Following the Great Recession and its devastating jobs crisis, the New Haven Board of Aldermen convened a working group to tackle unemployment and underemployment in the city. After extensive research in New Haven and beyond, the group reached a clear conclusion: ending joblessness requires two things working together. Individuals who are underemployed need sustained, ongoing support. And local employers need to commit to hiring qualified candidates from within the community. New Haven Works was created to coordinate and deliver on both of those principles.

Today, those founding principles guide everything we do. Through our partnerships with Yale University and UNITE HERE, we have built hiring and training pathways that place residents from across the community into good union jobs. We work closely with the City of New Haven and the State of Connecticut to connect residents with careers, and with employers of all kinds to ensure that New Haven residents have access to real opportunities while employers gain access to a motivated, skilled, and community-rooted workforce.