June 5, 2025 • 7 mins
We spoke with Director of Development Summer Sivetz about Chrysalis Center helping individuals living below the poverty level and struggling with food insecurity, dealing with substance abuse, HIV/AIDS, and release from incarceration and homelessness. Our services have grown beyond community support services and case management to include community employment services, community supportive housing, recovery services, and affordable housing.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Good morning, Thank you for listening to Community Access. My
guest this morning is Director of Development, Summer Sevetz at
the Chrystalist Center.
Speaker 2 (00:09):
Good morning, good morning, Thanks for having me.
Speaker 1 (00:12):
You bet, there's so much that you do at this
center and we're going to get into it. But how
did it all begin?
Speaker 2 (00:21):
Sure, and oddly enough, it's actually our fiftieth anniversary this year.
The organization started in nineteen seventy five right here in Hartford.
It initially was based mostly for folks dealing with being
newly out of incarceration, homelessness, and mental illness, and it's
(00:43):
really grown. The community support services have grown and we
have case management to include community employment services, housing recovery.
We also have a fantastic food hub where we have
a food pantry and Urban Roots hydroponic garden. We have
(01:03):
different gardens throughout actually Hartford as well, and we have
a La Cosina culinary arts training program and catering. So
it's a lot, a lot is happening here. We're on
Homestead Avenue right in Hartford. It's one of the most
impoverished zip codes in all of Hartford, let alone the
state of Connecticut, so need is it's very important. We're
(01:27):
really helping our community and the need is here and
it's alive and strong.
Speaker 1 (01:32):
So someone fifty years ago saw a need and then
it just developed and grew more and more and more,
and here you are.
Speaker 2 (01:40):
Yes, we have a staff about seventy five, but we're
actually located all throughout the state. We have or buildings
in Willelmantic, Bristol, Meridon, Waterbury, and we actually have our
main focus is actually housing, and we have case managers
who work one on one with our clients to help
(02:02):
them with housing, job support, job security, getting them all
the needs to get them up and running. We even
have programs where we help fill their homes with plates
and cups and bedding and mattresses to get them off
to a really great start. Because if you're homeless and
you're getting housing, which is fantastic, you also need stuff
(02:25):
to fill that also. So we depend a lot on
sponsorships and donations and in kind donations. We have a
lot of volunteers, especially corporate volunteers, which help with that
a lot as well.
Speaker 1 (02:39):
And if you've been incarcerated and you get out of prison,
a lot of the times they go back to the
same place, get into the same trouble again. So it's
nice if we could bring them somewhere else and help
them get a new life as well.
Speaker 2 (02:51):
Yes, I love that. And one of the latest stories
I've heard just heard recently was there as a man
who was incarcerated for about fifteen twenty years and hadn't
had a license or a car. So one of Christlis's
programs is to help pay for the permit, pay for
the testing, pay for the license. He actually got a
car recently and actually was able to drive to his
(03:13):
new job down all the way in Bridgeport. So not
only are we helping people with housing and jobs or
actually helping people get their license they had especially if
you're newly out of jail and incarceration, you're starting from scratch,
and it can.
Speaker 1 (03:28):
Affect any walk of life. It doesn't matter how educated
you are, doesn't matter who you are. Something can always
happen to someone.
Speaker 2 (03:36):
Truly, and we do believe that each person, regardless of
their illness, disability, or life circumstance, they have strength and
skills and experiences and we just try to hone in
on that and try to help them. It's really we
transform lives here at Christlis and we're really grateful for
the services that we're able to offer.
Speaker 1 (03:55):
I would love to be a fly on the wall
to see the tears of joy at times. And I
know how humbling it can be for someone if they
have a family and they have to go and receive help.
Speaker 2 (04:05):
Yes, one of the programs that we have is our
Fresh Placed food pantry, where we actually serve about one
hundred clients and they come to our food pantry, they
get a grocery cart and they're able to fill up
their cart for free. We do weigh it, but they
basically get to come every two weeks and all of
the food is donated from various organizations like Trader Joe's,
(04:28):
Whole Foods, Avon Prime Meats, so the food is actually
one hundred percent donated by local organizations and then folks
get to come. Our clients get to come and receive
that all for free with also case management wrap around
services as well.
Speaker 1 (04:43):
And what kind of reaction do you see when they
take advantage of these services.
Speaker 2 (04:49):
It is life changing for some of these people. A
lot of our clients they have families, so not only
are we serving the adults, we're serving the children as well,
and especially come the summer where kids don't get their
backpacks usually from school where they get food for the weekend.
