RMAPI Community Successes
When the Rochester-Monroe Anti-Poverty Initiative first brought the community together in 2015 to address poverty, the statistics were appalling. Almost one third of the population lived below the poverty line. Of these, half lived in extreme poverty—meaning that the household income is half of the federal poverty level. Most shocking was the fact that one out of every two children in Rochester lived in poverty.
RMAPI has developed broad responsibility to address this historic poverty problem, bringing together corporate, civic, political, and faith-based organizations to take ownership and work together in finding solutions. This effort needs total community engagement to identify problems and develop solutions. RMAPI coordinates efforts and aligns resources that will support the goal of reducing poverty. It is not a funding agency and does not provide poverty reduction services efforts on its own, but rather serves as the driving force behind these efforts. RMAPI identifies the policy and funding changes needed to create a more coordinated system and rallies stakeholders together around these goals.
Three years of intensive research has pointed RMAPI into two critical areas that provide some of the greatest opportunity for poverty reduction:
Workforce Development
The accessibility and affordability of Basic Needs
RMAP has also identified three key principles to inform the work going forward and serve as a guide for community decision-making: Addressing Structural Racism, Addressing Trauma, and Building and
Supporting Our Community. RMAPI serves as the guardian of these Guiding Principles, spreading them
across our community and helping coalition members adopt them within their own organizations. The United Way of Greater Rochester served as the convener of these efforts, bringing together the initial stakeholders and later becoming the fiscal agent for RMAPI. United Way has also been an early leader in adopting the Guiding Principles.
As the coordinator of these efforts, RMAPI’s responsibility is to ensure that our community is doing all it can to address poverty. This includes supporting and boosting the good work already taking place to combat poverty and kick-starting efforts in other areas that need to be addressed.
Young Adult Manufacturing Training Employment Program (YAMTEP)
RMAPI offered support for the growth of YAMTEP, a 90-day job training designed to help individuals with low incomes prepare for careers in manufacturing. YAMTEP partners with a number of organizations including the City of Rochester, Monroe County, and RochesterWorks! to ensure that all the needs of participants are met. They have a network of more than 30 companies and YAMTEP evaluates all students for qualifications and skill sets to ensure they are matched to the right job openings. To date, more than200 participants have learned valuable manufacturing skills and ultimately found sustainable
employment through YAMTEP.
Bridges to Success and Family Independence Initiative
The first implementation strategy from RMAPI addresses the need for mentoring services for individuals and families seeking to achieve economic self-sufficiency. There are two programs under the adult mentoring umbrella—Bridges to Success, which connects individuals to a professional mentor, and Family Independence Initiative, which connects families to a group of peers working together in creating change. Both approaches help participants identify socio-economic needs and develop a specialized plan of goals and action to achieve them. The programs are administered by Catholic Family Center, Action for a Better Community, and Community Place of Greater Rochester.
Participants in both programs have seen significant improvements. In Bridges to Success, the employment rate increased to 56 percent by the end of the year from 28 percent at intake, and the
average monthly household income for participants rose by 46 percent. In the Family Independence
Initiative, the employment rate increased to 71 percent by the year's end from 61 percent at intake, while average monthly income rose by 21 percent.
Wage Disparities Report
The City of Rochester’s Mayor’s Office of Innovation completed an analysis of the local workforce in Monroe County with a focus on workers struggling to make ends meet. The report found that
minorities, women, and people with disabilities face disparities in pay and are over-represented among the county’s lowest-paying
industries and that minorities earn less than their white counterparts in nearly every industrial sector, regardless of educational attainment. Working closely with the RMAPI employment working group, the Mayor’s Office of Innovation created a Part-Time Workers Survey to better understand the needs of this group and what can be done to help them achieve full-time employment, and followed up with another report on employment for people with disabilities. The RMAPI Employment Working Group is using the results of these surveys to address roadblocks and encourage local employers to promote programs and practices that move people toward full-time employment.
Rochester Health Profession Opportunity Grant (HPOG)
Administered by Action for a Better Community, this program provides education and training to TANF recipients and other low-income individuals for occupations in the healthcare field. The program focuses on jobs that pay well and are expected to either experience labor shortages or be in high demand. The HPOG program, funded by an $8 million grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, will work with 1,500 local residents to achieve
self-sufficiency and find high-paying jobs in the health care field. The program aligns with a recommendation from the RMAPI’s first progress report to work with local employers to address job needs for the
working poor.
