On Monday, Sen. Richard Blumenthal and Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin hosted a news conference to discuss the ways in which funding will benefit child care centers and day cares in the Capitol City and around the state.
At least $100 million in federal funding will be allocated to the City of Hartford. According to Bronin, the city is still determining the ways in which the money will be allocated within the city.
Bronin and the city council will host a town hall with the community next week to discuss the federal funding aid and answer any questions and hear any feedback from the public.
A lot of federal funding for day cares and child care centers will be used to help the facilities after many programs experienced a drop in enrollment, staff shortages, closures, and PPPE.
Get Connecticut local news, weather forecasts and entertainment stories to your inbox. Sign up for NBC Connecticut newsletters.
As for Hartford, some of the key priorities education, childcare, vaccination operations, housing, and economic development.
"There are many elements to this bill that direct funding to particular and particularly important needs," said Bronin. "There are so many needs out there and we want to develop a plan that will help our city."
Businesses like the New York Deli and More in the Capitol city said they've had a significant decline in the number of customers coming into their shops.
"Business has decreased a lot like dramatically and the change in the amount of people coming in is surreal," said Janira Ocasio who works at the sandwich shop. "I think the extra funding will help downtown and help small businesses as well."
Others who live in Hartford tell NBC Connecticut they've noticed and seen a lot of empty or closed down storefronts.
"A lot of businesses have closed and they couldn't sustain the time especially not knowing when the pandemic is going to be over," said Theodora Foster. "The more money that can come here the better and the city could really use it," said Nathan Navasatis Sr, of Hartford.
