Westchester Children’s Association Hosts Critical Discussion on Local Poverty and Support for Vulnerable Families
On Thursday, December 11, Westchester Children’s Association (WCA) convened community leaders and service providers for the launch of Poverty Pulse, a new data dashboard offering timely, local insights into the state of poverty across Westchester County.
The event featured a panel discussion with representatives from organizations that contribute data to the Poverty Pulse, including Sarah Cormona from 914Cares, Tami Wilson from Feeding Westchester, Deborah Blatt from The Sharing Shelf, Elissa Ramos from Westhab, and Avery Zuvic from the United Way of Westchester and Putnam. Panelists shared frontline perspectives on the growing challenges faced by families experiencing economic insecurity and explored opportunities for coordinated, community-driven solutions that can lead to meaningful and lasting change.
Poverty Pulse was developed in response to longstanding gaps in traditional poverty data, which often lags behind current conditions and fails to account for regional differences in the cost of living. By drawing on real-time, locally sourced data, the dashboard provides a more accurate picture of financial hardship in Westchester and the pressures families face in meeting basic needs.
“Poverty Pulse was created to provide a more timely and realistic understanding of economic hardship in our community,” said Limarie Cabrera, Director of Data, Finance, and Operations at WCA. “Traditional poverty measures do not fully reflect the high cost of living in our region or the immediate challenges families encounter. Over the past year, it has become increasingly clear how critical local data is to understanding—and responding to—the realities faced by families striving to support their children.”
Through initiatives like Poverty Pulse, WCA continues to strengthen data-informed advocacy and advance policies that support the health, safety, and well-being of children and families throughout Westchester County.
