WCA Launches its ‘Poverty Pulse’ Fact Sheet

November 21, 2024 |

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Poverty Pulse, child poverty, New York can end child poverty

WCA's 'Poverty Pulse' Featured on News12

Scroll down to the bottom of the blog post to find the link to News12's coverage of the event!

This past Wednesday, November 20th, Westchester Children’s Association launched its ‘Poverty Pulse’ fact sheet at the Boys & Girls Club of New Rochelle, to an audience of 40 community members. The fact sheet—available here—contained the latest data on poverty in Westchester County, synthesizing data from several organizations and non-profits in the county which distribute essential resources to those in need such as housing, clothing, diapers, and food.

WCA’s Executive Director, Allison Lake, was joined on a panel by representatives from some of the organizations which contributed to the data sheet, including: Elissa Ramos, Asst. Vice President of Housing Progras at Westhab; Faith Ann Butcher, Chief Impact Officer of United Way of Westchester & Putnam; Deborah Blatt, Executive Director of The Sharing Shelf; and, Karen Erren, the President & CEO of Feeding Westchester.

When compared, the data shows that Westchester–despite being one of the richest corners of the country–has failed to get a handle on poverty. Each organization sees high and consistent demand from members of our community for all available resources. Therefore, we need to take action and ensure that the county and state governments enact our policies proposals, which would cut child poverty in half over the next decade.

The clearest takeaway from the day was that it is crucially important for organizations to come together and compare our data to better understand the needs of our community. With collaborations such as the ‘Poverty Pulse’ fact sheet, we can chart a common path forward, where we can improve our services, and advocate for our elected officials to respond to the current needs of Westchester.

We want to thank The Sharing Shelf, Feeding Westchester, United Way of Westchester & Putnam, Westhab, and 914Cares, for their contributions to both the fact sheet and the panel. Thank you also to the Robin Hood Foundation, and PCSB Bank, for making the ‘Poverty Pulse’ data project possible. We were also very fortunate to be joined by Assemblymember Steve Otis, New Rochelle Councilor Sara Kaye, New Rochelle School Superintendent Dr. Corey Reynolds, as well as representatives from the offices of Assemblymember Dana Levenberg, Senator Shelley Mayer, and Senator Nathalia Fernandez. We look forward to continuing our work to reduce poverty in the county and New York State!

Click here to see News12 Westchester’s coverage of the launch event!