Hartford Health & Human Services Director Ebony Jackson Shahid told the committee on Nov. 4 that the REACH maternal-child health program has been "temporarily paused" as of Oct. 1, 2025, because of the federal government shutdown, though she said year two concluded Sept. 30 "with outstanding success."

Shahid said the department has started a new contract for the MYAP program and is working to integrate MYAP staff into city employment to improve continuity. She also reported that the car seat safety program for fiscal year 2024–25 achieved a full spend-down for its car seat line item, with staff installing 212 car seats and conducting 35 car seat clinics, "surpassing all contract outcome targets."

On nutrition services, Shahid said the governor committed state support to ensure uninterrupted WIC benefits during the federal shutdown. For employee and community wellness, she said Hartford’s self-care and wellness initiative will continue a partnership with Headspace through May 2026, offering one year of free Headspace content to city residents, employees and Hartford Public Schools and maintaining quarterly community-of-practice meetings through 2026.

Shahid described outreach and community events under the Welcome Home Hartford initiative, reporting that 149 people attended a four-part homeownership workshop and that 76% of participants reported feeling empowered to begin the home-buying process. The department also plans a city food-drive week and a holiday pickup on Nov. 22 at the HHS parking lot.

On disease prevention, Shahid said the Ryan White program convened a "call to action" with state and local partners last week to address what she described as rising HIV numbers in Hartford. She said partners are analyzing hotspot data and discussing outreach changes, including more mobile outreach and different settings for tabling and campaigns. Shahid offered to provide committee members with reports and the Ryan White team’s data.

Shahid said the department has a licensed mobile health unit in use but is awaiting correction of a misprint on the vehicle’s exterior; once corrected, divisions will rotate the unit weekly through ZIP codes to deliver outreach and referrals.

The committee asked several clarifying questions about these items. Council members requested budget and case-count details for programs affected by funding changes and for the Ryan White data; Shahid committed to providing reports and more detailed financial breakdowns for upcoming budget discussions.