This Week's Resources
NYC Consumer Prices Rise by Most Since 2022 on Electricity, Food (Bloomberg)
NYC closing down Bronx public benefits office as processing delays persist (Gothamist)
Farm Bill tensions ramp up over conservation, fire and food aid (The Hill)
Food inflation declines in January but remains a potent force (Agricultural Drive)
Eric Adams cancels new round of budget cuts, but fiscal cliff for NYC schools looms (Chalkbeat)
State awards $1.8M in grants for 26 projects in Hudson River communities (Times Union)
2024 NYC Summer Youth Employment Program (SYEP) Application Open [Due March 1st]
Sadie Nash Leadership Project Summer Institute Application Open [Due March 12th]
NYS COVID and MonkeyPox Updates (Plus Info about the Flu, RSV, and Norovirus)
Scams pretending to be immigration agencies: How to protect yourself (Documented)
Documented's Mental Health Resources for Immigrants in New York
Documented's Immigrant Resources and Job/Housing Discrimination Guides
If you have resources to share with our network, please contact Tobi Mojeed-Balogun our Associate Director of Programs Support.
2024 Youth Opportunity Grant Application Is Open!
We are thrilled to announce that the application for our Youth Opportunity Grant is now open! The application is due on March 8th at 5 pm.
I created a walkthrough video that you can view below:
To learn about EC's grants (including BHN), see here. Please contact me (Tobi) for more information and if you have any other questions or concerns.
Most New Yorkers can’t afford childcare, driving young families out of the city, report finds (Gothamist)
"More than 80% of New York City families can’t afford childcare even as providers are struggling to survive and closing in increasing numbers, a think tank report finds.
The report, which was released by 5Boro Institute on Tuesday, calls on the Adams administration to address the growing childcare affordability crisis that the institute says is driving young families — particularly Black families — to leave the city. The report comes as the city deals with rising rents and eviction rates, surging child poverty numbers, and a safety net riddled with delays and limited services.
“The future of our city depends on the availability of affordable, high-quality childcare," said Grace Rauh, the institute's executive director, in a statement." Read more here.
In Line at St. Brigid (Curbed)
"...St. Brigid had been quietly transformed into what City Hall describes as a “reticketing center,” the first in the city: a place where migrants can be processed into a new shelter after their stay in another one runs out. Shelter stays never used to be time-limited. The city’s “right to shelter” decree, which has been in place since the 1980s, technically guarantees every person in need, including migrants, a safe place to stay. But as the migrant surge has continued — 178,600 have arrived since the spring of 2022 with a notable recent influx of Africans who have flown to Central America and crossed the southern border — the Adams administration has been working to subtly push single migrants out of the system entirely. Over the summer, the city instituted a 60-day limit on shelter stays for single adult migrants. In September, that limit narrowed to 30 days. Adams seemed to hope the inconvenience of reprocessing would discourage applicants, and, in fact, the city offers anyone at St. Brigid a free plane ticket to anywhere in the world. The length of the line — with a wait time that can stretch to two weeks — reflects a colossal civic miscalculation." Read more here.
NYC Consumer Prices Rise by Most Since 2022 on Electricity, Food (Bloomberg)
"New York consumer prices surged in January by the most since June 2022, dealing a blow to residents of what’s already the most expensive city in the US.
Prices in the New York metro area rose 1% from a month earlier, US government figures out Tuesday showed. The advance reflected sizable increases in the prices for groceries and electricity..." Read more here.
NYC closing down Bronx public benefits office as processing delays persist (Gothamist)
"The city is closing a Bronx public benefits office and relocating some services five miles away, even as processing times for food stamp and cash assistance applications continue to face unprecedented delays.
The Human Resources Administration center in Mount Eden operates an office to process benefits and applications for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, which helps residents afford groceries. The office will shutter on Friday, while another department within the HRA office that processes cash assistance and other benefits will move its operations to another center in Hunts Point in the eastern Bronx, according to a listing on the administration's website and an email sent to providers.
Social service nonprofits that help residents apply for the benefits say the move is part of a pattern of closures and relocations that started in 2019 under the de Blasio administration and has continued under Mayor Eric Adams. The relocation will leave the Bronx, which has the state's highest rate of unemployment, with seven SNAP or other benefit locations, according to the city." Read more here.
Farm Bill tensions ramp up over conservation, fire and food aid (The Hill)
"Leaders of both parties are calling on Congress to quickly pass a revised Farm Bill before funds run out this summer — but tensions are re-emerging over the key ideological divide that helped scuttle last year’s farm bill.
Members of both parties expressed the importance of not cutting popular food aid and conservation programs, but there’s a wide array of competing interests that will make passage a challenge.
