Commission on Human Relations

It is essential to the health, safety and welfare of the Town of Manchester and its inhabitants that differences in race, creed and national origin serve as sources of individual and community strength rather than as causes of discrimination, segregation and restricted opportunity, therefore, in 2024 the Town of Manchester Board of Directors established the Commission on Human Relations.  

This Commission shall consist of nine members who shall be residents and electors of the Town of Manchester. There shall be an additional non-voting 10th member of the Commission who shall be designated annually by the Youth Commission.

The ordinance establishing the Commission and all related functions, responsibilities and membership terms can be found here: https://ecode360.com/8831379

IMPORTANT NOTICE:

DATE OF NOTICE – 6.23.2026

During a meeting held on 6.18.2026, the Commission members voted to cancel the July 16, 2026 and August 20, 2026 meetings. The Commission will resume regular meetings on Thursday, September 17, 2026 at 7:00 PM at the Weiss Conference Room, 479 Main Street, Manchester, CT 06042.

Dr. Maria W. Cruz,

Commission Chair.

 

 

Meeting, Minutes & Agendas

Minutes:

CLICK HERE (or paste this into your browser: https://ecode360.com/MA2034/documents/Minutes?category=Commission%20on%20Human%20Relations)

Agendas:

CLICK HERE (or paste this into your browser: https://ecode360.com/MA2034/documents/Agendas?category=Commission%20on%20Human%20Relations

 

Event Planning and Important Dates to Remember

The Manchester Commission on Human Relations has compiled the information below and encourages those planning events and programs during the programming year 2026-2027 to avoid the following times, in addition to the major known holidays and federal holidays, because at these times some members of the Manchester community may not be able to participate for religious or cultural reasons:

9/11/2026 sundown to 9/13 sundown (2 days): Rosh HaShanah (Judaism)

9/20-21/2026 sunset to sunset: Yom Kippur (Judaism)

11/8/2026 daytime only: Diwali (Hindu)

3/9/2027 sundown to 3/10 sundown, based on sighting of new moon: Eid Al-Fitre (Islam)

4/15/2027 Ben Gali New Year (Islam)

4/22/2027 Sundown through sundown 4/23: Passover, first 2 nights (Judaism)

5/3/2027 sundown to 5/4 sundown: Holocaust Remembrance Day (Judaism)

6/10/2027 sundown to 6/12 sundown (2 days): Shavuot (Judaism)

Members of the community with additional dates to submit for consideration on this list are invited to contact the Commission on Human Relations at COHR@manchesterct.gov. Please include your own contact information, so we can reach you for clarification or confirmation.

 

 

Commission Members

Dr. Maria Cruz - Chair
Ethan Espinal
Susan Stoppelman
Linda Harris
Rachel Hiskes
Khalilur Rahman
Nev Coleman
Jerome Grant

Contact Us

Chair:
Dr. Maria Cruz

Staff Liaison:
Joel Cox, Asst. Town Manager/Director of Human Services

Email
cohr@manchesterct.gov

Meetings are held on the third Tuesday of each month, at 7PM in the conference room located at the Weiss Center, 479 Main Street in Manchester (Unless otherwise posted).

News and Information

Click Here to see our latest press release:CoHR-Press-Release-2025.pdf(PDF, 29KB)

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