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The Hub: Behavioral Health Action Organization for Southwestern CT
A division of the Regional Youth Adult Social Action Partnership (RYASAP)
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About Us
We are the state-designated Regional Behavioral Health Action Organization (RBHAO) serving Southwest Connecticut. We are a regional resource supporting and coordinating mental health, suicide awareness, substance use prevention and problem gambling efforts in the 14 communities from Greenwich through Greater Bridgeport and serving as the liaison between the region and state. We support the Local Prevention Councils in each town to prevent substance use and promote mental health, and we bring consumers and providers together through our Catchment Area Councils to identify needs and recommendations in the treatment and recovery systems.
The Hub is a program of the Regional Youth-Adult Social Action Partnership (RYASAP).
Scroll down to see our staff & advisory board. To get involved, contact us at info@thehubct.org
Our Staff
Giovanna Mozzo, MSW (She,Her,Hers)
Director
Giovanna is a social worker and substance misuse prevention professional who's been in the prevention field since 2016. She has 20+ years of experience in social work, including 7 years with DSS, 6 years at Chapel Haven and 2 years at Living Waters Therapy, LLC. She has served as an Adjunct Professor for Western CT State University; where she has taught in the Social Work Program and at Housatonic Community College teaching an Ethics course for the Human Services program. She is also a field supervisor for WCSU undergraduate program and Sacred Heart's Master of Social Work program. Giovanna is certified in SIFI as well. She has an MSW from Fordham University, a BSW from SCSU.
Contact Giovanna at: gmozzo@thehubct.org
Kaitlin Comet, MA (She, Her, Hers)
Program Coordinator
Kaitlin began at The Hub as an Americorps Prevention Corps member working on community-focused solutions in opioid education, awareness, and stigma-reduction. After completing her one-year service term, she was invited to continue working with The Hub as a Program Coordinator. Currently, she leads the Region 1 Catchment Area Council (CAC) initiatives as well as oversees four Local Prevention Councils. She is also a Co-Chair for the Greater Bridgeport Community Health Improvement Plan (CHIP) Behavioral Health Task Force and a Board Member for the NAMI Southwest CT chapter. She is a certified Question, Persuade, Refer (QPR) trainer, Naloxone trainer, NAMI SMARTS on Advocacy Trainer and Youth Mental Health First Aid Trainer. Kaitlin graduated from the Forensic Psychology BA/MA program at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York City and is currently pursuing a second Master's degree in Social Work. She has a passion for youth mental health as she worked as an Adjunct Lecturer in the Department of Counseling & Human Services at John Jay for three years, and continues to work with at-risk youth through the Summer Youth Employment Program (SYEP) in NYC. She is involved in advocacy for a more accessible and equitable behavioral healthcare system as well as LGBTQIA+ education and rights. Her work is driven by lived personal experiences and a strong passion to contribute to thriving communities.
Contact Kaitlin at: kcomet@ryasap.org
Dena Miccinello (She, Her, Hers)
Program Manager
Dena grew up in Connecticut, she has a degree in Public Health from SCSU and has nearly 6 years of experience in the prevention field. She served in the AmeriCorps program, Prevention Corps with TPAUD, Trumbull’s Prevention Partnership, focusing on the opioid epidemic and spent time working in lead poisoning prevention for The Naugatuck Valley Health District. She was awarded the RYASAP Above & Beyond Award in 2018, is a board member of the Connecticut Public Health Association's Health Education Committee and a board member for CAPP, The Connecticut Association Of Prevention Professionals. Most recently, Dena was the Prevention Coordinator at DMLWC, The Durham Middlefield Local Wellness Coalition, for 4 years, focusing on substance use prevention. Dena was a lifeguard and aquatics director for over 10 years; this is where her passion of helping others started. Prevention is the way she now helps community members live a safe and healthy life. In her free time, she enjoys baking sourdough bread, trying new restaurants, and spending time with her loved ones.
Contact Dena at: dmiccinello@ryasap.org
Victoria O’Neill, BA (She, Her, Hers)
Program Coordinator
Upon her completion of an AmeriCorps service term at The Hub Victoria O’Neill was brought on to the team to act as a Program Coordinator. Much of Victoria's work is focused on suicide prevention and post vention and working to reduce the stigma surrounding the topic across the region. Victoria has earned her Bachelor’s degree in Sociology with a concentration in Social Services and a minor in Gender Studies from Quinnipiac University. She is currently a Master of Social Work Candidate at Fordham University and hopes to continue her work empowering and educating those with substance use disorder and mental health diagnoses. She is passionate about issues surrounding social, economic, and racial justice as well as combating issues of stigmatization around vulnerable populations. In her free time, Victoria enjoys taking in the outdoors with her tri-paw rescue dog!
Contact Victoria at: voneill@ryasap.org
Melissa Perez-Constantine, LMSW
Program Coordinator
Leads Local Prevention Councils (LPCS) in the 14 towns in SWCT and focuses on efforts around vaping and tobacco/nicotine prevention.
Melissa began her professional career with AmeriCorps JumpStart, where she dedicated herself to enhancing kindergarten readiness by reducing the student-to-teacher ratio to a 3:1 in every Jumpstart classroom. She holds a degree in Sociology with a minor in Psychology from Central Connecticut State University, where her passion for social work and community organizing was first ignited.
During her academic journey, Melissa worked for Catholic Charities, Diocese of Norwich, where she provided intensive case management and trauma-informed care to victims of crimes in the State of Connecticut, fostering her growth into the role of Intensive Case Management Supervisor.
Melissa furthered her education by earning a master's degree from the University of Connecticut School of Social Work, specializing in Policy Practice. There, she played a pivotal role in the CT Coalition to End Homelessness, working closely with housing advocates in Middletown, Meriden, Wallingford, and Litchfield County. Together, they pursued policy changes at both the local and state levels, with a mission to reduce family homelessness by 2020. Melissa excelled in organizing and executing subcommittee goals and action steps, including outreach objectives.
Continuing her focus on policy practice, Melissa collaborated with the Connecticut Sentencing Commission. In this role, she supported the Executive Director in examining the existing criminal sentencing structure in the state, proposing changes, and analyzing criminal justice legislation and sentencing policies and practices.
Recognizing the challenges posed by the school-to-prison pipeline, Melissa transitioned into the field of education, joining RYASAP SEL Community Schools. Here, she offered guidance and technical assistance in implementing and continually improving Social-Emotional Learning across the district and community.
Contact Melissa at: mperezconstantine@ryasap.org