Community Engagement Reporter Mariana Navarrete Villegas is hosting a Listening Session on February 26, 2026, at Park Street Library @Lyric. This is a welcoming space for residents to share experiences, concerns and questions related to housing— including rent, landlord issues, affordability, housing quality, development in the area and information residents feel is missing or hard to access.
From 3:30 to 4:30 PM, there will be an English listening session. From 4:30 to 5:30 PM, the session will be held in Spanish only. Refreshments will be provided in both sessions. The space is intended to be welcoming and inclusive for everyone.
People are encouraged to bring a friend, a neighbor, or family member.
Whether you want to come to share your experience or just listen, this will be a safe space for that. Email Mariana if you have any questions or needed accommodations.
Mariana Navarrete Villegas is a Community Engagement Reporter for The Connecticut Mirror, covering Hartford. She recently graduated from the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism with a master’s degree in Bilingual Journalism. Previously, she was the Community Engagement and Video Assistant at Epicenter-NYC and a Podcast Intern at The Take, Al Jazeera English’s daily news podcast. As a reporter, she has covered stories from New York to Florida, California, Panama, and Mexico, focusing on labor rights, immigration, and community care. She also hosts 'La Chismesita,' a community radio show in New York that archives oral histories through conversations with women community leaders. Originally from Mexico, Mariana spent her teenage years in Panama. She holds a B.A. in Global Studies with a minor in Psychology from Saint Leo University, where she interned at the International Rescue Committee.
More by Mariana Navarrete Villegas
