Maureen Lane

finally confronting poverty in NYC

Poverty in New York City demands policy priority. Advocates, grassroots and community organizations, coalitions and a host of others committed to social justice know it has not been a priority but hope may be on the way. Frank Lombardi of the New York Daily News writes, "The [New York City] Council's Black, Latino and Asian Caucus announced a conference will be held this weekend to "turn up the spotlight" on the city's estimated 1.5 million people who are living in poverty and on possible solutions for easing what they consider to be a poverty crisis."

The Caucus has reached out to grassroots and community organizations as well as the public at large to discuss the formidable crisis. "One of every five families in New York City are living in poverty," said Councilwoman Letitia James (D-Working Families Party-Brooklyn), who will chair the conference, to be held Saturday and Sunday at Pace University, across from City Hall."

I applaud the conference organizers in their effort to bring stakeholders together to find common ground and develop solutions based on shared understandings.

To be sure, community outreach is key to build large and diverse community turn out. I was happy to read that the Caucus intends to convene regularly. Poverty demands many serious discussions and ongoing meetings will help broaden community, business, religious and other stakeholders' participation.

We can learn from different methods of policymaking what works and what can work better. In all the coalitions of which we are a part, Welfare Rights Initiative (WRI) has learned that policy works better when people with firsthand experience of poverty are at the table with legislators, city officials, academics, non-profits, business and religious leaders. Organizing mutually respectful policy forums are an exhilarating challenge and essential to move policy solutions forward.

This first Caucus conference is commendable in commitment and incontrovertible in need.

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Posted at 6:56 AM, May 18, 2006 in Community Development | Economic Opportunity | New York
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