The Paid Leave Podcast

Connecticut is one of the wealthiest states, but nearly half a million people don’t know where their next meal is coming from. More than 84 thousand children live in poverty in Connecticut and 122 thousand in near poverty. About 35 percent of Connecticut households are burdened by housing costs, compared to about 32 percent nationally. The United Way of Connecticut released its ALICE Report for 2024 [https://ctnewsjunkie.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2024-ALICE-Update-CT-FINAL.pdf] in October, showing that 13% more state residents, or an additional 65,000 households, are struggling to make ends meet despite being employed and not earning enough to cover the basic cost of living. ALICE is an acronym for Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed, and it’s a statewide problem. Lisa Tepper Bates, President & CEO of the United Way of Connecticut, leads the organization’s staff of 360 as a nonprofit contractor to seven Connecticut state government agencies. She says more and more residents are living paycheck to paycheck without any emergency funds saved. Lisa said the most important thing we can do us support a fully refundable, permanent child tax credit for families with kids who have that additional set of costs for raising children. Lisa says the United Way of CT is so pleased that Connecticut Paid Leave is available, because it has been an incredible benefit to the ALICE households.  To get in touch with the United Way of CT Please go to CTunitedway.org. For services or help dial 2-1-1. For information or to apply for benefits go to ctpaidleave.org. https://ctpaidleave.org/s/?language=en_US [https://ctpaidleave.org/s/?language=en_US] https://www.facebook.com/CTPaidLeave [https://www.facebook.com/CTPaidLeave] https://www.instagram.com/ctpaidleave/ [https://twitter.com/CTPaidLeave] https://twitter.com/CTPaidLeave [https://twitter.com/CTPaidLeave] https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=ct+paid+leave [https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=ct+paid+leave]

In this episode we take a look at shopping for your healthcare in Connecticut. This is the time of year that Connecticut residents are looking to enroll or change their health insurance and or dental insurance. Access Health CT enrollment fairs are currently going on across Connecticut through December and into January.  Access Health CT is the state’s official health insurance marketplace and Access Health CT has helped over 1 million individuals and small businesses get health insurance since it started in 2013.Their efforts have played a crucial role in reducing Connecticut’s uninsured rate dropping from 9.2% to 5.2%.  Caroline Ruwet, is the Director of Marketing at Access Health CT. We discussed their enrollment fairs that are going on across Connecticut and how they devised their marketing strategy to cover the entire state. We talked about healthcare disparity, and what they are trying to do to reduce healthcare bias. We talked about their small businesses and how they help them navigate healthcare. For information about Access Health CT please go to: Accesshealthct.com For information or to apply for benefits please go to: ctpaidleave.org https://ctpaidleave.org/s/?language=en_US [https://ctpaidleave.org/s/?language=en_US] https://www.facebook.com/CTPaidLeave [https://www.facebook.com/CTPaidLeave] https://www.instagram.com/ctpaidleave/ [https://twitter.com/CTPaidLeave] https://twitter.com/CTPaidLeave [https://twitter.com/CTPaidLeave] https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=ct+paid+leave [https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=ct+paid+leave]

November is National Diabetes Awareness Month. As of this year about 38.4 million people in the United States have been diagnosed with diabetes these incudes type I and type 2. The prevalence of diabetes continues to rise, highlighting the importance of awareness and prevention. In this episode we talk to Dr Pooja Luthra, A UConn Health Endocrinologist, and Director of the Diabetes Education Program. We discuss the 3 types of diabetes, Type 1 and 2 and gestational diabetes, Dr. Luthra Talks about treatments and controlling diabetes with lifestyle changes. For example, eating healthy and including a workout regimen into your daily routine. Dr Luthra also sees the benefits her patience could experience with CT Paid Leave benefits. To get in touch with the Diabetes Education program go to: Managing Diabetes for 2 - UConn Today [https://today.uconn.edu/2023/01/managing-diabetes-for-2/#:~:text=UConn%20Health%E2%80%99s%20Diabetes%20Education%20Program%20brings%20together%20physicians%2C,diabetes%20through%20education%2C%20lifestyle%2C%20and%20the%20latest%20technologies.] To get more information or to apply for benefits please go to: ctpaidleave.org https://ctpaidleave.org/s/?language=en_US [https://ctpaidleave.org/s/?language=en_US] https://www.facebook.com/CTPaidLeave [https://www.facebook.com/CTPaidLeave] https://www.instagram.com/ctpaidleave/ [https://twitter.com/CTPaidLeave] https://twitter.com/CTPaidLeave [https://twitter.com/CTPaidLeave] https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=ct+paid+leave [https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=ct+paid+leave]

