After a 3-3 vote on July 20th, the New London City Council was set to vote, once again, August 3rd, on the implementation of additional traffic cameras. Those opposed and in favor share the same primary concern: safety. How safety is achieved, however, is where many diverge. 

Our community is losing more than a school — we’re seeing the impact of a growing funding crisis across the state. The closure of Jennings Elementary is part of a larger pattern of cuts, staffing losses, and underinvestment in our public schools. Students deserve stability, support, and opportunity — not budget shortfalls. We need real solutions that prioritize young people!

Join us in reading this collaborative publication of testimonies given by Hearing Youth Voices’ YBP students on March 4th, 2026. A press conference was held and students spoke out on behalf of the Reimagining School Safety campaign.

CJ Parker is an educator, mentor, coach, and organizer from New London, CT. Read his Finance Committee Testimony here!

Our first annual Summer Book, showcasing the best, most important parts of this past summer. Something to appropriately memorialize this summer and time at HYV — this book is a collection of our pictures, moments, takeaways, intentions, dreams… all of it. It’s not just about big the bigger picture, but also our laughs, memories, and things to remember in the future.

The coalition organizes a rally supporting a plan to suspend Connecticut's restrictive budget guardrails for the next two years–a move that would enable the state to reinvest in K-12 education, restore essential services, and protect working families from further harm and injustices. They also urge the legislature’s Finance Committee to release a bold finance package that includes progressive revenue policies, providing long-term economic stability without sacrificing fiscal responsibility.

In the most recent special meeting on April 23, the City Council approved the first reading of the Mayor’s budget. A total of 40 students, teachers, and community members showed up to the reading. 20 of which shared powerful testimonies, where folks named the discrepancies of this harmful decision and made the necessary ask of our city. Among the twenty was Shanice Austin‘s testimony, which delivered the core message of our campaign heartily and effectively.

Diamante “Dimo” Ortiz (She/They) is a poet, community organizer, and journalist based in Philadelphia, originally from the Los Sures area of Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Their work explores grief, gender fluidity, and Afro-Boricua heritage, influenced by mentors like Luis Garden Acosta, Frances Lucerna, and JL Umipig. Dimo has collaborated with creatives and organized events, including the Open Treasures open mic in 2023. They have worked as a senior reporter and editor for Protest NYC, founded Protest PHL storytelling with The Moth, and serve as the Statewide Communications Director for One PA. Dimo also launched “Notes to Self,” a Substack series reflecting on life and self-love, inspired by Issa Rae’s monologues in Insecure (dxmo.substack.com).

Join us in reading this collaborative publication of testimonies given by young people from across the state of Connecticut. On March 19, 2025, over 100 students from New Haven and New London organized a day of action, held a press conference, and testified in the Education Committee to demand equitable funding for their schools across CT. We put this publication forth in efforts to call attention to the very lives of the people impacted by Senate Bill SB 1511, an Act Concerning Disconnected Youth.

We extend the utmost gratitude to Connecticut for All and @nhps.studentreps for leading this powerful action!

“How to Make Sure You Don’t Die Alone” by Genesis Cubilette. Cubilette is a multi-hyphenate, creative child of God. She stumbles, walks, and runs towards her path as an artist and author with a strong clutch on her joy, grief, and faith — she makes what she imagines.

A set of poems by Diamante "Dimo" Ortiz (she/they), a Brooklyn-born, Philadelphia-based, Afro-Boricuan poet and organizer who draws inspiration from Black, Brown, Femme, and Queer spaces to explore grief, nature, and heritage in their writing. They have been featured on NPR for storytelling with The Moth.

Lisannie Hilario is an emerging poet whose debut poem explores the unburdening of generational trauma.

A work of creative non-fiction by Eric, a Peruvian dude who’s new to writing. You can catch him with a camera in hand, documenting, and sometimes exposing people.

A work of creative non-fiction by Jaxon, also known as “Jax,” who enjoys drawing and is an amazing listener.

A provoking poem by Jadelise Garrett! She is a New London High School Junior and an extremely valuable member of our NL community!

A local movement inspiration! This is an essay by CJ Parker, an educator, mentor, coach, and organizer from New London, CT.