” he said.