They really depend on Fresh Places throughout the summer. A
(05:09):
lot of our donations. You know, people think about donations
and eating food at holiday time, but truly it's an
all year round program that we're trying to make sure
the shelves are always filled with food. Our Fresh Place
pantry is also very unique because we have freezers and refrigerators,
so they can actually get frozen food as well. It's
(05:29):
not only can canned non perishables. The neat thing also
is that we have an Urban Roots hydroponic farm in
our lower level here, so we actually grow a lot
of the produce that we give back to our Fresh
Place food pantry.
Speaker 1 (05:43):
That is absolutely amazing. We mentioned donations briefly. You're involved
with the Birdies for Charity program through Travelers Championship. Why
did you decide to do that?
Speaker 2 (05:55):
Oh gosh. We love being a part of this organization,
and we always go to the Travelers Championship in June.
A lot of our folks also give the donations specifically
because of the match, which is huge for us. We're
a really small nonprofit, so every dollar truly counts we
use we use this as an avenue for our folks
(06:15):
to donate for bigger things such as our Butterfly Bash,
which is our signature event, which is actually hosted at
TPC this year as well. So people can use their
sponsorship dollars to go further.
Speaker 1 (06:28):
So if you go to CHRYSALISCENTERCT dot org right now,
you can make a donation and for every dollar, Webster
Bank is going to give fifteen cents, so instead of
a dollar, they're going to get a dollar fifteen. And
you can also find everything at that website that you're
looking for and find out about this event as well.
Speaker 2 (06:47):
Yes you can. It'll be on in October October ninth.
If people want to volunteer, we have a robust volunteer
program here. We have two different gardens, our railway gardens
and our food forests right in the center of Hartford.
We have two acres there that we always need help
with gardening or mulching or picking apples or whatever. So
(07:10):
if you have an organization looking to volunteer, we have
a lot of opportunities for you.
Speaker 1 (07:15):
And I don't know why this just came to my mind,
but I'm just going to say it anyway. If you're single,
I think you're supposed to go to this if you're listening,
because you're probably going to meet somebody nice, right, what
a good way to I'm speaking with Summer Civets. She
is director of Development at the Chrysalis Center. Wow. You
(07:35):
guys are just amazing. Thank you so much for serving
the community the way that you do.
Speaker 2 (07:40):
Thank you for having us, and we look forward to
seeing you in June.
Good morning, Thank you for listening to Community Access. My
guest this morning is Director of Development, Summer Sevetz at
the Chrystalist Center.
Speaker 2 (00:09):
Good morning, good morning, Thanks for having me.
Speaker 1 (00:12):
You bet, there's so much that you do at this
center and we're going to get into it. But how
did it all begin?
Speaker 2 (00:21):
Sure, and oddly enough, it's actually our fiftieth anniversary this year.
The organization started in nineteen seventy five right here in Hartford.
It initially was based mostly for folks dealing with being
newly out of incarceration, homelessness, and mental illness, and it's
(00:43):
really grown. The community support services have grown and we
have case management to include community employment services, housing recovery.
We also have a fantastic food hub where we have
a food pantry and Urban Roots hydroponic garden. We have
(01:03):
different gardens throughout actually Hartford as well, and we have
a La Cosina culinary arts training program and catering. So
it's a lot, a lot is happening here. We're on
Homestead Avenue right in Hartford. It's one of the most
impoverished zip codes in all of Hartford, let alone the
state of Connecticut, so need is it's very important. We're
(01:27):
really helping our community and the need is here and
it's alive and strong.
Speaker 1 (01:32):
So someone fifty years ago saw a need and then
it just developed and grew more and more and more,
and here you are.
Speaker 2 (01:40):
Yes, we have a staff about seventy five, but we're
actually located all throughout the state. We have or buildings
in Willelmantic, Bristol, Meridon, Waterbury, and we actually have our
main focus is actually housing, and we have case managers
who work one on one with our clients to help
(02:02):
them with housing, job support, job security, getting them all
the needs to get them up and running. We even
have programs where we help fill their homes with plates
and cups and bedding and mattresses to get them off
to a really great start. Because if you're homeless and
you're getting housing, which is fantastic, you also need stuff
(02:25):
to fill that also. So we depend a lot on
sponsorships and donations and in kind donations. We have a
lot of volunteers, especially corporate volunteers, which help with that
a lot as well.
