Speaker Adrienne Adams was joined by her New York City Council colleagues, and several philanthropic foundations to announce a new public-private partnership to support the organizations assisting asylum seekers and communities in New York City. The $2.2 million dollar initiative, “Welcome NYC,” will fund organizations providing urgent legal services, workforce development, literacy programs, youth services, faith-based services, and food assistance across the City.
“Our immigrant communities are an essential part of the fabric of our city, and critical to who we are and our success,” said Speaker Adrienne Adams. “From the very beginning, our local non-profits and community-based organizations have stepped up to fill the gaps and shouldered the heroic work of supporting newly arriving people and families. Welcome NYC will help organizations on the ground providing support to asylum seekers, and our communities more broadly, with crucial services. As we continue to advocate for increased federal and state support, the Council will pursue comprehensive solutions to help migrants and all residents access health, opportunity, and safety. I thank our philanthropic partners and the entire Council for their hard work and partnership to launch this new initiative.”
Several major philanthropic foundations are collectively contributing $1 million towards the “Welcome NYC” initiative, including the Robin Hood Foundation, New York Community Trust, Bronx Community Foundation, New York Women’s Foundation, and Brooklyn Community Foundation. The Council is allocating $1.2 million in Council funding to more than two dozen non-profit organizations providing crucial services on the ground to families, people seeking asylum in New York City, and local communities. On Thursday, the Council will vote on a transparency resolution designating this funding to specific organizations.
The Council’s $1.2 million allocation will fund the following groups:
“Ensuring that asylum seekers have every resource necessary available to them to as they settle into their new lives in New York City is essential to making our city an inclusive place of opportunity for all New Yorkers,” said Chymeka Olfonse, the managing director of Robin Hood’s Adults and House Supports grantmaking portfolio. “We are proud to partner with the New York Community Trust. and the nonprofit community to expand and strengthen legal services for asylum seekers in New York City. We commend the New York City Council for its commitment to funding workforce development programs, literacy services, mentoring programs, college awareness, youth leadership, social and educational programs, food services, and other programs that will empower migrant families to thrive in their new home city.”
“Immigrants make our city stronger, yet their ability to become citizens is endangered because they have no right to counsel and often struggle to find trustworthy advice,” said Eve Stotland, Senior Program Officer at New York Community Trust. “That is why The New York Community Trust is proud to join the Robin Hood Foundation and make a combined grant of $750,000 to UnLocal and invest in the City Council’s Welcome NYC initiative to help immigrant New Yorkers successfully navigate today’s complex immigration system. And we thank City Council for its long-term commitment to free legal services for immigrants across the city.”
Since last spring, New York City has welcomed more than 47,000 people seeking asylum in the United States. More than 29,000 people remain in the City’s care, primarily in 88 emergency shelters and seven Humanitarian Emergency Relief and Response Centers (HERRCs). The Council has sought to identify and propose constructive solutions, including:
- Advocating for safer indoor HERRC sites and identifying large-scale hotels as better-suited options. This is now the preferred model used by the Administration for HERRCs.
- Holding a two-day Committee of the Whole oversight hearing on the City’s response to determine gaps in services and hear from asylum seekers, the public, and agency officials.
- Releasing a report with policy recommendations to improve city shelters, housing, mental health services, language access, temporary humanitarian shelters, immigration legal services, rental assistance, workforce development, healthcare, education, and other services for all New Yorkers, including asylum seekers.
- Continuing to hold hearings on the issue, including on relevant legislation and other issues. This Friday, the Council will hold a joint oversight hearing examining city contracting related to asylum seekers.
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