Caitlin Emma Photo
CAA’s Amos Smith.
The Community Action Agency of New Haven is making a move — seven-tenths of a mile up the street.
The agency, which provides heating oil and weatherization help for the needy, plans to relocate its offices next week from 781 Whalley Ave. to 419 Whalley Ave.
CAA CEO Amos Smith (pictured) came to the Whalley-Edgewood-Beaver Hills Management Team meeting Tuesday night to discuss the move and CAA’s goals. He said CAA will close its doors on Friday, March 30 and reopen at the new location on Tuesday, April 3.
Smith said he hopes the agency will connect with new people at the new location on Whalley Avenue.
The agency comes with a troubled history. Before Smith took over, it endured more than a decade of scandals, including the mismanagement of funds and political infighting. Smith Tuesday night asked management team meeting attendees to put aside what they remember about the way the agency used to operate.
“Whatever you knew about CAA the past few years, I’d like you to suspend it until I’m done,” he said. “We want to be as transparent as possible.”
He emphasized the agency’s “Passport To Prosperity”, a program funded by the Annie E. Casey foundation that was rolled out in 2009. The initiative helps CAA work with other area agencies to ensure clients find the services they need.
“We’re looking to learn from your experience in this neighborhood,” Smith told management team members. And one of the ways the agency plans to learn more is by hiring locally.
“We’re hoping to hire more from the neighborhood,” he said.
