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The Human Services Council of New York (HSC) has announced the launch of a new grassroots advocacy campaign -- “Who Cares? I Do.” The goal of the campaign is to mobilize statewide support to protect human services programs from deep New York State and City funding cuts by highlighting the devastating impacts which these budget cuts will have on all New Yorkers.
The state budget, released on February 1, proposes cuts to child care programs, supportive housing, youth employment programs and preventive services for children, among many other programs and services.
“To close the steep state and city budget deficits, our government officials have to make some very difficult decisions,” said Michael Stoller, Executive Director of HSC. “But compounding high unemployment and so much financial uncertainty with cuts to vital services that are a lifeline to thousands of people will be devastating, and policymakers need to make human services a higher priority.”
HSC argues that reducing financial allocations to human service programs could hurt people and the economy on many different levels:
- 800,000 New Yorkers are out of work
- One of every seven have fallen below the poverty line
- The sector is a significant employer and consumer of goods and services, so budget cuts mean more job losses and less spending in our local economy
- Human services are cost-effective and provide a positive social and economic return on investment as they prevent more costly problems.
The campaign highlights the value of the services that nonprofits deliver every single day for hundreds of thousands of people throughout the state, and what’s at stake if the services that they -- or family members, friends and neighbors -- depend on were to disappear.
“Our sector is about investing in the future of our country: daycare, early intervention, afterschool programs,” said Christine Molnar, President and CEO of Safe Space. “If excessive public debt burdens future generations, human service programs do just the opposite―they give people an advantage. I see this regularly at Safe Space. Vulnerable teens and their families turn to us when they have nowhere else to go for help.”
The campaign focuses on real life cases of how human services pay off for individual New Yorkers and for the state as a whole. Twenty-year-old Tiana, for example, works at JFK International Airport while she attends Queensborough Community College, and her goal is to be an educator. But without Safe Space’s youth employment program, Steps to Success, none of that would have been possible. In addition to learning job readiness skills, Tiana learned to deal with emotional conflicts through group therapy and one-on-one counseling. “When I started [at Safe Space] I had a bad attitude, now I’m ready to be a teacher,” she said.
Intended to enlist the wide support of individuals, businesses, organizations and policymakers, the “Who Cares? I Do.” campaign is an extension of HSC’s ongoing advocacy for city and state government budget, policy, and legislative reforms. Among the numerous city and state human service agencies partnering with HSC are Children’s Aid Society, Goodwill Industries of Greater New York, Catholic Charities Brooklyn and Queens, the Schuyler Center for Analysis and Advocacy and New York State Community Action Association.
Supporters can visit www.WhoCares-IDo.org to sign an online petition and take action in a variety of other ways. The web site provides a wealth of information on the proposed cuts and guidance on how to reach out to elected officials. Supporters can also follow the campaign on Twitter @WhoCares_IDo or on Facebook at Who Cares? I Do.
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