This Week's Resources
U.S. won't extend legal status for Venezuelan migrants who arrived under Biden program (CBS News)
The port strike is over, but are delivery delays still coming? What consumers should know (lohud.)
NYC middle and high school admissions are changing. Here’s what families should know. (Chalkbeat)
Immigrant Workers Are the Backbone of Our Food System (Civil Eats)
New Research on How Older and Younger Generations Give (The Chronicle of Philanthropy)
NYS COVID and MonkeyPox Updates (Plus Info about the Flu, RSV, and Norovirus)
Documented's Affordable College Tuition for Undocumented, DACA Students and Asylum Seekers Guide
Documented's Mental Health Resources for Immigrants in New York
Documented's Immigrant Resources and Job/Housing Discrimination Guides
If you have resources to share with our network, please contact Tobi Mojeed-Balogun our Associate Director of Programs Support.
EC Grant Seekers' Meetings
In our ongoing efforts to demonstrate the ability to respond to acute needs, maintain flexibility to be responsive and better support our grantee partners, we have developed a new grants process that reflects our commitment to innovation and impact.
This new approach marks a departure from our previous grants we’ve come to know as BHN and YOG. It is designed to streamline the application requirements eliminating barriers that may have previously hindered submissions, ensuring that more programs can apply for funding.
We recognize that you are the heartbeat of our mission, and we want to ensure that you have the support you need to continue your valuable work. As such, to facilitate this transition, we will be offering a series of training workshops and information sessions. These will cover important aspects of the new process. The next Grant Seekers Information overview will be held virtually on Thursday, November 7th at 2pm.
Please keep an eye on your inbox for further details about the training sessions and how to register. Your participation will be immensely valuable, and we encourage all our grantees to take advantage of these opportunities.
East Village Neighbors Who Care Resource Map
East Village Neighbors Who Care is a community organization based in the city that has been serving migrants/newcomers and has completed a resource map:
The map is now taking submissions, so that you can add your resources to the map. Submit via this form here
The Map has a corresponding Google Drive with translated versions of many of the resources, linked here
This map serves dual purpose: 1) for asylum seekers to use to find the resources they need and 2) for those serving asylum seekers to direct people to appropriate services. If that sort of outreach model works for your site, add your information.
U.S. won't extend legal status for Venezuelan migrants who arrived under Biden program (CBS News)
"The Biden administration will not be extending the legal status of tens of thousands of Venezuelan migrants who were allowed to fly to the U.S. under a sponsorship program designed to reduce illegal border crossings, according to U.S. officials and internal documents obtained by CBS News.
The administration first launched the program in October 2022 to discourage Venezuelans from traveling to the U.S.-Mexico border by offering them a legal way to enter the country if American-based individuals agreed to sponsor them. It was then expanded in January 2023 to include migrants from Cuba, Haiti and Nicaragua, whose citizens were also crossing the U.S. southern border in record numbers at the time." Read more here.
The port strike is over, but are delivery delays still coming? What consumers should know (lohud.)
"New Yorkers may experience some delays even though the dockworkers' three-day strike came to an end Thursday night.
In a joint statement, the International Longshoremen's Association (ILA) — the union representing the dockworkers — and the United States Maritime Alliance (USMX), a group of shipping and port terminal companies, said they have reached a tentative agreement on wages Thursday and "have agreed to extend the old contract until January 15, 2025 to return to the bargaining table to negotiate all other outstanding issues."
Here's what to know." Learn more here.
NYC middle and high school admissions are changing. Here’s what families should know. (Chalkbeat)
"As New York City’s parents of fifth and eighth graders gear up for middle and high school admissions season, they can expect a few tweaks to the process — though some wonder how much impact the changes will have.
Among the changes city officials announced on Friday, high school applicants will, for the first time, be able to list as many schools as they want for their rankings. These applicants will also have access to a new tool in MySchools that will gauge a high school applicant’s chances of admission to a particular program.
And middle school applicants will be able to apply to any school across the city for the first time." Read more here.
NYC schools Chancellor David Banks will retire months earlier than expected. He blames Mayor Adams. (Chalkbeat)
"Chancellor David Banks will leave his position running the nation’s largest school system in two weeks – several months earlier than originally planned, city officials announced Wednesday night.