“In what seemingly is a daily occurrence, taxpayer dollars are being sent to every corner of the country, yet nothing has changed,” House Agriculture Committee Chair Glenn “G.T.” Thompson (R-Pa.) said at a Wednesday hearing." Read more here.
Food inflation declines in January but remains a potent force (Agricultural Drive)
"Dive Brief:
Food-at-home prices moved up in January at a 1.2% annual rate, down from 1.3% during the previous month, according to Consumer Price Index data released Tuesday by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The food-at-home index rose 0.4% last month compared with December 2023, the highest month-to-month rate of grocery inflation since the metric came in at that level in January 2023.
Overall inflation declined in January to an annual rate of 3.1%, a level that was down from December but higher than economists projected."
Eric Adams cancels new round of budget cuts, but fiscal cliff for NYC schools looms (Chalkbeat)
"New York City’s Education Department won’t see another round of city budget cuts this spring, Mayor Eric Adams announced Wednesday.
But the school system still stands to lose hundreds of millions of dollars of expiring federal aid by this summer unless city and state officials act quickly to replace it, advocates warned.
Adams said he will not move forward with a third round of planned budget cuts to city agencies, citing better-than-anticipated revenue and shrinking spending on migrants. The previous two rounds of cuts slashed a total of more than $700 million from the Education Department’s budget for next fiscal year.
Advocates celebrated Wednesday’s news, but warned it does nothing to reverse the massive cuts already coming through previous reductions in city spending and the approaching fiscal cliff of expiring federal aid." Read more here.
State awards $1.8M in grants for 26 projects in Hudson River communities (Times Union)
"ALBANY — Gov. Kathy Hochul announced grant awards totaling more than $1.8 million for 26 projects to help communities along the Hudson River estuary improve water quality, enhance environmental education and advance stewardship of natural resources. Most of the recipients are in the Hudson Valley and Capital Region.
“New York state is investing in projects that will improve resiliency and protect our natural resources both in the Hudson River Valley and across the state,” Hochul said in a prepared statement. “These 26 local grants will provide dozens of communities support to improve recreation, expand river access and education, and preserve and protect this iconic river for future generations of New Yorkers.”" Read more here.
A New Yorker’s guide to jury duty (Gothamist)
"New Yorkers receive letters in the mail every few years from their local commissioner of jurors summoning them to state court for jury duty. The notice can evoke a sense of dread for some people, followed by a series of questions: Will I get in trouble for missing work? Do I need to call a babysitter? What if I don’t feel capable of serving on a jury?
Gothamist has the answers to some of the most common questions about state jury service." Read more here.
2024 NYC Summer Youth Employment Program (SYEP) Application Open [Due March 1st]
"Summer Youth Employment Program (SYEP) is the nation’s largest youth employment program, connecting NYC youth between the ages of 14 and 24 with career exploration opportunities and paid work experiences each summer."
The application is due March 1st. Must be a NYC resident. Apply or learn more here.
Sadie Nash Leadership Project Summer Institute Application Open [Due March 12th]
"Summer Institute is an award-winning 6-week summer program where participants explore their own leadership skills and build a strong community with other Nashers…because at Sadie Nash we believe that all young women and gender-expansive youth are leaders NOW!"
Only for "young women and gender-expansive youth who are enrolled in high school and live in New York City or Newark. There are no academic or skill criteria for admission." Apply or learn more here.
TD Charitable Foundation - Housing for Everyone Competition
"The theme for the 18th annual Housing for Everyone competition is affordable housing with services to support independent living for marginalized community members.
The impacts of homelessness are not equal across many populations. There are conditions that make it difficult for people to maintain a stable home without additional help. To address this issue, we'll fund a select group of organizations focused on housing solutions that lead to stable, independent living situations."
New York Common Pantry Personal Care and Hygiene Wishlist
Here's a message from our friends at NY Common Pantry:
"Dear Friends of NY Common Pantry,
As you may have read, a building in the Bronx collapsed [December 11th]. NYCP was asked by the Bronx Borough President's office to provide hygiene kits for the residents that were displaced by this event. While we could answer the need, it meant that all our supplies have been depleted and we need these kits for our participants who come daily. While we should manage through the holiday - we will need these in the new year.The kits consist of a mix of toothpaste, shampoo, shaving kits, toothbrush, soap and chapstick etc. They can be made into kits or items can be collected and donated to NYCP where kits can be made. It might be a perfect January event after the holidays if your schools could help us out with a much needed collection. If your students will travel or parents travel for work, those hotel size toiletries are perfectly fine.This is the link on Amazon to make it even easier to see what is needed and how easy it is to create the kits at home or at work - https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/1DM1TOXUVSRL7?ref_=wl_share."
