When we say Lit New Haven is more than a cannabis store, this past month proves it.
From violence prevention efforts to empowering local businesses, creating safe spaces for joy, and elevating wellness and wealth—we are doing the work, right here at 169 East Street.
We’re not just serving cannabis. We’re serving community. And this month, we’ve been Lit with purpose.
🚨 Weekly Community Violence Prevention Meetings: Turning Talk into Action
This month, we launched weekly community violence prevention meetings, and the response has been powerful.
So far, we’ve welcomed:
- Chief of Police & Assistant Chief of Police
- Tirzah Kemp, Director of the Office of Violence Prevention
- Leonard Jahad from CT VIP
- Alderman Frank Douglas
- Mental health providers, youth advocates, and deeply invested residents
These conversations are open to the public and focused on healing—not blame. Together, we’re building trust, sharing resources, and creating a space for honest, solutions-driven dialogue.
💛 Launching the #WeCare Campaign
From these meetings, we birthed the #WeCare Campaign—a grassroots movement reminding our city:
We care about the violence.
We care about your future.
We care about every single life.
Through community videos, social media, and in-store visibility, we’re letting people know:
Lit New Haven is listening. Lit New Haven is loving. Lit New Haven is leading.
🎤 Lit Conversations Are Here
We also kicked off our new Lit Conversations series, where we interview community leaders, creatives, healers, and grassroots organizers doing extraordinary work across New Haven.
This is our way of spotlighting unsung heroes—because the work doesn’t always get the shine, but the people still need the light.
🎨 Create & Lit, Vendor Pop-Ups & Fight Night Wins
It’s been an exciting month of events:
- Create & Lit Night (Sold Out!) featuring guests from the Black Graduate Network at Yale
- The Flee Factory Pop-Up, which gave local vendors an opportunity to shine
- Fight Night: Crawford vs. Canelo—we gathered, we cheered, and Crawford brought home the W
These events are more than fun. They’re about community joy, ownership, and visibility.
🧘🏾♀️ This Week: Trap Yoga, Financially Lit & the Lit Lot Returns
This week, we’re doing it all:
- Trap Yoga is back—get grounded, get stretched, get lifted
- Financially Lit happens Thursday—a financial literacy + credit-building workshop for our people
- And the Lit Lot returns on Friday, September 20
→ More vendors. More culture. More safe space for us, by us.
🏕️ And YES—we’ve got heat.
As the weather begins to change, we’re preparing to keep you comfortable year-round. We’ve added a heated event tent, so no matter the temperature, we can continue gathering, celebrating, and building in warmth and safety.
✊🏾 Why This All Matters
Lit New Haven is still the only cannabis store in this city that’s truly rooted in social equity.
We don’t just sell product—we create pathways. We don’t just host events—we invest in healing. We’re building a model that proves:
You can come from a community that harmed you, and still choose to reinvest—because you see the harm it caused others too, and you want to be part of the solution.
That’s what Lit is all about.
💬 Let’s Keep Going, Together
Thank you to everyone who’s been showing up, speaking out, and spending with intention. When you support Lit, you’re supporting:
- Local hiring
- Second chances
- Community healing
- Black ownership
- Real equity in action
We’re not a moment—we’re a movement.
With love, legacy & light,
Kebra Smith-Bolden
Founder, Lit New Haven 🔥
