26 graduate from leadership program

NEW HAVEN – Twenty six New Haven residents today graduated from the Neighborhood Housing Services of New Haven Resident Leadership Program, called “Building Leaders, Building Communities.”
The Resident Leadership Program, begun in March, and shown in the photo from March, "has transferred concrete leadership skills to residents from throughout the Greater New Haven area, created a space for participants to share their experiences with one another and increased their sense of being agents of change," program officials said in a statement.
“Meeting other people and hearing their stories has been very inspiring,” Claudia Herrera, a participant from Fair Haven, said in the statement. “It has helped me recognize the value that we have collectively. I’ve gotten real information and useful resources that I shared with my neighbors – and they felt so encouraged.”
Program officials also said in the statement that NHS of New Haven is the first organization to implement the leadership curriculum developed by its national partner NeighborWorks® America.
The first four workshops explored asset mapping, understanding power for community change, planning successful campaigns and the art and science of leadership, the statement said.
The fifth and final workshop was, “Leading Great Meetings;” it was facilitated by Susan Naimark, director of the Community Building & Organizing Initiative at NeighborWorks® America, the statement said.
The Resident Leadership Program was funded by the Yale New Haven Hospital and the Yale New Haven Lead Program and Regional Treatment Center funded the leadership program, the statement said.
Neighborhood Housing Services of New Haven’s "core mission is to increase homeownership; to make homes functional, beautiful and affordable; and to help residents take charge of their neighborhoods" the statement said. In its "30-year history, NHS has fully renovated and sold nearly 300 houses to low- and moderate-income families," it said. Through the New Haven HomeOwnership Center, NHS puts about 500 families a year on the path to homeownership through its homebuyer education classes, the statement said.