NYS COVID and MonkeyPox Updates (Plus Info about the Flu, RSV, and Norovirus)
A lot of the news around mandates, vaccines and restrictions have been a little confusing so I will list some resources below that might help.
Interview with NYC Health Commissioner on COVID bump. Link here.
NYS Department of Health COVID website - It's a one stop shop with an info summary at the top. Link here.
NYC Department of Health Monkeypox Webpage - lots of information and resources about the virus with pictures of the rash included. Find the link here.
With Mpox at Risk of Flaring, Health Officials Advise, ‘Get Vaccinated’ - New York Times - Read here
COVID vs Flu vs RSV info - I found a good article from the Washington post that gives information about three viruses that have been spiking this winter. Read the article here.
The Time Magazine article on the new variant (XBB.1.5) - Link Here
US News and World Report article on newest variant (BA.2.86) - Link Here
COVID is back in NY. What to know about schools, nursing homes and more (lohud.) - link here
How to Keep Tabs on COVID Through Wastewater Testing in NYC (The City) - link here
Scams pretending to be immigration agencies: How to protect yourself (Documented)
"Fraudulent emails and messages have circulated social media, masquerading as communications from federal immigration agencies, that falsely promise migrants legal representation for obtaining a Green Card in exchange for a small fee. Scammers specifically target Spanish-speaking, migrant New Yorkers who are in the process of adjusting their immigration status.
Rosa Santana, the Bond Director at Envision Fund, contacted Documented regarding scam messages circulating on Facebook and WhatsApp. The emails also falsely claim that failure to respond to the correspondence could result in a “negative report in the migration system,” making individuals “prone to deportation.”
Scam messages that target migrants are nothing new, as Documented reported in the past during the Excluded Workers Fund. However, these new scams exploit the necessity of migrants as they seek asylum in the United States. Here are some of the common scams targeting migrants with immigration cases and how to avoid them." Read the rest of the guide here.
Safe Church Training
Safe Church is handled by the Diocesan Human Resources Department which can be reached at safechurchinfo@dioceseny.org. You can also call 917 414 0156.
For more information on Safe Church, visit https://dioceseny.org/administration/congregations/recruiting-and-employment/sexual-misconduct-awareness-2/safe-church/
Documented's Mental Health Resources for Immigrants in New York
"A list of organizations that provide free or low-cost mental health care services to immigrants in New York
It can be overwhelming to find mental health care services, so Documented compiled a list of organizations and groups that offer low cost options, accept Medicaid, or render free services to individuals who are seeking counseling.
Most of these locations provide services in English and Spanish. We recommend reaching out to the location for more information, as some of the prices for services given are based on the level of income. For emergencies always call 911.
You can also contact NYC Well for free, confidential crisis counseling, mental health, and substance misuse support, information, and referral. You can reach the toll-free helpline 24 hours a day, 7 days a week by phone, text and online chat. Mental health professionals there can link you to the services you need. Phone: 888-692-9355 | (Espanol): 888-692-9355"
NYC migrant crisis: Where to volunteer and what to donate (Gothamist)
"Mayor Eric Adams has repeatedly urged New Yorkers to volunteer or donate to help ease the asylum-seeker crisis, but figuring out where to go to help or what items to give can be difficult.
For information on how New Yorkers can help, Gothamist spoke with the mayor's office as well as several organizers involved in daily efforts to aid migrants who have recently arrived in the city." Read more here.
Documented's Immigrant Resources and Job/Housing Discrimination Guides
"Documented has gathered all of the resources we can find to help immigrant New Yorkers. New links will be added and the following pages will be constantly updated. If you would like us to add information to this list or have questions, please reach out to us at info@documentedny.com."
"The New York City Human Rights Law is one of the most comprehensive anti-discrimination laws in the country, prohibiting discrimination in employment, housing and public accommodations based on race, color, religion/creed, age, national origin, immigration or citizenship status, gender (including sexual harassment), gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, pregnancy, military service, marital status and partnership status. As a newsroom that serves immigrant communities, Documented has written a comprehensive guide for immigrants."
Hudson Link Employer Toolkit
Our friends at Hudson Link for Higher Education in Prison put together an employer toolkit for hiring formerly incarcerated people. Thank you to Sean Pica, Eldredge Blalock, Elisabeth Santiago, and the rest of the team at Hudson Link for this important resource. The toolkit can be found here. If you have any questions about hiring formerly incarcerated people, please contact Elisabeth Santiago from Hudson Link's Alumni Services at esantiago@hudsonlink.org.
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That's all for this week -- thanks for all you do!
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