Local Nonprofit to Tackle W’chester Poverty at First-Ever Symposium
Mention poverty and chances are Westchester County may be one of the last things that comes to mind.
But professionals connected with various entities and organizations who work in education or the nonprofit sector are keenly aware that there is plenty of poverty throughout the county.
Next Wednesday, Jan. 29, a local nonprofit organization whose mission is to help those that struggle with providing food, shelter clothing and other basic needs, will be holding a special event in hopes of ending poverty in Westchester.
The North White Plains-based (914) Cares is coordinating its inaugural Poverty Symposium at the Westchester Marriott in Tarrytown from 8 a.m. to noon featuring speakers and a panel discussion among professionals, including social workers, representatives from government agencies and educators who work with the poor every day and witness the toll it takes.
Jessica Reinmann, CEO of (914) Cares, said the goal was to exchange ideas and form partnerships to finding a way to address poverty and serve the poor. While there are myriad organizations that work in that area, Reinmann said she thought there could be improved coordination and effectiveness if representatives were in one space.
“What I really wanted to do was highlight the partnerships in Westchester that are working and just get everyone together, everyone who worked in that world and see if we can create new partnerships, more partnerships with the goal of ending poverty,” Reinmann said.
A key reason why there are significant pockets of poverty in Westchester, she said, is that the federal poverty standard for a family of four in the United States is a household income of about $24,000 a year. However, that translates to nearly $80,000 in Westchester.
One of the scheduled speakers is Alyzza Ozer, CEO of the Boys & Girls Club in Mount Kisco, The club’s Mount Kisco location accommodates about 750 students a day after school and serves about 95,000 meals annually, including some children who need dinner because their parents don’t get home from work until late or they come from poor households.
Despite the challenges in the community, Ozer said that over the past 10 years all of the children the Boys & Girls Club has served that have graduated high school have gone on to college, vocational school or the military.
“I think the most important objective of this particular symposium is educating people within the community to better understand (and) raising awareness to work in a collaborative manner,” Ozer said. “So issues that we may be experiencing can be addressed both from private stakeholders, corporations, partnerships and agencies working in conjunction with your local municipalities.”
In her remarks, Ozer will talk about issues related to food, nutrition and education and the effects of poverty, particularly on children in Westchester.
Other speakers are Dr. Rey Sanchez and Dr. David Mauricio, superintendents of the Ossining and Peekskill school districts, respectively. There will also be a panel discussion titled “When Healthcare is a Luxury for the Working Poor,” featuring Judith Watson, officer and interim CEO of the Mount Vernon Neighborhood Health Center.
The closing speaker is Peekskill Mayor Andre Rainey.
Reinmann said there will be plenty of work to do after the event, but it is a necessary starting point to minimize poverty and its devastating effects.
“Unfortunately, I don’t think one symposium will end poverty,” she said. “I want to see how successful it is and what comes out of it before we commit to something else.”
To learn more about the symposium, which costs $40 to attend for general admission, and the work of (914) Cares, visit www.914cares.org.
Editor’s Note: The original version of this story, which appeared in this week’s print edition of The Examiner, reported that MIT Professor Amy Glasmeier would be the event’s keynote speaker. The event’s organizers learned on Thursday that Glasmeier will be unable to attend because of a personal matter.
Martin has more than 30 years experience covering local news in Westchester and Putnam counties, including a frequent focus on zoning and planning issues. He has been editor-in-chief of The Examiner since its inception in 2007. Read more from Martin’s editor-author bio here. Read Martin’s archived work here: https://www.theexaminernews.com/author/martin-wilbur2007/