The latest on the NYC budget and Close to Home ... Catholic Charities ... Citi Foundation

For many decades, Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of New York operated programs in Ulster County. But effective April 1, those programs have been incorporated under the umbrella of Catholic Charities Community Services of Orange and Sullivan, according to a press release.

“Catholic Charities of Orange and Sullivan brings to Ulster County the NYS Opioid Targeted Response team, which assists with access to treatment and referrals for those suffering from the disease of addiction, especially those who are located in the county’s hard-to-reach areas,” the press release states.

The change represents an effort from the archdiocese to localize services, according to the press release. The new Ulster County regional supervisor will be Dominique Wallace-Mills, assuming some of the responsibilities of the recently-retired Director Tom Kelly.
 

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio released on April 26 a proposed executive budget for the upcoming fiscal year. A press release that accompanied the announcement was quick to mention that “One of every four dollars, or 25 percent, of all new, city spending in this budget goes toward backfilling a cut or cost shift from Albany” including $31 million in cuts to the Close to Home program, a popular juvenile justice program that advocates hoped would be saved by the city budget.

Here are a few other takeaways. The budget contains funding for:

• Expanding our Equity and Excellence Universal Literacy programs so that all kids read on grade level by 3rd grade ($30.5 million)
• Eliminating work-order backlog at NYCHA and cutting down wait times ($20 million over FY19 and FY20)
• Providing a Mobile Trauma Response Unit in every borough to help disrupt violence in real time ($1.8 million)
• Supporting students in shelters by hiring more social workers ($12 million)
• Investing in workforce development by continuing the Career Pathways initiatives to connect New Yorkers with career opportunities ($7.1 million). Annie Garneva, director of communications and member services at the NYC Employment and Training Coalition, wrote about this issue for NYN Media last month.

Budget wonks can watch the full mayoral press conference below for a full briefing or read a transcript here:

New York nonprofits were among those receiving funding from a $20 million grant initiative from the Citi Foundation. A press release says the funds support “visionary nonprofit organizations” with new approaches to long-standing urban economic challenges in six U.S. metro areas: New York City, Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, Washington, DC. and the San Francisco Bay Area.

Details on individual recipients are available here. These are the recipients in New York:

• Brooklyn Workforce Innovations
• Center for NYC Neighborhoods
• Cypress Hills Local Development Corporation
• Green City Force
• Hot Bread Kitchen
• LISC NYC
• Low Income Investment Fund (LIIF)
• Neighborhood Trust Financial Partners
• Start Small Think Big
• The HOPE Program
• The POINT Community Development Corporation
• WHEDCo