Connecticut is one of the wealthiest states, but close to half a million people don’t know where their next meal is coming from, and 1 in 8 Connecticut residents experience food insecurity. That's where Foodshare comes in and bridges that gap, allowing a dignified way to put food on the table. Jason Jakubowski is the President & CEO of Connecticut Foodshare, the official Feeding America food bank serving the entire state of Connecticut. He works alongside a team of 120 employees and 6000 volunteers. Jason says he loves his job and realizes that Foodshare helps the people of Connecticut when they need it most. During the Holidays and in the spirit of giving, Foodshare will feed close to 50,000 Thanksgiving meals to hungry Connecticut families. Maria Paredes is a Resident Services Coordinator with Monterey Place in New Haven and they offer affordable housing. Maria is also on the board of CT Foodshare and has used the food pantries when she needed them as a single mother of 5. Maria also used CT Paid Leave recently when she had a car accident. She said the process was easy and it allowed her to hold onto the job she loves while taking 2 months off of work to recuperate. Connecticut Paid Leave helps address food insecurity by providing financial support to workers who need to take time off for their own serious health condition or to care for a loved one with a serious health condition. That income replacement can keep food on the table and bills being paid. For information about Foodshare please go their website at: Connecticut Foodshare [https://www.ctfoodshare.org/] (ctfoodshare.org) For information about Monterey Place in New Haven please go to their website at: Affordable Apartments in New Haven, CT | Monterey Place [https://www.montereybc.com/] (montereybc.com) For information or to apply for benefits please go to: CT Paid Leave [https://www.ctpaidleave.org/] (ctpaidleave,org) https://ctpaidleave.org/s/?language=en_US [https://ctpaidleave.org/s/?language=en_US] https://www.facebook.com/CTPaidLeave [https://www.facebook.com/CTPaidLeave] https://www.instagram.com/ctpaidleave/ [https://twitter.com/CTPaidLeave] https://twitter.com/CTPaidLeave [https://twitter.com/CTPaidLeave] https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=ct+paid+leave [https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=ct+paid+leave]

October is Safe Sleep and SIDS Awareness Month. According to the National Institute for Health (NIH) SIDS is the leading cause of death among babies between one month and one year. The vast majority of deaths take place before a baby reaches six months of age. Every year there are about 3,400 cases of Sudden Unexpected Infant Deaths know as SUID in the U.S. Alison Jacobson is the CEO of First Candle, which is a national non-profit addressing Sudden Unexpected Infant Death.  They do this through community partnerships, educating families on life-saving safe sleep practices, while also providing bereavement support services to families who have tragically experienced the death of their baby from SUID or Stillbirth. Alison is a loss mom herself, her son Connor died in 1997, and she is passionate about helping save babies lives while supporting grieving families. In this episode, we talked about SIDS and SUID prevention and how to create a safe sleeping environment for your baby. We discussed the racial disparities that exist and how mortality rates increase for black and brown babies. We also discussed how CT Paid Leave can help with time away from work with income replacement for behavioral health and mental health appointments for parents who are dealing with the emotional trauma from the loss of their baby. Alison also stressed the importance of educating about safe sleep practices to anyone who deals with a sleeping baby like grandparents and other family members as well as babysitters. For more information about First Candle please go to: First Candle: Committed to ending Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) [https://firstcandle.org/] For information or to apply for benefits please go to: https://www.ctpaidleave.org/ https://ctpaidleave.org/s/?language=en_US [https://ctpaidleave.org/s/?language=en_US] https://www.facebook.com/CTPaidLeave [https://www.facebook.com/CTPaidLeave] https://www.instagram.com/ctpaidleave/ [https://twitter.com/CTPaidLeave] https://twitter.com/CTPaidLeave [https://twitter.com/CTPaidLeave] https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=ct+paid+leave [https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=ct+paid+leave]