A Day of Advocacy – A Day for Action

Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we’ve been waiting for. We are the change that we seek. – President Barack Obama

On Monday, February 4^th, advocates, faith leaders, nonprofit staffers, and the youngest of the group, two Bronx high school students, made their way on various forms of public transportation in the early morning hours to board a bus headed to the state capital in Albany. The mission: to affect change by calling on state legislators to include funding in the FY 2019 budget for priorities that advance economic and social mobility and well-being for individuals and families.

More than 60 participants from across the five boroughs attended over 50 meetings with state legislators and their staff.  Our top priority is increasing investment in the human services sector to fund long overdue salary increases, cover the cost of the minimum wage, and an investment in infrastructure to address much-needed repairs for nonprofits. In addition, our team of advocates met with legislators to discuss funding to support an accurate count for the 2020 Census; the New York Health Act, which would establish a universal, publicly financed single-payer health plan for all New Yorkers, as well as the Housing Stability Support (HSS), a statewide rental supplement program for families and individuals currently homeless or facing loss of housing.

We know that change will not come if we wait, we must be the change we seek, and we must act now. FPWA’s annual advocacy day is an opportunity for our network of community and faith-based organizations and concerned citizens to come together as a powerful collective voice to ensure equity and fairness for all New Yorkers.