Mission
 

CCMAA’s mission is to assist refugees, promote cultural, educational, and socioeconomic development in the refugee and immigrant community in the State of Connecticut.
 

To pursue this mission, CCMAA:

• Undertake educational, leadership training programs and activities.
• Help refugees, promote cultural, educational, and socioeconomic development in the refugee and immigrant community in the State of Connecticut.
• Help promote and teach better governance practices within the Coalition communities in the state of Connecticut.
• Foster community development by undertaking projects in the areas of education, entrepreneurship, health and general equality.
• Help improve the institutional capacity of the coalition member organizations through workshops, seminars, debates, conferences, lectures, information dissemination, public awareness, educational programs, singularly and/or in conjunction with other organizations providing similar services.
• Help encourage businesses and other entrepreneurial initiatives.
• Promote and advocate for various issues pertaining to all aspects of life, including, but not limited to, Job creation and Employment Services, Social Services, economic, cultural, environmental issues.
• Analyze state and local public policies and propose new alternatives whenever necessary.
• Promote and advocate for the protection of Human Rights, Victims of Crime, Elderly and the Youth.
   

CCMAA Goals:

CCMAA’s goals include offering assistance with language difficulties and cultural differences that immigrants and refugees encounter in dealing with assimilation into the American culture. Current areas of focus for the CCMAA include crime senior programs, community organizing and outreach, victim advocacy, youth development, access to health care, and assistance with translation and interpretation skills.

In essence, CCMAA is an organized effort to reach out to the different immigrant communities in Connecticut in order to form a more cohesive and effective means of addressing the many problems they have with adjusting to a new life in this country and becoming self-sufficient on a permanent basis.

Administration and Staffing

Oversight of the CCMAA is provided by a 9-member Board of Directors.  Board Members represent collaborative partners and others working with Connecticut’s immigrant and refugee populations.  There are four officers of the Board: President, Vice President, Treasurer, and Secretary.

Staff of the CCMAA consists of an Executive Director, one Program Director (Youth Development Program), two ESL teachers, three coaches, ten Case Workers and four Victim Advocates.  The ESL teachers teach classes in Hartford, Bridgeport and New Haven, but are based in New Haven and Hartford.  Furthermore, Case Workers and Victim Advocates are assigned to work with specific ethnic communities.  A table of how these staff assignments breakdown follows.

Staff attends several training programs each year according to their work specialty and funding requirements. For example, Victim Advocates attend regular training offered by the Office of Victim Services through out the year. The CCMAA staff has achieved the highest level of training according to the National Office for Victims of Crime.  The Executive Director recently completed a Director Training Program at Trinity College.  The Executive Director supports and encourages staff development when resources and time are available.