Locally grown

From student volunteer to community leader, Johnny Scafidi ’01 has spent 25 years helping Dwight Hall strengthen connections in New Haven.

When Johnny Scafidi ’01 talks about Dwight Hall at Yale and its impact on the New Haven community, he exudes warm, genuine enthusiasm that reflects his belief in the power of connection.

As director of community outreach and engagement for Dwight Hall, Scafidi works with Yale students, local partners, and organizations to plan and implement programs that meet the needs of nearby neighbors. Where others see obstacles, he sees opportunities.

Roots in service

Before coming to Yale as an undergraduate, Scafidi’s journey toward a life of service took shape in Clifton, New Jersey, where he grew up. His parents immigrated from postwar Sicily and operated an automobile repair shop and gas station where he was exposed to individuals from all backgrounds and professions.

Working there taught him the power of human connection. He witnessed the challenges immigrants face and developed a deep appreciation for cultural diversity. These experiences, as well as his belief in the importance of community service, eventually led him to Dwight Hall.

Undergrad activist to career calling

“I understood from my classmates that Dwight Hall was the place to go if you wanted to engage with the local community,” Scafidi said. “I was an active volunteer in its educational outreach and summer fellows programs. I spent time at the apartment complexes then called Tower One and Tower East, and met many intergenerational folks and elderly residents living there, which helped me understand the story of New Haven.”

As an undergraduate, he served on the student executive committee, working with staff and local partners to shape how Dwight Hall programs responded to community needs. Between his junior and senior years, he worked as a summer fellow to support New Haven’s Hill Neighborhood leaders in promoting affordable housing.

“I lived in the Amistad Catholic Worker House in the Hill that summer, which reinforced for me the transformative power of deep relationships and mutual commitment,” said Scafidi.

Along with other Yale students, he helped develop Community Health Educators (CHE). Founded in 1999, CHE presents health education workshops in New Haven public schools. Yale undergraduates teach middle and high school students about mental health, substance abuse, STIs, contraception, and nutrition.

“The work done at Dwight Hall extends beyond Greater New Haven,” he said. “One of the original cofounders of CHE, Louise Langheier Davis ’03, formed a national group called Peer Health Exchange. It advances health equity and outcomes for young people in under-resourced areas across the country.”

After graduating in 2001 and unsure of his career path, Scafidi joined Dwight Hall as director of programming. What started as a 10-month position turned into a career.

“Johnny embodies traits that we can all celebrate. He is a very thoughtful, purposeful, and compassionate person who has channeled that into serving the greater good,” said Peter Crumlish, executive director of Dwight Hall. “He has demonstrated his commitment to public service, exemplifying our mission to form lifelong leaders of social change.”

Transforming communities

Through Dwight Hall’s Emerging Projects initiative, Scafidi has supported Healing by Growing Farms (HBG) and J-Z AMP. HBG is a retreat and educational center for trauma recovery through farming, and J-Z AMP provides at-risk middle schoolers with mentorship, educational support, and vocational training.

“Many students in the J-Z AMP program have gone on to achieve academic and career success,” said Scafidi. “Healing by Growing, founded by Dr. Ivette Ruiz, is where trauma survivors learn about gardening and connect with nature as part of their healing process.”

Scafidi has also contributed to the Co-Op After School Program (CAS), a collaboration between Dwight Hall and New Haven’s Cooperative Arts and Humanities Interdistrict Magnet High School. It provides free, diverse after-school activities, such as production and sound design, ceramics, and podcasting, for about 350 participants annually.

Incubating change

Beyond direct programming, Dwight Hall helps incubate and launch homegrown non-profits. “Our mission challenges us to support community-led initiatives as well as student-led ones that help advance social justice and service in New Haven and around the world,” said Scafidi. “Two such examples are Columbus House, Inc. and Marrakech, Inc., well-established non-profits that serve vulnerable populations.”

Since 1982, Columbus House has served individuals experiencing homelessness through outreach, shelter, and housing, while fostering personal growth and independence. Their team also advocates for affordable housing.

Marrakech, started as a pilot program in 1971, supports people with disabilities and has since evolved to serve individuals with diverse needs across Connecticut, including youth transitioning to adulthood, and individuals facing addiction, homelessness, or mental illness.

Dwight Hall also provides resources and fiscal support that help nascent initiatives become full-fledged nonprofits, such as Trash to Fashion and Havenly, a café on Temple Street. The café also serves as a training program for women refugees to gain job skills and employment experience. Trash to Fashion produces zero-waste events and teaches people how to turn trash into fashion to reduce pollution.

“As our fiscal sponsor, Dwight Hall gives us the opportunity to apply for grants and accept donations through its non-profit status,” said Rebekah Fraser ’03, founder of Trash to Fashion. “Their support provides me the room to concentrate on building outreach and relationships. Johnny is an amazing liaison and true partner. He gives us so much of his time and does it with such grace and always with a smile.”

Engage, grow, and advance

With these successful programs come some challenges. It is the strong relationships he has forged over the years — with church leaders, local government officials, corporate partners, and New Haven neighbors — that ensure these projects receive the support needed to get started and thrive.

“Dwight Hall is in many ways a movement that builds a community of visionaries and changemakers, equipping them with the skills and tools that they need to realize positive change in their communities. We help students engage in service and activism, grow them as leaders of social change, and help advance social justice in New Haven and around the world,” Scafidi concluded.