Bridgeport, CT – Today, Mayor Ganim stood before the U.S. Conference of Mayors (USCM) 92^nd Annual Meeting in Kansas City to present updates regarding the DollarWise grant awarded to the City of Bridgeport in 2020. The DollarWise grant provided by USCM was in the amount of $10,000 in which those funds were used throughout the Mayor’s Initiative for Reentry Affairs (MIRA) program. MIRA, a program catered to providing linkage to community resources and pertinent information for the empowerment of convicted persons, was able to use this grant to provide reentry citizens with many necessities that the average resident would have already obtained. Through a partnership with the Department of Motor Vehicles, the City’s Office of Vital Statistics, and numerous organizations, MIRA has used grant funding to help reentry citizens obtain their birth certificates, acquire state or municipal IDs, obtain driver’s licenses, and acquire local bus passes.

Mayor Ganim stated, “As a second-chance city, the MIRA program plays a very significant role in Bridgeport because of all the services that have been provided to help reduce barriers for our reentry residents. With this, I want to extend my deepest gratitude to the U.S. Conference of Mayors for the grant that was awarded to us in 2020 and allowing us the opportunity to continue the work that helps shape our City. We will maintain our commitment to ensuring that all reentry residents are able to receive the necessary services and tools they need to have a smoother transition back into our communities.”