Hartford Foundation Launches Podcast Series Highlighting Challenges and Opportunities Facing Greater Hartford

“Disinvested: Building a Stronger Community from the Ground Up” is a seven-part series that includes discussions on Economic and Community Development, Community Safety, Workforce Development, Basic Human Needs and Education

Hartford is a place that shares similar challenges with countless mid-size American cities: issues relating to poverty, unemployment, blight, crime, and housing instability. Hartford and the surrounding region also possess significant assets: robust insurance and manufacturing businesses, several institutions of higher education, a wide array of cultural offerings and a community of energized organizations and residents committed to improving the community. In an effort to engage a broader audience on the challenges and opportunities facing the Greater Hartford region, the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving has produced and launched a seven-part podcast series. “Disinvested: Building a Stronger Community from the Ground Up” features more than 80 interviews from Greater Hartford and beyond, including residents, journalists, elected officials, and nonprofit leaders who are involved with efforts to build a stronger, more inclusive community.

“As the community foundation for Greater Hartford, the Hartford Foundation is constantly looking for new ways to engage our residents in conversations about the challenges and opportunities our communities face,” said Hartford Foundation President Jay Williams. “This podcast series provides us with another tool to address Greater Hartford’s challenges in an honest way, while laying out a positive vision for the type of place that Greater Hartford can be in the future. Disinvested tells the story of the resilience of an American city and how we can build a stronger and more inclusive community from the ground up.”

Each episode highlights issues that are major focus areas for the Hartford Foundation’s new strategic framework. Each episode takes a deep dive into one specific topic, including Economic and Community Development, Community Safety, Workforce Development, Basic Human Needs, Education and more.

The first episode of Disinvested, “An Economy for Everyone,” focuses on inclusive economic and community development and explores the disparities that exist in Hartford and the surrounding communities, how we got here, and what we can do to create an economy that works for everyone. 

Disinvested is now available in iTunes, Google, Android, Spotify, iPhone podcast app, Stitcher and at Disinvested.com. Click here to listen to the trailer of Disinvested. New episodes will be released on Thursdays through December 12.

The Hartford Foundation for Public Giving is the community foundation for Hartford and 28 surrounding communities. Made possible by the gifts of generous individuals, families and organizations, the Foundation has awarded grants of more than $750 million since its founding in 1925. For more information about the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving, visit www.hfpg.org or call 860-548-1888.