This Week's Resources
Kingston becomes second upstate city to adopt ‘good-cause’ eviction law (Times Union)
NYC COVID cases up 250% in 2 months — and this variant's harder to duck (Gothamist)
NYC, counties clarify plans to end upstate migrant motel shelters (Spectrum News 1)
The NYC Neighborhoods Leading, and Lagging, on Affordable Housing (City Limits)
Why are so many migrant kids selling candy in NYC? Lack of child care, survey says. (Gothamist)
New program gives NYC's youth cash to prevent homelessness (Gothamist)
How to Apply for Financial Assistance as an Undocumented Student (Borderless)
U.S. food insecurity: a failure of public policy (Food Politics by Marion Nestle)
“Deny, denounce, delay”: The battle over the risk of ultra-processed foods (Ars Technica)
To Follow the Real Early Human Diet, Eat Everything (Scientific American)
Hochul Halts Congestion Pricing as Manhattan Traffic Reaches Record High (NY Focus)
How to Create a Culture of Fundraising on Your Board (The Chronicle of Philanthropy)
What Nonprofit Leaders Are Reading This Summer (The Chronicle of Philanthropy)
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.
Bishop Sean Rowe elected 28th presiding bishop, will begin nine-year term Nov. 1 (Episcopal News Service)
"[Episcopal News Service – Louisville, Kentucky] The Rt. Rev. Sean Rowe, bishop of Northwest Pennsylvania and bishop provisional of Western New York, was elected and confirmed June 26 at the 81st General Convention to serve as the 28th presiding bishop. His nine-year term as presiding bishop, the face and voice of The Episcopal Church and its chief pastor, begins Nov. 1." Read more here.
2024 Bulk Buy Application
We are thrilled to announce that we are accepting proposals for our 2024 Bulk Buy Program! Bulk Buy allows us to aggregate food purchasing across the Diocese and means free high-quality food for EC programs. This is a rolling application and this round of granting will end on July 8th. You can find our brief application form HERE! Please contact me (Tobi) with any questions or concerns.
East Village Neighbors Who Care Resource Map
East Village Neighbors Who Care is a community organization based in the city that has been serving migrants/newcomers and has completed a resource map:
The map is now taking submissions, so that you can add your resources to the map. Submit via this form here
The Map has a corresponding Google Drive with translated versions of many of the resources, linked here
This map serves dual purpose: 1) for asylum seekers to use to find the resources they need and 2) for those serving asylum seekers to direct people to appropriate services. If that sort of outreach model works for your site, add your information.
Kingston becomes second upstate city to adopt ‘good-cause’ eviction law (Times Union)
"KINGSTON — The city’s Common Council on Tuesday unanimously voted to adopt “good-cause” eviction protections, limiting how and why a landlord can terminate a tenant’s lease.
The 9-0 vote was greeted by raucous applause from housing activists who turned out to advocate for the law’s passage. Kingston became the second upstate city to pass a localized version of New York’s “good-cause” law, which passed as part of a long-sought housing compromise in the state budget in April. The city of Albany voted to adopt “good cause” last month." Read more here.
NYC COVID cases up 250% in 2 months — and this variant's harder to duck (Gothamist)
"New York is experiencing a bump in COVID cases that might put a damper on people’s summer plans.
Cases have been rising nationally and locally for about two months, driven by so-called “FLiRT” variants — versions of the virus that have evolved to evade immunity.
Mandatory COVID mitigation measures have largely been waived, and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has eased its recommendations for how long people should isolate themselves after getting sick. But there are still precautions people can take to avoid getting COVID or spreading it to others." Read more here.
NYC, counties clarify plans to end upstate migrant motel shelters (Spectrum News 1)
"New York City and upstate county leaders clarified plans Thursday to relocate more than 1,500 migrants living in upstate hotels by the end of the year.
Mayor Eric Adams' Chief of Staff Camille Joseph Varlack and officials in the city's Office of Asylum Seekers Operations held a 45-minute remote meeting with New York State Association of Counties and leaders of counties housing migrants not under a resettlement program.
City and state officials are working together to assess the 1,549 migrants living in Albany, Monroe, Erie, Westchester and Suffolk counties and connect them with more permanent housing in those communities." Read more here.
The NYC Neighborhoods Leading, and Lagging, on Affordable Housing (City Limits)
"While New York City contends with a lack of available housing and record-high homelessness, a new report highlights which neighborhoods are bearing the brunt of affordable residential construction, and which are lagging behind.
The latest NYC Housing Tracker Report, released Thursday by the New York Housing Conference (NYHC), reveals the total number of affordable units created in each City Council district since 2014. As found in previous analyses, production was concentrated in just a handful of the city’s 51 districts, many of which were already high-density neighborhoods with higher populations of people of color.
According to the report, 70 percent of residents in the 10 districts producing the most affordable housing are Black or Latinx, compared to 30 percent of residents in the 10 districts that produced the fewest new units." Read more here.
