Committee approves $50,000 grant to expand New Haven Financial Empowerment Center legacy-planning services

The Health & Human Services Committee on Nov. 20 approved LMD-2025-0584, an order authorizing the mayor to accept a $50,000 grant over two years for the New Haven Financial Empowerment Center to expand legacy-planning services. The committee approved the item by voice vote with no recorded oppositions or abstentions.

Dorena Mitchell, local government manager for the New Haven Financial Empowerment Center, told the committee the grant would allow the center to “close that gap” by providing residents free, confidential access to trust and legal-planning platforms and structured plans for transferring assets. Mitchell said the funding would support workshops explaining what documents to store, how to use online legal tools, and how to protect assets for families, and that the center would track outcomes and manage new client intakes.

Committee members asked about outreach and the grant’s origin; Mitchell said the program is part of a national Financial Empowerment Center (FEC) model and that the particular program is run out of New York City. When asked how many people would be served by the $50,000, Mitchell said the center was still developing estimates and did not provide a numeric figure in the transcript.

The committee’s approval came after the presentation and brief questions. The item passed on a voice vote; the chair announced the motion carried and the committee proceeded to consider the next agenda item.