Speaker 1 (02:39):
And if you've been incarcerated and you get out of prison,
a lot of the times they go back to the
same place, get into the same trouble again. So it's
nice if we could bring them somewhere else and help
them get a new life as well.
Speaker 2 (02:51):
Yes, I love that. And one of the latest stories
I've heard just heard recently was there as a man
who was incarcerated for about fifteen twenty years and hadn't
had a license or a car. So one of Christlis's
programs is to help pay for the permit, pay for
the testing, pay for the license. He actually got a
car recently and actually was able to drive to his
(03:13):
new job down all the way in Bridgeport. So not
only are we helping people with housing and jobs or
actually helping people get their license they had especially if
you're newly out of jail and incarceration, you're starting from scratch,
and it can.
Speaker 1 (03:28):
Affect any walk of life. It doesn't matter how educated
you are, doesn't matter who you are. Something can always
happen to someone.
Speaker 2 (03:36):
Truly, and we do believe that each person, regardless of
their illness, disability, or life circumstance, they have strength and
skills and experiences and we just try to hone in
on that and try to help them. It's really we
transform lives here at Christlis and we're really grateful for
the services that we're able to offer.
Speaker 1 (03:55):
I would love to be a fly on the wall
to see the tears of joy at times. And I
know how humbling it can be for someone if they
have a family and they have to go and receive help.
Speaker 2 (04:05):
Yes, one of the programs that we have is our
Fresh Placed food pantry, where we actually serve about one
hundred clients and they come to our food pantry, they
get a grocery cart and they're able to fill up
their cart for free. We do weigh it, but they
basically get to come every two weeks and all of
the food is donated from various organizations like Trader Joe's,
(04:28):
Whole Foods, Avon Prime Meats, so the food is actually
one hundred percent donated by local organizations and then folks
get to come. Our clients get to come and receive
that all for free with also case management wrap around
services as well.
Speaker 1 (04:43):
And what kind of reaction do you see when they
take advantage of these services.
Speaker 2 (04:49):
It is life changing for some of these people. A
lot of our clients they have families, so not only
are we serving the adults, we're serving the children as well,
and especially come the summer where kids don't get their
backpacks usually from school where they get food for the weekend.
They really depend on Fresh Places throughout the summer. A
(05:09):
lot of our donations. You know, people think about donations
and eating food at holiday time, but truly it's an
all year round program that we're trying to make sure
the shelves are always filled with food. Our Fresh Place
pantry is also very unique because we have freezers and refrigerators,
so they can actually get frozen food as well. It's
(05:29):
not only can canned non perishables. The neat thing also
is that we have an Urban Roots hydroponic farm in
our lower level here, so we actually grow a lot
of the produce that we give back to our Fresh
Place food pantry.
Speaker 1 (05:43):
That is absolutely amazing. We mentioned donations briefly. You're involved
with the Birdies for Charity program through Travelers Championship. Why
did you decide to do that?
Speaker 2 (05:55):
Oh gosh. We love being a part of this organization,
and we always go to the Travelers Championship in June.
A lot of our folks also give the donations specifically
because of the match, which is huge for us. We're
a really small nonprofit, so every dollar truly counts we
use we use this as an avenue for our folks
(06:15):
to donate for bigger things such as our Butterfly Bash,
which is our signature event, which is actually hosted at
TPC this year as well. So people can use their
sponsorship dollars to go further.
Speaker 1 (06:28):
So if you go to CHRYSALISCENTERCT dot org right now,
you can make a donation and for every dollar, Webster
Bank is going to give fifteen cents, so instead of
a dollar, they're going to get a dollar fifteen. And
you can also find everything at that website that you're
looking for and find out about this event as well.
Speaker 2 (06:47):
Yes you can. It'll be on in October October ninth.
If people want to volunteer, we have a robust volunteer
program here. We have two different gardens, our railway gardens
and our food forests right in the center of Hartford.
We have two acres there that we always need help
with gardening or mulching or picking apples or whatever. So
(07:10):
if you have an organization looking to volunteer, we have
a lot of opportunities for you.
Speaker 1 (07:15):
And I don't know why this just came to my mind,
but I'm just going to say it anyway. If you're single,
I think you're supposed to go to this if you're listening,
because you're probably going to meet somebody nice, right, what
a good way to I'm speaking with Summer Civets. She
is director of Development at the Chrysalis Center. Wow. You
(07:35):
guys are just amazing. Thank you so much for serving
the community the way that you do.
Speaker 2 (07:40):
Thank you for having us, and we look forward to
seeing you in June.
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