Media Advisory

Union Station Lactation Space Launch

Tuesday, August 1st, 2023, at 10 am

Contact Name:

Address for the Event:

Tomeka Frieson

2nd Floor, Lactation Space

New Haven Union Station

50 Union Ave

New Haven, CT 06519

For interviews or additional information please contact Tomeka Frieson, Breast/Chestfeeding Initiative Coordinator at the Community Alliance for Research & Engagement (CARE) and member of the New Haven Breast/Chestfeeding Task Force, at tomeka.frieson@yale.edu. 

*Video and photo opportunities of the new lactation space, along with the people who worked to organize the launch, are available at this press conference.

WHAT: 

The New Haven Breast/Chestfeeding Task Force will be holding a press conference to celebrate the opening of Union Station’s new lactation space. The new lactation space, located on the second floor of Union Station, will provide a private and safe environment for lactating parents to breast/chestfeed or pump. It will also be a shared Wellness Room where train-goers are welcome to pray. This project is five years in the making and will feature key speakers such as representatives from the New Haven Breast/Chestfeeding Task Force, Union Station, and breast/chestfeeding families. 

The opening of Union Station’s lactation space is part of the Task Force’s city-wide “We Support Breast/Chestfeeding: Any Time, Any Place” initiative, which encourages businesses to support people in our communities who breast/chestfeed, especially their own employees. 

WHO: 

  • Natasha Ray, Director of New Haven Health Start and member of the New Haven Breast/Chestfeeding Task Force

  • Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (CT-03), U.S. representative for Connecticut’s 3rd congressional district (pending confirmation)

  • Justin Elicker, 51st elected Mayor of New Haven (pending confirmation)

  • Doug Hausladen, Executive Director of the New Haven Parking Authority

  • Tomeka Frieson, Breast/Chestfeeding Initiative Coordinator at the Community Alliance for Research & Engagement (CARE) and member of the New Haven Breast/Chestfeeding Task Force

  • Robert Farrow, Jr. and LaKayla Farrow, New Haven parents who support the creation of Union Station’s lactation space

WHY:  

This press conference is being held in celebration of the opening of Union Station’s new lactation space. Racial/ethnic and socioeconomic disparities in breast/chestfeeding rates persist in New Haven due to a number of structural barriers, inequities, and institutional racism. Black and African American communities are disproportionately affected by these systemic barriers. That is why it is accutely important that we work to make New Haven a city that is more welcoming to everyone, especially as it pertains to breast/chestfeeding and maternal and child health. If we can establish another safe space to breast/chestfeed anywhere in the city, we are working towards making the city as a whole a more breast/chestfeeding friendly community.