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.
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.
Help us make a difference by contacting Governor Hochul and your NYS legislators today!
Click here for more information.
New York took an important first step when last year’s state budget included funding for increased access to free school meals for students. But we need to finish the job. An estimated 660 schools serving 320,000 students across New York still lack access to free school breakfast and lunch for all students.
Add your name to this petition and tell Governor Hochul and the State Legislature it is time to fully fund free, healthy school meals for all students.
Tell state lawmakers to guarantee healthy school meals for all! (p2a.co)
Tell your Senator to get the job done NOW and act quickly to pass the Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act.
Click here to ask Congress to prioritize protecting and strengthening the Supplemental Nutrition Asstance Program (SNAP), which is vital to putting food on the table and improving food security for those who are hungry, especially children and families. SNAP has and continues to stabilize families when their assets and incomes are limited and ensures that babies, mothers, children, and families have access to nutritious food in tough times, and must be protected and strengthened, as too many American kids and families continue to struggle with hunger.
Click here to support the bipartisan proposal to expand the Child Tax Credit (CTC), H.R. 7024, the Tax Relief for American Workers and Families Act of 2024. This legislation is the best chance for this Congress to significantly reduce child poverty and help millions of struggling families. By expanding the CTC, the legislation would lift as many as 400,000 children above the poverty line and make life better for an additional three million children below the poverty line this year.
The House just passed the Tax Relief for American Workers and Families Act, and now the Senate must take it over the finish line. If passed, this proposal for an enhanced CTC would reach 16 million children in low-income families in its first year alone.
Criminalization, Exploitation, and Predatory Practices
Eliminate penalties, fees/fines, and legal and financial practices that exploit low-income people and criminalize poverty.
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.
Join the Empire State Campaign for Child Care at the New York State Capitol to show that New York’s children, families, and the child care educators they rely on deserve to be a top priority in this year’s state budget!
Note: This form is only for those who plan to join us in person in Albany.
Click here for more information.
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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