The change in plans means Melissa Aviles-Ramos will take over as New York City’s schools chief on Oct. 16 instead of Dec. 31." Read more here.
Immigrant Workers Are the Backbone of Our Food System (Civil Eats)
" As part of our mission, Civil Eats reports on the U.S. food system’s disproportionate impact on immigrants and communities of color. Immigrant food system workers toil in the nation’s restaurants, farms, and food processing facilities, and have some of the least visible but most strenuous and dangerous jobs in the country. Many are underpaid and vulnerable to food insecurity and workplace abuses. They were also subjected to unprecedented risks during the early days of the pandemic. Despite this, their contributions to the food system are overwhelmingly positive.
In fact, immigrants form the backbone of the U.S. food and agricultural industries, which would face unimaginable strain without their human labor. They also demonstrate remarkable resilience and creative ingenuity in their own cooking and farming, introducing us to their cultural traditions and enriching us as a society." Read more here.
How we came to rely on emergency food (FoodPrint)
"Despite being one of the world’s richest countries, the United States is far from immune to hunger. According to Feeding America, 49 million people, or one in six Americans, depended on charitable food assistance programs, including food banks, food pantries and soup kitchens, in 2022 to feed themselves and their families. And while more recent data isn’t as detailed, it’s clear that inflation and wage stagnation have taken a toll, with food insecurity numbers looking worse in 2023 than they did in 2022.
These programs are, in many ways and for many people, essential for meeting the country’s nutritional needs. But could their presence actually reinforce — not mitigate — the root causes of food insecurity? Answering that question requires a closer look at the history of the charitable food system in the United States, how and why it was put in place, and how it’s altered the landscape of food insecurity ever since." Read more here.
Making Big Changes? Survey Finds Leadership and Staffing Are Keys to Success (The Chronicle of Philanthropy)
"The past five years have been an extraordinary period of change for nonprofits. They’ve pivoted to address overwhelming and often new demands during the pandemic, adapted to calls for greater racial equity, struggled through inflation and staffing shortages, and now some face budgetary shortfalls. A new survey provides insight into the factors that impede or aid effective change within nonprofits." Read more here.
Fundraisers Need to Speak Up About Their Challenges — and Funders Need to Listen (The Chronicle of Philanthropy)
"Most giving comes from fundraising.
Doesn’t that sound like a commonsense statement? Like something 14-year-olds would roll their eyes at, accompanied by an impatient, “Duh!”
But despite all the recent handwringing over decreased giving, most grant makers and nonprofit leaders devote little attention to making fundraising more effective. A new report from the Generosity Commission, comprising leaders from across the charitable sector, acknowledges the problem. It calls for “significantly more funding from organized philanthropy for the fundraising capacity of their grantees,” including more training and increased efforts to address burnout." Read more here.
New Research on How Older and Younger Generations Give (The Chronicle of Philanthropy)
"More than three-quarters of donors approaching retirement and those who have already retired say charitable giving plays a significant role in their lives, according to a new report from Fidelity Charitable.
The researchers surveyed 2,512 donors ages 50 to 80 who had given $500 or more in the previous year. They found that those donors are also interested in volunteering: Seventy-four percent of pre-retirees and 55 percent of retirees reported volunteering in the previous year. Nearly all — 97 percent of pre-retirees and 93 percent of retirees — also donate money to at least one of the organizations at which they volunteer, the report found." Read more here.
Mid-Hudson Valley Community Profiles Website (CGR)
"The Mid-Hudson Valley regional profile provides a wealth of information at your fingertips to help inform decision-making and planning in order to drive positive community change for the seven-county region as a whole.
This web tool includes 59 separate indicators that provide insight into the trends of our community over time. Together, the collection of community indicators tells the story about where we are as a community and the direction in which we are heading.
In recent years, this project has expanded to cover additional counties (Columbia, Greene, Putnam and Sullivan) and added indicators, including data on drug-related deaths that show the spike in opioid abuse, food insecurity and the share of our residents who are foreign-born."