RochesterWorks! and Monroe County/Rochester Workforce Development
Board
RochesterWorks! has taken several steps to incorporate recommendations from the RMAPI’s first progress report to help people living in poverty obtain and maintain steady employment and achieve
self-sufficiency, including working with the Finger Lakes and GLOW Workforce Development Boards to develop career pathways for new and transitioning workers.
RochesterWorks! has also worked with the Monroe County/Rochester Workforce Development Board and committees to revise training and supportive service policies to dedicate a greater percentage of funding to the needs of low-income individuals.
Employer and trainer pledges
The RMAPI Employment Working Group has developed pledges for employers and job training agencies to promote and uphold the RMAPI Guiding Principles to address structural racism, address trauma and build and support our community. These organizations pledge to reduce barriers to employment for no-skill, low-skill workers and enable sustainable employment for people affected by poverty.
OWN Rochester
Led by the City of Rochester, this program aims to create network of community-based, employee-owned businesses that provide employment for individuals facing the most significant barriers. In 2017, OWN Rochester launched its first business, a green energy construction subcontractor called ENEROC. In spring 2018, OWN Rochester launched a floor care services business. OWN Rochester follows a recommendation from RMAPI’s first progress report to support local businesses and increase available jobs.
Clearwater Organic Farms, LLC
The nation’s largest hydroponic commercial greenhouse announced plans to build a 15-acre facility in the Eastman Business Park, creating 137 new full-time positions. Of these, 55 jobs are reserved for veterans or those who are
underemployed. This development responds to recommendations from
RMAPI’s first progress report to address job needs for the working poor and set aside a certain percentage of job openings for people living in poverty.
Strengthening Working Families Initiative
Rochester Rehabilitation Center has partnered with local employers and community organizations to create access to educational and training institutions for parents with dependent children at home. This program also supports their career advancement in demand industries. The program aligns with a recommendation from RMAPI’s first progress report to provide training and support that matches the working poor with willing employers seeking to fill job openings.
City of Rochester/RTS Vanpool project
RMAPI’s first progress report created a recommendation to provide better access to the area's public transportation, and the City of Rochester/RTS Vanpool project addresses that need. This project connects Rochester residents to jobs that may be out of reach of public transportation through the creation of van pools.
Two vans have been running since the program’s launch, with one bringing six riders to del Lago Resort & Casino in Waterloo and another with nine riders employed at Pactiv Packaging in Canandaigua. Many of those involved said they would have no other way to get to work were it not for the van pool. The project is expanding with $300,000 grant funding received from the New York State Department of Transportation.
Early childhood funding
In July 2016, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced $4.75 million in funding to support the expansion of early childhood anti-poverty initiatives as part of the Rochester-Monroe Anti-Poverty
Initiative. Funding will support new summer learning programs, child care, and home visiting services for children and caregivers in the city of Rochester.
These programs had an immediate impact. More than 325
additional students were able to enroll in the summerLEAP program who would not have been able to
without this funding. This program has shown demonstrable results, with students showing a 1-3 month gain in reading and math skills each summer opposed to the average 2-3 month loss experienced by low-income students without summer learning. For students who attend the program for three or more years, more than 90 percent graduate from high school on time and more than 75 percent go on to higher education. This program has also shown demonstrable improvements in the social and emotional development of students.
Racial Equity and Justice Initiative
RMAPI has worked with St. Joseph’s Neighborhood Center to expand implementation of its Racial Equity and Justice Initiative, which works with local agencies and businesses to create a higher awareness of structural racism and inspire them to combat it within their own organizations. This program has trained
200 individuals from more than two dozen organizations, and uses a Racial Equity Assessment Survey
to measure institutional change within these organizations.
Participatory Budgeting Rochester
RMAPI implemented a Participatory Budgeting process that gave members of the community the power to decide how to spend $200,000 in funding for projects addressing poverty. The process was entirely community run— from the board of community members who set the rules for voting and proposals to the individuals and groups who submitted ideas to the more than 2,600 people who voted on which projects should be funded. Participatory Budgeting aims to increase civic engagement and encourage political participation, especially in traditionally marginalized groups. Hundreds of community members submitted project ideas, everything from expanding community gardens to building “tiny homes” for very low-income individuals to offering late-night child care services to parents who work the late and overnight shifts.
