DERBY — On this week’s “Navel Gazing: The Valley Indy Podcast,” a few all-stars from TEAM, Inc. stop by a Zoom room to talk about two important topics:
1. The annual “Toys 4 Kids” campaign, which benefits thousands of area children, and;
2. The volatile Valley rental market, where it is becoming increasingly difficult to find apartments.
Press play to listen, and please note the podcast is sponsored by ValleyGivesBack.org.
TOYS 4 KIDS
“Toys 4 Kids” is TEAM’s annual effort to get holiday presents into the hands of kids who may not otherwise get them. Last year more than 1,600 kids participated.
The program relies on donations and sponsorships. Click here to support the cause.
The COVID-19 pandemic, coupled with planetary supply-chain problems, prompted this year’s Toys 4 Kids to start earlier than usual.
Click here for a previous Valley Indy story and press play to learn more from Team’s CEO David Morgan and TEAM volunteers Carolyn Cutaneo and Carol Pendagast, the Toys 4 Kids committee co-chairs.
APARTMENT CRUNCH
If you’ve ever perused a local Facebook community group, you’ve seen the posts. Something to the effect of:
“In search of a two-bedroom apartment. I’ve been looking for weeks and there’s nothing. Want to keep children enrolled in the same school. Have to be out by the first of the month.”
Finding apartments is becoming increasingly difficult in the lower Naugatuck Valley.
Snap shot example: in June 2020 there were 23 rentals available in Derby with an average monthly rent of $1,200 in Derby. In June 2021, just 8 rentals were available, a 65 percent decrease. The average monthly rent increased about 8 percent, or about $100 per month.
That data is from NBC Connecticut using info from Smart MLS. Click here to check out an interactive map created by NBC CT.
Now, obviously the average salary did not increase 8 percent year over year. In fact, data shows that the cost of housing — along with childcare — were two of the most expensive items eating away at family budgets long before the COVID-19 outbreak.
In the podcast, Morgan talks about what he’s seeing locally through TEAM, which serves as the area’s community action agency, and what TEAM and partner groups are doing to address the situation.
The audio version of this podcast is embedded below, and is also available on all major podcast distributors.
This podcast is sponsored by ValleyGivesBack.org.
