Building Bridges with Campus Conversations on Housing Justice

As housing insecurity persists across the country, many colleges and universities are engaging with the issue as a matter of social and economic justice. Yet conversations about housing on campus often remain separate from the insights of local communities. This gap limits opportunities for deeper understanding and collaboration. The Housing Justice Brown Bag Lunch Series steps in to fill that gap. 

The Center for Housing Opportunity Eastern Connecticut (CHO-EC) launched the series at Connecticut College in spring 2024 and expanded to Eastern Connecticut State University (ECSU) in spring 2025. The series brings together faculty, students, and community members to explore housing through an intersectional lens. With dynamic presentations and engaging discussions, the series fosters connections between academic insights and real-world experiences, and encourages collaboration on new ideas and solutions.

Planning began in summer of 2023 when Professor Amy Dooling, Vice President for Strategic Initiatives, and Rebecca McCue, Director of Community Engagement and Operations at the Holleran Center for Community Action at Connecticut College, proposed a series of ideas to the CHO-EC team, aiming to engage members of academia in housing justice issues. As a result, the first six sessions took place at Connecticut College and explored themes including the environment, democracy, and children and families. 

After recognizing the potential for broader community engagement, the CHO-EC team expanded the series to ECSU in Spring 2025 for three sessions. Each session explored the intersection of housing and social and economic issues, including racial equity, education, and finance, demonstrating how these issues relate to housing disparities. These discussions sparked fresh conversations among attendees about how communities can address housing justice from multiple angles. They also created open, accessible spaces where students and residents connected, shared experiences, and learned from each other. 

Turnout was strong and interest was high, with more than 300 attendees collectively, including students, faculty, staff, and residents from the surrounding communities. The "brown bag" lunch format helped foster informal conversations and new relationships. This format has strengthened partnerships between higher education institutions and housing-focused nonprofits. 

The Housing Justice Series has been a collaborative effort that would not have been possible without the generosity and time of our speakers, the support of staff at Connecticut College and Eastern Connecticut State University, and the commitment of our community partners. The CHO-EC team looks forward to continuing to collaborate with our educational partners, expanding speaker partnerships, and increasing student engagement in future initiatives. Special thanks to our speakers:

• Lonnie Braxton II – Civil Rights Activist and Retired State’s Attorney
• Sean Ghio – Policy Director, Partnership for Strong Communities
• Pete Harrison – Former Director, Desegregate CT; currently Connecticut Director, Regional Plan Association
• Kathleen Krider – Senior Director of Community Engagement & Resource Management, Access Community Action Agency
• Mirna Martinez – Executive Director, Southeastern Connecticut Community Land Trust
• Suzanne Michaud, MSW – Family Services Manager, EASTCONN
• Julie Savin – President & CEO, Eastern Connecticut Housing Opportunities (ECHO)
• Helen Scanlon – Program Manager, Housing Education & Counseling Center, Access Community Action Agency
• Michael J. Vaz – Executive Director, Thames River Community Service Inc.