MONROE – A national campaign is landing on front lawns across Connecticut.
The Hate Has No Home Here Project started in Chicago to promote inclusive communities by encouraging neighbors to put a special sign on their properties.
The signs read, “Hate Has No Home Here,” in several languages.
The campaign states that if a sign is on the lawn of a home, school, business, or place of worship, it is a safe place where everyone is welcomed and valued.
The group out of Monroe, "Hear Our Voice CT," has been selling the signs in the state. Member Myrna Mills Albino, said the group sold more than 100 in three weeks.
“After the election we found people were becoming more and more intolerant or at least expressing more of that hateful kind of talk,” she said. “We put these signs up to let them know that here we don’t allow hate, here we welcome people.”
Displaying the signs come with guidelines, including that they are non-partisan and are not affiliated with a political party, candidate, or political organization.
“The objective of this is to just let people know that when we show that there’s no hate, when we show there’s welcome, we can help to minimize or to make that divide even less,” said Mills Albino.
Neighbor Margo Casados, said she displayed one on her lawn to let people know Monroe is a welcoming town.
“I think it’s great to know there are people in town that are comfortable with being inclusive,” said Casados.
The campaign isn’t backed by all. One guy, John Natale, wrote a letter to local newspapers expressing his disapproval with the project.
His letter to the editor created a back-and-forth with a seventh grader from Winchester, Massachusetts, which went viral on social media.
There have been incidents in other states in which the signs have caused controversy.
If you want to buy a sign from Hear Our Voice CT, you can email hearourvoicect@gmail.com.