![]() ![]() "(A lack of) funding isn't gonna stop us from doing the next right thing," he said. The allocation still needs the approval of the County Legislature.Įven if lawmakers deny the request or settle on a lesser amount of funding, Carey said he and his partners will continue their work. The neighborhood-based model of service distribution appears to be in line with the philosophy of Monroe County Executive Adam Bello, who has advocated for a shift from the traditional, centralized approach.īello has earmarked over $7.1 million for the expansion of the neighborhood collaborative project over five years via the county's share of American Rescue Plan dollars. "A lot of times, I think there are certain things people want and it's not true at all." ![]() "I think it's been one of the greatest experiences in my social work career is realizing how wrong I am," Carey said. at the Montgomery Center, Cameron Ministries and the Father Tracy Advocacy Center, partnered with social service organizations to walk through some of Rochester's poorest neighborhoods to hear what residents need. In the past two years, community-based centers, including S.W.A.N. What started out as a distribution of masks, hand sanitizer and food grew into a wider recognition of the growing needs in these communities that are often beset by violence, addiction and a lack of access to health care and other services. "We wanted to make sure people were still getting services." "When the COVID pandemic began, we started doing walking outreach in a lot of the neighborhoods, just so we could reach people," Carey said. This neighborhood-centric model is what Carey, founder of the MC Collaborative and co-chair of REACH Advocacy, and representatives of other local nonprofits and community organizations are using as the basis for expanding a project that started in 2020. "We wanted the neighborhood to have the agency to tell us what they need." "For a long time, we kind of have prescribed solutions into neighborhoods, and that hasn't been very effective," said Andy Carey, a local social worker. Some government leaders and advocates have concluded that the solutions can only come from within neighborhoods as opposed to a top-down approach. For years, there have been various efforts to address the many challenges facing people who live in poverty in Rochester.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |