The Rochester-Monroe Anti-Poverty Initiative has developed a list of policy priorities with actions aimed at addressing the root causes of poverty.
These policy priorities were developed by RMAPI’s Policy Working Group after several months of meeting with local experts, community and government leaders, and representatives from non-profit agencies to determine which actions would be the most effective and the most needed to address poverty.
A delegation of RMAPI partners will be traveling to Albany on March 5, 2025, to meet with lawmakers. We aim to build momentum for RMAPI’s Policy Agenda priorities and garner support to enable upward mobility across New York State. We will also build relationships with key legislators and committees.
To learn more, contact Rebekah Meyer at rebekah.meyer@rmapiny.org.
HOUSING
Increase affordable housing options throughout Monroe County, focusing on rental housing for low/very low-income households and homeownership for low/moderate-income homeowners.
State and local governments and the communities they serve rely on federal resources to meet the housing, homelessness, and community development needs of their communities. However, Congress has underfunded these resources for decades, and now House Republicans are threatening to impose austere spending cuts to non-defense programs.
Urge your members of Congress to fund housing and homelessness programs at the highest level possible in FY24.
For more information, click here.
INCOME & BENEFITS
Ensure households have sufficient income to meet their needs through living wages, gradual transitions off of public benefits, and opportunities for savings and wealth generation.
As moms, we know how hard it can be to make ends meet, and how much harder it gets when the system isn’t built to support us. Right now in New York, we have a chance to change that.
Senator Jessica Ramos and Assemblywoman Sarah Clark are fighting for a game-changing bill called Baby Bucks (S2132/A1597), and it could make a life-changing difference for families across our state. Baby Bucks would provide direct monthly cash support to 15,000 low-income moms and their babies, starting in the third trimester through the first 18 months of life. That’s real help when it matters most.
We’ve seen what happens when families get the support they need:
✅ During the pandemic, childhood poverty in New York dropped by 51% because of direct cash assistance.
✅ Just an extra $1,000 for a struggling family leads to higher test scores, healthier babies, and better financial security.
✅ Programs like Baby Bucks reduce infant mortality, improve maternal health, and help families thrive, not just survive.
But right now, nearly 1 in 5 kids in New York lives in poverty. Black and brown moms face even higher risks of complications and death because of a broken system. Moms are skipping meals so their babies can eat. That’s unacceptable, and we have the power to change it.
💖 Your voice matters. Lawmakers need to hear from real moms. They need to know we’re paying attention and that we expect them to show up for us.
📢 Send a letter to your representatives today and demand they pass Baby Bucks NOW. It takes less than two minutes, but it could change a child’s life forever.
Let’s stand together as moms and fight for what our families deserve. We’ve got this.
Click here to learn more.
We’re thrilled to see full funding for universal school meals in this year’s Executive Budget and Assembly and Senate One-House Budgets. Now it’s time to get it across the finish line! This investment will ensure all 2.7 million students in New York have access to free breakfast and lunch every school day. Statewide universal free school meals will make New York more affordable for families, support students’ learning and mental health, and alleviate hunger.
Use the customizable form below to email New York leaders, including Governor Hochul, Senate Majority Leader Stewart-Cousins, and Assembly Speaker Heastie, to show your support for universal free school meals in the final state budget.
The proposal would also require all families who apply and are approved for free and reduced-price meals at non-CEP schools to document their household income when they submit their school meal application. This would make applying for school meals incredibly complicated for schools and families and cause some children who are eligible for free or reduced-price school meals to fall through the cracks.
Use the FRAC Action Network form below to ask your members of Congress to protect school meals and oppose any cuts in reconciliation that would reduce funding and limit access to school meals.
Click here to ask your members of Congress to protect school meals and oppose any cuts that reduce funding and limit access to school meals.
Click here for more information.
Tell your Senator to get the job done NOW and act quickly to pass the Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act.
Criminalization, Exploitation, and Predatory Practices
Eliminate penalties, fees/fines, and legal and financial practices that exploit low-income people and criminalize poverty.
Communities Not Cages is a grassroots campaign led by impacted people and families across New York State. Together, we are fighting to end mass incarceration and overhaul New York’s racist and unjust sentencing laws. Take a moment to let your legislators know that you stand with #communitiesnotcages.
If you are one of millions of New Yorkers living paycheck-to-paycheck, paying off just one traffic ticket and its associated court fees can mean missing rent, going without food, and losing healthcare. Those who can’t afford to pay these fines and fees live with the constant fear of being arrested and jailed.
Your signature has the power to help us end the criminalization of poverty. Please add your name to the petition to show your support for ending predatory court fees.
Click here for more information.
Child Care
Invest in more flexible and affordable child care and school-age care options for all families.
Governor Kathy Hochul, Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins, and Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie have all focused on making New York a more affordable place for families to live. That cannot happen without prioritizing funding for child care in this year’s budget. Child care is one of the highest costs in a family’s budget, and New York can’t tackle the affordability crisis without ou rleaders investing in child care.
Click here to learn more and easily send a letter to New York State Leaders asking that they make New York affordable by investing in child care.
In the final days of the 2024 legislative session, the legislature passed three important bills that will make child care easier to access for thousands of families across New York State. Governor Hochul must sign these bills immediately, so that families can get the care they need for their children.
Click here to sign a letter for Gov. Hochul.
A.4099-A/S.4667-A will let families get help paying for child care while their application is being processed, because parents can’t wait 30-60 days for child care when they have a job offer today.
A.1303-A/S.4924-A will make families who have the lowest incomes eligible for help paying for child care, because no one should be considered too poor to get help and families with the lowest incomes need help the most.
A.8878/S.8152 will give parents who receive help paying for child care the same flexibility as private pay families on when they drop off and pick up their child from care, because kids need consistency and parents need predictability.
All three of these bills passed both the Assembly and state Senate with overwhelming bipartisan support. The governor must act now and sign these bills. Families cannot afford to wait to have these barriers to child care assistance removed.
Hundreds of advocates from across New York State are travelling to Albany to tell New York State legislators that child care investments must be a priority in this year’s budget!
We are fighting to make the child care system work for ALL of New York’s families that rely on it. Join us to email your legislators to ask for:
More information can be found here.
Increase access to culturally and linguistically responsive and affordable mental, behavioral, and physical health services.
Urge your state representatives to vote this critical legislation favorably out of committee, with appropriate funding, so we can get it passed!
Our mental health crisis response system is broken. Having a mental health emergency is not a crime and should not be treated like one. Fill out this form as a constituent in New York to contact your representatives about this important issue.
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