An important part of the agency's fight against discrimination has been the formation of Community Diversity Appreciation Teams. The Commission's role has been to assist communities in forming teams by providing facilitation, communication and other resources.
The purpose of a Community Diversity Appreciation Team is to fight discrimination before it happens, and to be ready to respond with action if it does happen. Members of a Team include leaders from government, schools, business, religious groups, and advocacy groups, as well as other concerned citizens. The Team defines the issues and intended actions specific to its own community, and mobilizes the Team and other community members to carry out the actions.
To facilitate continued communication, the Commission started a bi-monthly newsletter, Team Diversity. The newsletter allows the Teams to share ideas and the news of their accomplishments and events with other Teams around the state. The newsletter is distributed free to members of all Teams and interested citizens.
Staff participated in the Lt. Governor's Conference on Diversity by sponsoring a workshop on "Why Every Community Needs a Diversity Team."
As part of its ongoing search for community resources, the Commission established a relationship with the Study Circles Resource Center in Pomfret, CT. Study Circles is a program of forming participatory discussion groups on topics of interest to a community, designed to broaden perspectives, deepen understanding, and inspire participants to become more involved in the community.