Lander urges Biden admin to expand deportation safeguards for migrants discriminated against in the work place (amNY)
"City Comptroller Brad Lander on Wednesday joined a group of state attorneys general from across the country in urging the Biden administration to extend deportation protections for migrants who experience or witness workplace discrimination.
The coalition sent a letter to the US Department of Homeland Security calling on the agency to extend the Deferred Action for Labor Enforcement (DALE) program from its current 2-year period to 4 years. The group is led by Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell, Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul and the Seattle Office of Labor Standards, and also includes state Attorney General Letitia James." Read more here.
Why are so many migrant kids selling candy in NYC? Lack of child care, survey says. (Gothamist)
"The vast majority of migrant vendors with children — often seen peddling fruit cups and candy on the subway — say they are unable to get other work because of a lack of child care, according to a new survey across New York City.
Slightly more than 8 in 10 migrant vendors with children told volunteers with the aid group Algun Día that they lacked sufficient child care, the survey found. More than a third of the 75 vendors surveyed were women under the age of 25 and 75% were from Ecuador. Another 17% were men, many of them single fathers.
Nearly all of the respondents, 93%, said they hadn’t been assisted by any organization, and less than a third lived in city shelters. Algun Día volunteers surveyed migrant vendors with children from March 31 to May 31." Read more here.
NYC budget deal invests more money in 3-K, but falls short of full early childhood restoration (Chalkbeat)
"A tentative budget agreement announced on Friday will see additional dollars funneled to New York City’s free preschool program for 3-year-olds, but falls short of the full restoration sought by child care advocates.
The deal on a total $112.4 billion city budget comes just days shy of the July 1 deadline and follows months of negotiations between City Council and Mayor Eric Adams’ administration. The turbulent budget process has seen Adams direct several rounds of cuts and restorations to the Education Department’s budget, as New York City braces for the expiration of billions of dollars of one-time federal pandemic relief money." Read more here.
New program gives NYC's youth cash to prevent homelessness (Gothamist)
"A first-of-its-kind program in New York City is trying to keep at-risk young people stably housed by giving them a one-time cash payment to keep them from becoming homeless.
Point Source Youth, a national organization trying to end youth homelessness, helped launch the cash transfer program in the city with two local nonprofits earlier this year. The goal is to help 100 young adults between the ages of 18 and 24 avoid entering the shelter system by providing one-time payments ranging from $645 to $9,900 that they can use to pay overdue rent or find new living arrangements.
“It gives autonomy to that young person. It gives them access to the cash to then pay the arrears to remain in the apartment. And it shows that young person, that they're trusted with the amount of money they need to solve the problem,” said Larry Cohen, Point Source Youth's executive director and co-founder." Read more here.
How to Apply for Financial Assistance as an Undocumented Student (Borderless)
"Access to higher education can be difficult, especially for noncitizens who are not eligible for financial aid from the federal government.
Politicians, local colleges and community groups have worked to expand financial assistance for undocumented students but challenges persist.
More than a decade ago, former President Barack Obama passed sweeping legislation known as Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). The law shielded young people, often referred to as DREAMers who arrived before turning 16, from deportation and gave them temporary work permits." Read more here.
U.S. food insecurity: a failure of public policy (Food Politics by Marion Nestle)
"t takes a while for USDA to catch up to the data so its most recent report on food insecurity ends with 2021: “Household Food Insecurity Across Race and Ethnicity in the United States, 2016-21.”
The highlights:
▪ The prevalence of food insecurity ranges from a low of 5.4% for Asian households to a high of 23.3% for American Indian and Alaska Native households. Food-insecure households had difficulty at some time during the year providing enough food for all household members because of a lack of resources.
▪ Food insecurity varied substantially by country of origin. Among Hispanic origin subgroups, food insecurity varied from 11.4% in Cuban households to 21% in Dominican households. Food insecurity among Asian origin subgroups ranged from 1.7% in Japanese households to 11.4% in other Asian households."
“Deny, denounce, delay”: The battle over the risk of ultra-processed foods (Ars Technica)
"When the Brazilian nutritional scientist Carlos Monteiro coined the term “ultra-processed foods” 15 years ago, he established what he calls a “new paradigm” for assessing the impact of diet on health.
Monteiro had noticed that although Brazilian households were spending less on sugar and oil, obesity rates were going up. The paradox could be explained by increased consumption of food that had undergone high levels of processing, such as the addition of preservatives and flavorings or the removal or addition of nutrients.
But health authorities and food companies resisted the link, Monteiro tells the FT. “[These are] people who spent their whole life thinking that the only link between diet and health is the nutrient content of foods ... Food is more than nutrients.”" Read more here.
To Follow the Real Early Human Diet, Eat Everything (Scientific America)
"Nutrition influencers claim we should eat meat-heavy diets like our ancestors did. But our ancestors didn’t actually eat that way" Read more here.