Kiva Rochester
In an effort to promote local small businesses, this program provides zero percent interest crowdfunded loans to help entrepreneurs looking to start or grow a business. The City of Rochester’s partnership with Kiva allows borrowers to receive loans of up to $10,000 from online lenders, and qualifying businesses are eligible to receive matching funds from the Rochester Economic Development
Corporation. The city is also building a network of partner institutions and community members who can offer further help to these small businesses.
The program has awarded close to $200,000 in loans to local entrepreneurs. Of these borrowers, 75 percent would likely not be considered creditworthy at traditional financial institutions due to low credit
Beyond Workforce: Systemic Solutions to Poverty
scores, lacking collateral assets, and low incomes. To date, 41 percent of the loans have gone to women-owned businesses and 78 percent have gone to African-American or Hispanic business owners.
Raise the Age
RMAPI created a model of addressing systemic racism and combatting the root causes of poverty by raising the age of criminal responsibility to 18 and ensuring that young people who commit non-violent crimes receive intervention and evidence-based treatment. This became a statewide commitment when Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed legislation making Raise the Age codified into New York State law.
Poverty Impact Statement
The Finger Lakes Regional Economic Development Council worked with RMAPI to incorporate the Guiding Principles (addressing structural racism, addressing trauma, and building neighborhoods) into the funding application process for those seeking state funding. The council created a Poverty Impact Statement for funding applicants to define how their project aligns with poverty reduction goals. The council oversees the distribution of a $500 million Upstate Revitalization Initiative grant awarded in 2015, and has identified poverty reduction as one of its chief goals.
Other ESPRI cities are now looking to adopt this model for incorporating community priorities for addressing poverty into funding streams.
Rochester Area Community Foundation and Wilson Foundation
Both the Rochester Area Community Foundation and Wilson Foundation have formally adopted the RMAPI Guiding Principles as guidance for grantmaking and community leadership.The Community Foundation also partnered with the Wilson Foundation on a collaborative funding model for trauma-informed care. The agencies released a request for proposals that recommended the RMAPI Guiding Principles and made collaborative funding decisions for trauma-informed capacity building for eight human services agencies that serve more than 150,000 individuals in total.
United Way of Greater Rochester Inc.
The United Way of Greater Rochester served as the first convener of the community’s effort to address poverty, bringing together stakeholders from across sectors in 2015 and 2016 to study the root causes of poverty and develop the community’s priorities. The United Way continued to play a key role for RMAPI in the years that followed, serving as the fiscal agent and hosting the RMAPI Backbone Staff.
The United Way has also been an early leader in adopting and promoting the Guiding Principles and continues to take a lead role on community-wide efforts like the Systems Integration Project.
Housing discrimination legislation
In June 2017, the Rochester City Council passed an ordinance banning landlord discrimination based on source of income, as previously many landlords outside low-income neighborhoods had not accepted Section 8 public housing vouchers. A similar measure was subsequently adopted in the Town of Brighton. RMAPI is now advocating for this to be codified into state law and apply to landlords outside the Rochester city limits.
RMAPI Policy Agenda
RMAPI developed a list of policy priorities for 2019 with actions aimed at addressing the root causes of poverty. These 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.
The policy priorities for 2019 include:
Bail Reform: RMAPI supports bail reform on a statewide level that allows people accused of
misdemeanors and non-violent felony offenses to remain in their communities while facing trial.
Eviction Prevention: RMAPI supports efforts that create a safety net for individuals facing
possible eviction, supporting measures that allow them to stay in their homes.
Low Income Family Tax Credits: RMAPI supports a series of policy changes aimed at reducing
child poverty and making work pay for low-wage working families.
RGRTA (RTS) Funding: RMAPI supports a proposed statewide transit action plan that would
increase operating aid for RGRTA by 50 percent over the next five years starting with a 10 percent increase in 2019-20. The total increase for RGRTA over the five years would be $20 million dollars.
Improving Service Delivery
The RMAPI Social Service Provision Working Group is creating a virtual “map” showing how individuals progress through service delivery agencies. This process identifies opportunities for greater efficiency, ways agencies can work together, and areas where individuals may need more support. These changes will lead to a system that is more efficient, less punitive, and less expensive.
This mapping project has brought an unprecedented level of cooperation among local non-profit groups, government agencies, and community organizations to work together in creating systemic changes that will lead to incremental improvements in systems addressing poverty.
In November 2018, more than 100 representatives from local agencies met for a day-long workshop to kick off this mapping project. They continue to meet throughout 2019 to identify and implement concrete changes that will make the social service sector easier to navigate for people affected by poverty.
