To the Editor:

I am a resident in Sandy Hook and I would love to submit a letter about Representative Mitch Bolinsky and the wonderful work he has been doing.

I am an employee at a local salon on Route 25, Branded Styles Salon. Me and all my coworkers had tremendous troubles with unemployment and the DOL during the COVID-19 shutdown. We felt worthless, like no one cared about us, we weren’t getting any of our money, we were locked out of our accounts multiple times, we were given no answers and no responses to any of our many attempts to contact the DOL and several elected state officials. All of our calls to the numbers provided went unanswered or we were just hung up on time and time again. I wrote and e-mailed our state senators and Governor Lamont and I got silence.

My boss Leslie came in contact with Mitch Bolinsky through a friend and I decided to contact him, as well, regarding my issues to see if I can at least get some answers. I gave him my entire timeline of e-mails and claims made from me to the DOL and all my information necessary for him and his team to bring my case to the DOL. In his initial e-mail to me, which he responded to within about four hours, unlike anyone else that I tried to contact, I immediately felt hope.

Mitch was so kind, his team took such good care of me and made me truly feel like I had finally been heard. I was struggling to pay my rent and my bills because as a hairstylist, unless I am behind the chair I am not making money. I was reliant on unemployment benefits and I was not receiving any money for weeks. I was actually threatened by the government if I did try to work and support myself. They threatened to take our licenses if we worked, along with a $1,000 fine. I had no way to support myself for three months.

Within ten days, Mitch Bolinsky got me my 12 weeks of unemployment money. Words can’t even describe how grateful I am and how much he impacted my life. In a time where things had been so unclear and scary, I finally felt cared about. I will never forget what Mitch and his team did for me and also for my boss. We could finally pay our bills and restore our savings accounts.

Someone like Mitch being a part of our government honestly gives me hope, and brings me peace knowing that there are elected officials who actually care about people and their communities. He and I have stayed in touch, and I can definitely say that he is a wonderful human being. We need more people like him. He’s inspired me to be more thoughtful and helpful to people in my community and he’s restored my faith in humanity.

Thank you Mitch Bolinsky, from the bottom of my heart.

Isabella Perugini

274 South Main Street, Newtown July 27, 2020