Federal Reserve Bank of Boston President Eric Rosengren visited Connecticut on Feb. 6 to congratulate Working Cities Challenge implementation award winners. Danbury, East Hartford, Hartford, Middletown, and Waterbury will each receive $450,000 grants to execute proposals created as part of the Working Cities Challenge, a program designed to lead communities through a rigorous process that builds cross-sector collaboration and works toward solving issues impacting the lives of lower-income residents.

Rosengren met with teams from Danbury, Middletown, and Waterbury to hear from non-profit, municipal, and private sector groups who focused on fundamental issues affecting their respective communities.

In Danbury, Rosengren heard from core partners who plan to address underemployment and unemployment of low-income immigrants. Using Working Cities Challenge funding, the team will create a network of services that moves residents through continued proficiency in language skills and provides access to childcare services, enabling them to access better jobs.

The Waterbury Working Cities Challenge team will use the $450,000 award to aid the isolated South End neighborhood, which has a 23 percent unemployment rate which is significantly higher than the rest of the city. The team will focus on job training and childcare services to help residents earn a living wage.

Rosengren also met with the Middletown Working Cities Challenge team, which includes over 20 organizations dedicated to increasing the earning power of single parent households. There, he heard from the team who is identifying meaningful employment opportunities for single parents, and providing them with the training and resources to obtain living wage, career-sustaining work. Rosengren spoke with graduates of a web development training program who are now employed as a result of the initiative.

Later this year, Rosengren will meet with East Hartford and Hartford Working Cities Challenge teams, who are also focused on workforce development opportunities within their communities.