Collaborating to Support Our Community
In October 2023, Mayor Caroline Simmons hosted a community nonprofit breakfast with nonprofit leaders to share her vision for our City of Stamford and gather insights on how the office could better serve this vital sector. Through these conversations, one key recommendation emerged: the need for a localized resource to support individuals and families seeking assistance from community organizations. Recognizing the barriers people face when looking for help, the Vita partners collaborated to develop, StamfordConnect, a comprehensive digital guide designed to reduce frustration and improve access to critical services.
StamfordConnect, which is accessible using the Ferguson Library website, serves as an essential tool for residents, businesses, and nonprofit organizations alike. The guide showcases Stamford’s vibrant nonprofit sector and offers a user-friendly platform where individuals can easily find support in areas such as children and families, education, employment, housing, and healthcare just to name a few. Over 40 human service providers are included, each providing valuable services to the community, which lets individuals know who you are, the services your organization provides and how to contact you.
StamfordConnect is a collective response to provide residents with the opportunity to thrive!
In late 2021, as the mental health crisis among children and adolescents intensified, the City of Stamford, Department of Health & Human Services, Stamford Public Schools, and a multitude of clinical and community service providers turned to the Vita Health and Wellness Partnership to help address it through a unique, collaborative approach, the Stamford Youth Mental Health Alliance (Stamford YMHA).
The Stamford YMHA addresses the challenges facing our youth, promoting mental wellness through a community-based strategy of awareness and response. YMHA members, representing many Vita partner organizations, focus on early intervention, prevention, and improving access to care. Our goal is to engage families, youth, and civic organizations in a comprehensive effort to reduce risk factors and increase protection factors. We invite you to visit the Stamford YMHA website, which presents a variety of resources, connections, and calendar of local events.
About Vita
Committed to the Health of Stamford’s Most Vulnerable Members
Vita, pronounced vee-da, is Latin for “life.” The Vita Health and Wellness Partnership aligns multiple community service organizations to support the health and wellness of vulnerable Stamford residents.
Vita’s mission is to harness the power of collective action to propel Stamford’s commitment to healthful living by addressing the social determinants of health (termed SDOH). Stamford’s lower income and at-risk populations exhibit a disproportionate share of chronic disease and poor health status relative to the greater community. These disparities partially reflect their limited access to various forms of health care, largely related to specific social, environmental and economic conditions.
Just a few years ago, Stamford’s West Side neighborhood, called the Vita Health & Wellness District, was dispirited and home to some of our city’s least healthy residents. Vita’s vision of a vibrant residential and commercial district has now been realized at the doorstep of the new Stamford Hospital, with beautiful mixed-income housing communities, healthcare, thriving businesses and a communal urban farm. Cross-sector partnerships propel supportive services and programs to help individuals, families and small businesses reach their fullest potential.
Recently, the Vita Partnership has expanded its footprint beyond the West Side to encompass the entire city of Stamford. By working closely with the city’s public safety and health departments, Stamford Health, and other health and social service providers, Vita has emerged as a vital source of support for the entire community, creating the Vita Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) initiative and maximizing the impact of partners’ collective efforts on behalf of the most vulnerable members of our community.
Programs
Fairgate Farm
The heart of our community, the organic, volunteer-powered Fairgate Farm plants, cultivates, harvests and shares more than 7,500 pounds of fresh fruit and vegetables each year. Fairgate Farm also sponsors tours, learning labs, family workshops, cooking demonstration and special events.
Community Collaborative
The Stamford Community Collaborative, a partnership of community organizations, is focused on helping the Stamford community, including the people who live and work in Stamford’s West Side, to be as healthy as possible.
Many factors shape health.
Cross-sector partnerships, a volunteer-powered urban farm and green, mixed-income housing are just some of the innovative “interventions” bringing new health and vitality to Stamford’s West Side neighborhood. Learn who we are, what we are doing and why:
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Vita Health & Wellness District
40 Clinton Avenue, Stamford, CT 06901
40 Clinton Avenue, Stamford, CT 06901
203.391.7681