This page describes a variety of community projects that have grown out of our immigrant entrepreneurship project in 2014, details of which are described in various tabs under “Projects” and under “Life in Hartford”.

IMMIGRANT ENTREPRENEURSHIP PROJECTS

Initiated in partnership with International Hartford, Spring 2014, this project highlights immigrant entrepreneurship in the Greater Hartford.  Trinity College student teams (supervised by Professor Janet Bauer and Professor Carol Clark) are conducting “cultural audits” or mapping of several commercial districts in Hartford. Using participant observation and oral interview methods with current immigrant small business owners, community organizations, and prospective small business owners (identified through community groups), we are seeking to understand the challenges faced by immigrant business owners toward developing programs that will foster the potential of immigrant businesses to transform the life of the city by providing training and access to financing for refugees and immigrants interested in starting up formal businesses.

In 2014 we prepared a preliminary report of our findings on immigrant businesses and business owners in six of Hartford’s commercial districts (find report under this tab).  In 2016 and 2017 Professor Clark’s class concentrated on one of these districts–Farmington Avenue in the Asylum Hill Neighborhood. Working with ANHA (the neighborhood association) they prepared reports on ways to strengthen businesses along this corridor.

In 2017 a student working with Professor Bauer and Professor Clark will be duplicating these efforts by focusing on the New Britain Avenue Corridor, working with the Southwest/Behind the Rocks NRZ to understand the prospects for a revived neighborhood business association.

This tab also includes links to resources for entrepreneurs.

YOUTH MENTORING PROJECTS

In 2014 two students took up the challenge of creating a refugee youth mentoring group to facilitate refugee youth cultural adaptation and support career development and college prep goals among these students. Take2 Mentoring grew out of this initiative.  Subsequently in 2017, a group of students again took up this challenge, piloting a refugee youth mentoring group at Trinity College that meet weekly with area youth and designing a  three-daysummer refugee youth leadership workshop.

IMMIGRANT RESTAURANT TOUR PROJECT

One students took up the challenge of laying out a ‘restaurant tour’ of the immigrant restaurants we discovered in our immigrant business project. When completed this ‘tour’ will provide Trinity students and guests with information and links to Hartford immigrant-owned eateries.