Map the Meal Gap 2024 Report (Feeding America)
"May 15, 2024
The extra amount of money that people facing hunger said they need to have enough food reached its highest point in the last 20 years, according to Feeding America’s annual Map the Meal Gap study. People facing hunger said they need an additional $24.73 per week in 2022, a 9.5% increase after adjusting for increased prices. Nationally, the amount needed among all 44 million people facing hunger in 2022 hit a record high of $33.1 billion, up nearly 43%. This increase suggests that rising prices, especially food prices, likely contributed in part to the increase in need.
Map the Meal Gap is the only study that provides local-level estimates of food insecurity and food costs for every county and congressional district in the U.S. The study builds upon the USDA’s latest report of national and state data, which showed a sharp increase in food insecurity in 2022 amidst historically high food prices and the expiration of many pandemic-era programs. Map the Meal Gap emphasizes the urgent call for all of us to take action." Read more here.
NYS COVID and MonkeyPox Updates (Plus Info about the Flu, RSV, and Norovirus)
A lot of the news around mandates, vaccines and restrictions have been a little confusing so I will list some resources below that might help.
NYC COVID cases up 250% in 2 months — and this variant's harder to duck (Gothamist) - Link Here
NYS Department of Health COVID website - It's a one stop shop with an info summary at the top. Link here.
NYC Department of Health Monkeypox Webpage - lots of information and resources about the virus with pictures of the rash included. Find the link here.
COVID vs Flu vs RSV info - I found a good article from the Washington post that gives information about three viruses that have been spiking this winter. Read the article here.
COVID is back in NY. What to know about schools, nursing homes and more (lohud.) - link here
How to Keep Tabs on COVID Through Wastewater Testing in NYC (The City) - link here
Safe Church Training
Safe Church is handled by the Diocesan Human Resources Department which can be reached at safechurchinfo@dioceseny.org. You can also call 917 414 0156.
For more information on Safe Church, visit https://dioceseny.org/administration/congregations/recruiting-and-employment/sexual-misconduct-awareness-2/safe-church/
Documented's Affordable College Tuition for Undocumented, DACA Students and Asylum Seekers Guide
"This comprehensive guide provides essential information for undocumented and asylum-seeking students on accessing education at CUNY and SUNY, including eligibility, tuition, financial aid, and available support resources."
Documented's Mental Health Resources for Immigrants in New York
"A list of organizations that provide free or low-cost mental health care services to immigrants in New York
It can be overwhelming to find mental health care services, so Documented compiled a list of organizations and groups that offer low cost options, accept Medicaid, or render free services to individuals who are seeking counseling.
Most of these locations provide services in English and Spanish. We recommend reaching out to the location for more information, as some of the prices for services given are based on the level of income. For emergencies always call 911.
You can also contact NYC Well for free, confidential crisis counseling, mental health, and substance misuse support, information, and referral. You can reach the toll-free helpline 24 hours a day, 7 days a week by phone, text and online chat. Mental health professionals there can link you to the services you need. Phone: 888-692-9355 | (Espanol): 888-692-9355"
Documented's Immigrant Resources and Job/Housing Discrimination Guides
"Documented has gathered all of the resources we can find to help immigrant New Yorkers. New links will be added and the following pages will be constantly updated. If you would like us to add information to this list or have questions, please reach out to us at info@documentedny.com."
"The New York City Human Rights Law is one of the most comprehensive anti-discrimination laws in the country, prohibiting discrimination in employment, housing and public accommodations based on race, color, religion/creed, age, national origin, immigration or citizenship status, gender (including sexual harassment), gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, pregnancy, military service, marital status and partnership status. As a newsroom that serves immigrant communities, Documented has written a comprehensive guide for immigrants."
Hudson Link Employer Toolkit
Our friends at Hudson Link for Higher Education in Prison put together an employer toolkit for hiring formerly incarcerated people. Thank you to Sean Pica, Eldredge Blalock, Elisabeth Santiago, and the rest of the team at Hudson Link for this important resource. The toolkit can be found here. If you have any questions about hiring formerly incarcerated people, please contact Elisabeth Santiago from Hudson Link's Alumni Services at esantiago@hudsonlink.org.
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That's all for this week -- thanks for all you do!
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