Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Blue Hills Civic Association topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Former Blue Hills Civic Association staff, neighbors demand transparency after abrupt layoffs
Summary
About 30 staff at the Blue Hills Civic Association were terminated without notice, speakers told the Hartford City Council during public comment, prompting calls for an independent audit, mediation, and a city role in ensuring summer programs and youth services continue.
Dozens of former employees, neighborhood leaders and parents told the Hartford City Council that the abrupt termination of roughly 30 Blue Hills Civic Association staff has left youth programs and summer services in jeopardy.
Alyssa Peterson, a homeowner in Grandview Terrace and representative of the Parent Power Group, said the layoffs were sudden and widespread. "Recently approximately 30 employees from Blue Hills Civic Association were abruptly terminated. No warning, no transition plan, no opportunity to prepare, just a notice of, effective immediately," Peterson said during public comment. She asked the council to push for mediation and for an interim board to restore services.
The terminations drew similar concerns from Carrie K. Allen, who said she represents parents connected to Blue Hills programs. "These were mentors, program coordinators, youth advocates, people who were deeply embedded in the lives of our children in Hartford," Allen said. She urged the council to hold a public hearing or review to determine why the layoffs happened and whether the city could step in to bridge service gaps before summer.
Community organizer Kelvin X. Lovejoy pressed elected officials for an independent investigation and an audit of public funds dispersed to BHCA. "We must ask, what's really going on? This is why we're here tonight, to take action and to demand action," Lovejoy told the council, saying programs at BHCA had been funded by city, state and federal dollars and asserting that salaries and program funding had previously been in place.
Former employees who spoke said they and the young people they served were left without clear alternatives. Sherrell Banks, who said she was terminated on April 8, called the situation "unacceptable" and demanded transparency and action from public officials and funders.
Speakers also raised specific financial allegations circulating in the community. Alyssa Peterson referenced a reported $5,000,000 ARPA grant secured by state Sen. Doug McCrory in May 2024 and alleged prior concerns including a reported $300,000 cyber hack at Webster Bank and questions about past Section 8 payments. Peterson framed those claims as reasons to pursue immediate mediation and clarity rather than litigation.
Neighborhood representatives warned that gaps in staffing and programming could leave summer employment, youth workforce training and existing violence-interruption work unfilled. Victoria Fennell, speaking for the Blue Hills neighborhood, asked, "What happens to the summer youth employment program that is now in jeopardy?" and urged the council to ensure services for Weaver High School students and others continue.
Several speakers asked the council to use its convening power with funders, the Hartford Foundation and other partners to stabilize programming and reconstitute leadership if the board cannot restore operations quickly.
The public comment period closed without council action on the matter; speakers asked that the council respond with a public hearing, an independent audit of funds, and rapid interim steps to protect youth services.
If the council places the issue on a future agenda, speakers asked that staff report on program continuity, funding sources and any referral of terminated employees to alternative city-supported programs.
