Job Losses Hit Valley

The sad announcement last week of the closing of venerable Housatonic Lumber is just another reminder that the Valley is not immune to the economic crisis facing the entire country. Housatonic Lumber was a Valley institution for 102 years, and we are deeply saddened by their demise. Always a generous supporter of Valley United Way and many other community activities they hosted the United Way campaign kickoff in 2007. Terry Chatfield, whose family built the business, is a former Board Chair and also chaired the Annual Community Campaign in 1982.

This is the second major closing in the City of Derby lately as Derby Cellular is also closing its doors. They were also a valued member of the community. We recently participated with the Connecticut Department of Labor's Rapic Response Team in a meeting with the employees to brief them on the benefits that are available to them. State officials briefed them on unemployment, job placement services, training and health benefits. We presented information about the health and human services network and brought along a spokesperson from 2-1-1 who explained how to access the service to find health and human services any place in the state.

We have worked with the Department of Labor many times through the years, and it is never easy to face good people facing the imminent loss of employment. However, we have always found that the employees appreciate the opportunity to learn what is out there. They also appreciate the fact that the community cares about their situations and is willing to help.

As I discussed in yesterday's post, it is a difficult time for agencies providing services as many are faced with dwindling revenues at a time when the demands for their services are rising rapidly. Past experience has shown us that the nonprofit community in the Valley always steps up when the situation calls for it, and I am confident that is still the case.

On a slightly more positive note, we will have some announcements in the next couple of weeks about additional FEMA dollars that will be coming to the Valley to assist with basic needs. Though it will not be major funding, every dollar will help in meeting basic needs in the community.