Lauren Larson

During the Social Justice Panel Presentation, I learned about a variety of the challenges and daily work that occurs within an organization. The presentation included speakers from Real Foods CT, Homes for the Brave, and 100 Girls Leading. Real Foods CT connects community farms in Connecticut to local food shelters. Shaun started Real Foods CT after realizing the lack of healthy, non-processed food in his local food banks and shelters. Homes for the Brave is a program that provides mental health services and other resources to help homeless veterans transition to a sustainable lifestyle. #100 Girls Leading was founded by speaker Bobbi and provides interactive programs to girls of color in the Bridgeport community.
All three organizations faced similar issues of homelessness and displacement, food insecurity, discrimination, and overall flaws the government systems that allow these issues to persist. The three speakers shared that while there is slight rewarding feeling after their work, they tend to feel more infuriated rather than rewarded when looking at the system at large. I would like to get more involved with Real Foods CT and plan on bringing my hockey team to help out at the farms in the future. I would also like to volunteer for or create a program designed to help individuals who suffer from long-term concussion symptoms afford vision therapy and cover other basic needs while they are recovering. A lot of youth are relying on athletic success as a way to get a college education and this dream is often cut short due to injuries such as concussions. Additionally, many adults that get a concussion cannot afford to take time off of work to completely recover and suffer from concussion symptoms years after the incident.