The Connecticut Chapter of the American Planning Association (CCAPA) recently presented the All In Alliances in Ansonia, Derby, Milford, Oxford, Seymour, and Waterbury with their 2024 Citizen Planner Award, at their annual awards luncheon held in Southington, CT. The ceremony was attended by over 60 Connecticut city planners and colleagues in government, public service, and philanthropy.
CCAPA board member Debbie Lawlor, who offered the award, said “the All In Alliances are the recognized voice for the underdog.” She continued, “We believe in what you’re doing, and we need what you’re doing to support our efforts all around the state.”
All In Alliances represent thousands of Connecticut residents, as well many local businesses, churches, community centers, neighborhood groups, and service organizations. All In’s alliance members and volunteer leaders come from diverse political perspectives and racial and ethnic backgrounds, but they all agree that everyone in their towns and cities deserves a home they can afford, enough good food for themselves and their loved ones to eat, and a voice in the decisions that affect their lives.
To that end, All In Alliances regularly bring neighbors together to share stories and find common ground, educate themselves and each other on local policy and politics, attend and speak out at public meetings and hearings, and win seats on local government boards and commissions.
CCAPA president Emmaline Harrigan pointed to All In’s success getting people who themselves struggle to stay in their homes onto their towns’ affordable housing committees and planning and zoning boards. “It’s really about unlocking local zoning,” she said. “We have an ethical responsibility to do this work. We all need to do this together, to create the pathway to provide housing for ALL in our community.”
David Morgan, president and CEO of the Naugatuck Valley anti-poverty agency TEAM, Inc., which has supported All In since its founding in 2021, observed: “The All In movement continues to grow in numbers and relationships as well as meaningful outcomes in a community-by-community and regional way that is transformative. There’s been nothing like it before, and nothing like it currently in Connecticut. Kudos on this recognition.”
Harrigan added: “Planners are in the quality-of-life business. In our communities, we have people who care deeply about other people. Sometimes that caring just needs to be directed. The All In Alliances are at the grassroots level in this vital work.”
About the All In Alliances:
All In is a network of grassroots alliances in a growing number of Connecticut cities and towns, where neighbors work together across their differences to make it possible for everyone in town to have a home, food, and a voice in the decisions that affect their lives.
The All In Alliances represent thousands of residents — young and old, Republican and Democrat, rural and urban, rich and poor and middle-class, of many races and ethnicities — and dozens of local businesses, churches, community centers, and service organizations.
Currently there are All In Alliances in Ansonia-Derby, Milford, Oxford, Seymour and Waterbury, with planning and initial conversations underway in several more towns.
