Citizens' Committee for Children of New York

CCC's Community Leadership Course travelled to Sunset Park last week to meet with our colleagues at Center for Family Life in Sunset Park, which has a deep history of partnering with the neighborhood to ensure the programs and resources they provide are centered on the needs identified by community members. The group was welcomed by the amazing CFL team, and had the opportunity to visit several sites, including their brand-new Family Enrichment Center, Sunset Park High School (where CFL provides school day, after school, and summer services for students) and the Special Initiative for New Arrivals. Our students learned important lessons about the value of work that is, as CFL so aptly puts it, "rooted in daily, lived experience and guided by a vision of families and social institutions in an ever-evolving cycle of mutual sustenance and collaborative growth". #Advocacy #CommunityLeadership #CBO #CommunityBased #CommunityOrganization #Students #Afterschool #collaboration #TBT

Each year the week before Thanksgiving is Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week (next week!), a time to reflect on economic security as many of our families and neighbors prepare to gather under the same roof for a festive meal. As we give thanks, we must also strive to increase equity in housing and food access for every NY family and reduce child poverty. We have the power to influence solutions to housing and food access issues in our state and city. Even as the cost-of-living crisis continues to strain financial stability, we have concrete opportunities to alleviate this stress and reduce child poverty. On housing, CCC is working to support plans that increase housing stock (City of Yes and City for All), address housing voucher issues with program and budget recommendations, and push for eviction prevention. On food security, we have joined a new coalition, SNAP4All, to create a SNAP lookalike for the state that would offer eligibility to immigrant families, and much more. Read our latest Insight to learn more: https://bit.ly/eshhw24 #Housing #Homelessness #HousingSecurity #FoodSecurity #FoodAccess #AntiHunger #HungerandHomelessnessAwarenessWeek #PovertyReduction #ChildPoverty

#ICYMI Our Executive Director Jennifer March sent a message to CCC's e-action network yesterday that we feel is important for all of our followers and community members to see: "Yesterday many of us woke up with more questions than answers, worried about how election decisions will impact our everyday lives and the lives of the parents, youth, and community members with whom we advocate. Now is a reminder of our obligation to ensure that decisions made at every level of government protect and advance equity, justice, and well-being. And as we prepare to navigate the future, we are counting on New Yorkers to show up for our neighbors, fight inequity, and take care of one another. We know that together, change is possible. Considering this, it is important to reflect on the community we have spent decades building, the progress we’ve made, and the values we are unwaveringly dedicated to upholding. We remain committed to protecting the fundamental rights of all children and families and combatting all attempts to deny them a just and equitable future. With our fellow New Yorkers, CCC will continue to prioritize community-led research, youth and caregiver civic leadership, and state, city, and federal advocacy to advance policies, budgets, and laws that ensure children in all families and communities are healthy, housed, educated, and safe. From everyone here at CCC, we want our community partners, supporters, and allies to know that we see you, we are with you, and we deeply value what we have and will continue to accomplish together." #Community #Advocacy #NYC #NewYork #NewYorkStrong

CLC site visit day! This week our 2024 Community Leadership Course class spent a lovely fall afternoon on the Lower East Side, hosted by our longtime partner Henry Street Settlement. We spoke with Jeremy Reiss, Executive VP of Partnerships & Innovation and Erica Chung, Director of Partnerships and Public Policy about the organizations storied history in the community and their vast array of responsive and innovative social services, arts, and health care programs. The group visited Henry Street's Neighborhood Resource Center, early child and youth programs, a school-based mental health clinic, an ESOL program, and transitional housing. It was a celebration of the community and Henry Street's profound impact there since it's founding by Lillian Wald in 1893. Thank you for the warm welcome and sharing your insights with the group!! #Advocacy #Community #CBO #CommunityOrganization #NYC #HenryStreetSettlement #NeighborhoodCenter

It's National Lead Poisoning Prevention Week and CCC has developed a new interactive mapping tool that lets you know what lead violations are active or resolved in your neighborhood. Check it out: https://bit.ly/lvmt24 This Insight also talks about our work with the NYC Coalition to End Lead Poisoning (NYCCELP) and what advocacy is happening now. Safe, healthy housing should be available to all children and families, and as advocates for New York’s children, we influence policy and investment decisions that impact health and housing for families--advocacy which overlaps in lead poisoning prevention. #LeadPoisoning #LeadPoisoningPrevention #LeadViolation #Advocacy #ChildAdvocacy #Housing #HousingAdvocacy #NYC

#ICYMI: Our Executive Director Jennifer March's op-ed on the connection between child well-being and affordable housing was published with CityLimits. “If we want our children—New York City’s next generation—to succeed, we must work towards securing a safe, affordable and permanent home for every child. That’s because housing insecurity is directly correlated with negative impacts on the lifelong development and well-being of children, causing struggles in school and worse health outcomes, among many other long-term consequences. But the reality is we don’t have enough affordable housing options in the city to support attainable, livable homes for New York City families.” Read more: https://lnkd.in/g6pEsnyZ

#DYK 77% of New York voters think school meals should be free for all students? It's National School Lunch Week and we are urging Governor Kathy Hochul to fully fund school meals for all in New York State. It’s a policy that reduces child poverty and increases education outcomes. Learn more (link below) about how school meals impact child well-being and what CCC is doing to uplift this food security opportunity and join us on social media in calling for #MealsforAllNY in recognition of National School Lunch Week. Read more here: https://bit.ly/cccsmi24 #NSLW24 #foodsecurity #childpoverty #ChildAdvocacy #SchoolMeals #schoollunches

Just one week until this special event! Grab your tickets today. You won't want to miss this meaningful morning, focusing on inclusive advocacy work and diving deeper into how we can impact family well-being. In just one week we will come together for CCC’s Annual Celebration Breakfast to honor the incredible work of Richard Buery, CEO, Robin Hood; CCC Board Member Constance Christensen; and The Healthy Minds, Healthy Kids Youth and Caregiver Council, as well as celebrate the successes of the past year, and look ahead at the work that must continue to ensure every child is healthy, housed, educated, and safe. Inside City Hall host Errol Louis will Emcee the event and guests will also hear from this year's Keynote Speaker, author and long-time writer for The New Yorker, Jonathan Blitzer. Your ticket purchase will go a long way in helping our work support families and children through policy and advocacy, data and research, and critical community engagement. We hope to see you for breakfast on Tuesday, October 22nd! 

This connection feels important to highlight today, #WorldMentalHealthDay. Economic security is a throughline in all areas of child well-being--from mental and physical health, to housing stability, to education outcomes. This is why CCC works to ensure every NY child is healthy, housed, educated, and safe with policies that increase family economic stability and well-being. #ChildAdvocacy

October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month, and yesterday CCC Policy & Advocacy Associate Juan Diaz (pictured) spoke at a City Council oversight hearing on supporting survivors of domestic violence in NYC’s shelter system alongside our partners in the Family Homelessness Coalition. Domestic violence is an issue that significantly impacts child and family well-being, affecting our work as child advocates. Fortunately, many of the policy recommendations CCC champions have an impact on supporting families escaping domestic violence situations and finding opportunities to thrive. Our work in housing security for families is ramping up advocacy efforts that directly amplify solutions to an issue families escaping domestic violence regularly face: homelessness. Read what our advocacy can do to support survivors of domestic violence and how this issue overlaps with homelessness in NYC, citing data from our partners at New Destiny Housing Corporation: https://bit.ly/DVAMI24 #domesticviolenceawareness #NYC #advocacy #homelessness #domesticviolenceawarenessmonth