Hochul Halts Congestion Pricing as Manhattan Traffic Reaches Record High (NY Focus)
"Traffic in Manhattan has never been this bad. Relief was on its way — but like an ambulance stranded behind a double-parked truck, it’s been stopped in its tracks.
Governor Kathy Hochul’s last-minute decision to pause congestion pricing has dimmed hopes of reducing traffic in the perpetually gridlocked streets of lower Manhattan. Traffic speeds there have plunged to the slowest ever recorded, according to longtime traffic guru Sam Schwartz.
Below 60th Street, in the so-called Central Business District where the program would have applied, the average taxi speed last month was 6.6 miles per hour — about the same as an in-shape jogger. (The city uses taxis as a barometer of overall car speed.) That was the slowest May on record, according to data Schwartz provided to New York Focus." Read more here.
Public Power Push Spreads to the Hudson Valley (NY Focus)
"Hudson Valley lawmakers are introducing a bill to mount a public takeover of the electric and gas utility Central Hudson, replacing it with a new Hudson Valley Power Authority.
The goal? To turn the smallest of the state’s major utilities — and its most unpopular, according to one survey — into a democratically controlled force for greening the state’s economy. The legislation, sponsored by Assemblymember Sarahana Shrestha and Senator Michelle Hinchey, seeks to rein in rate hikes, capping bills at six percent of customers’ incomes. And, according to a draft reviewed by New York Focus, it aims to promote a just transition for workers, not least by ensuring that current, unionized Central Hudson workers retain their rights if the new authority takes over." Read more here.
How to Create a Culture of Fundraising on Your Board (The Chronicle of Philanthropy)
"Most board members understand that their role includes helping bring in money for a nonprofit, but they don’t always know how best to go about it or feel comfortable asking others for donations. This means organizations that want to get their trustees more involved in fundraising need to create a smart plan to help them get started, hold them accountable, and foster a board culture that prioritizes this work.
You shouldn’t assume that trustees understand what fundraising is and know how to do it, simply because they joined your board, says Christal Cherry, CEO of The Board Pro, a consulting firm focused on nonprofit clients. “These are just social do-gooders, not expert fundraisers,” she says. “The onus is on the organization to help prepare the board with the tools they need, with the skill sets that they need, to actually raise money.”" Read more here.
What Nonprofit Leaders Are Reading This Summer (The Chronicle of Philanthropy)
"In a world plagued by nonstop crises, slowing down may not seem like an option for those who work every day to improve people’s lives. But summer offers an opportunity to take a breath, reflect, and consider new ideas and perspectives. Books are a great way to do that.
To help guide your reading choices, the Chronicle of Philanthropy asked a diverse group of academics, philanthropy experts, and nonprofit leaders what they’re reading this summer and what they recommend. The books on the resulting list aren’t solely focused on philanthropy and nonprofit work. While the nonfiction books cover topics such as pluralism and crowdfunding, the list also features two novels, one set in the past, and the other in a post-apocalyptic present." Read more here.
Map the Meal Gap 2024 Report (Feeding America)
"May 15, 2024
The extra amount of money that people facing hunger said they need to have enough food reached its highest point in the last 20 years, according to Feeding America’s annual Map the Meal Gap study. People facing hunger said they need an additional $24.73 per week in 2022, a 9.5% increase after adjusting for increased prices. Nationally, the amount needed among all 44 million people facing hunger in 2022 hit a record high of $33.1 billion, up nearly 43%. This increase suggests that rising prices, especially food prices, likely contributed in part to the increase in need.
Map the Meal Gap is the only study that provides local-level estimates of food insecurity and food costs for every county and congressional district in the U.S. The study builds upon the USDA’s latest report of national and state data, which showed a sharp increase in food insecurity in 2022 amidst historically high food prices and the expiration of many pandemic-era programs. Map the Meal Gap emphasizes the urgent call for all of us to take action." Read more here.
Money Migration: Incomes, Migration, and Gentrification in the Hudson Valley during the Covid-19 Pandemic (Hudson Valley Pattern For Progress)
"The movement of households throughout the State of New York during the Covid-19 pandemic also shifted the geographic distribution of incomes in the Hudson Valley.
Relatively high-earning households from the New York City metropolitan area brought more than $1 billion in gross incomes as they moved into communities north of Interstate 84, accelerating gentrification in rural towns and small cities. At the same time, counties in the lower Hudson Valley lost more gross income to migration than they gained, as people sought less expensive places to live.
Some of these trends were well established for years, but the frenzy of movement during the pandemic changed the pace and scale of migration and its effects on the Hudson Valley. For several of our counties – Columbia, Dutchess, Greene, Sullivan and Ulster – the annual amount of income that moved into their communities increased by as much as tenfold compared to the pre-pandemic baseline."
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.
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"
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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