RMAPI is the entire community's effort to reduce poverty and increase self sufficiency, and if the community is fully engaged, failure is impossible. Find out how you can help.
The City of Rochester/RTS Vanpool program connects low-income residents to jobs beyond the public transportation system through the use of van pools. The program is set to expand to 30 vans by November 2020, serving 450 riders.
A total of 80 new jobs will be created at Hickey Freeman thanks to the work of a number of RMAPI stakeholders. The company, located in a high-poverty area of Rochester, received $4 million through a Finger Lakes Forward Upstate Revitalization Initiative convertible loan and also had the support of ESL, the City of Rochester and Rochester Economic Development Corp.
80
The Young Adult Manufacturing Training Employment Program (YAMTEP) helps individuals with low incomes prepare for careers in manufacturing through a 90-day training program. So far, 258 graduates have learned manufacturing skills and 200 found sustainable employment through YAMTEP.
The City of Rochester’s Kiva loan program provides zero percent interest crowdfunded loans for entrepreneurs looking to start or grow a business. The majority of the $475,000 awarded has gone to those not considered creditworthy at traditional financial institutions.
200
When IBM published a report on poverty in Rochester in 2015, they found that without significant changes to the systems addressing poverty, Rochester’s poverty rate would only continue to rise. Since then not only has the rate of poverty growth stopped, but it has started to reverse, with 3,173 fewer people in poverty reported for data released in December 2019.
$475,000
3,173
RMAPI helped to secure $4.75 million in state funding to support early childhood initiatives. Through this program, an additional 325 students have already been able to attend the summerLEAP program.
325
The 9,550 people in the City of Rochester receiving Section 8 public housing vouchers now have greater choice in where to live after Rochester City Council banned landlord discrimination based on source of income, ending the practice of landlords refusing Section 8 public housing vouchers. This has now been codified into state law.
9,550
The 130 participants in the adult mentoring program Bridges to Success, the first implementation strategy from RMAPI, raised their monthly income by 109.5 percent on average.
109.5%
More than 200 individuals from two dozen local organizations have been trained through the St. Joseph’s Neighborhood Center's Racial Equity and Justice Initiative, which works with local agencies to create a higher awareness of structural racism and inspires them to combat it within their own organizations.
More than 2,600 people across our community voted in the Participatory Budgeting Rochester project, which allowed local residents to decide how to spend $200,000 in funding to address poverty.
2,600
Decrease in child poverty rate from the start of RMAPI through the 2010 U.S. Census esitimate.
5%
450
Addressing poverty is a marathon, not a sprint. Systemic changes that improve workforce development and access to basic needs will create long-term improvements for our community. Along the way, RMAPI's partners are pursuing programs, strategies, and organizational changes that are creating an immediate impact on the lives of our neighbors.
In 2013, our community received a wake-up call. A report from the Rochester Area Community Foundation and ACT Rochester showed that Rochester had some of the highest poverty rates and deepest concentrations of poverty in the nation.
Together, we studied the root causes of poverty in Rochester and took action to address them. After issuing a progress report, RMAPI’s partners took on our community’s initial recommendations, helping move people out of poverty while we worked together toward long-term solutions.
This has been one small part of RMAPI’s larger work. Service providers have formed new partnerships to better understand the experience people go through when looking for work, navigating human services, and finding safe and affordable housing. Employers have pledged to make changes to hiring and retention practices that help people on the path to self-sufficiency.
The current COVID-19 crisis will be unlike anything we have ever faced, but we are confident in our ability to rise to the challenge, just as we did five years ago.
When RMAPI first brought community members together in 2015, we made a commitment to do everything needed to reduce poverty, no matter how difficult the work, no matter how long the hours or how deep the changes we would need to make. Today we are recommitting to that goal, confident that by working together we can rise to any challenge.
Faced with such a daunting challenge, Rochester has done what we always do best – rally together. Through the Rochester-Monroe Anti-Poverty Initiative, we came together in unprecedented ways to identify the root causes of poverty. We made changes within our own organizations and across sectors, creating a system where all members of the community have a place at the table. We pledged to make all our decisions against a backdrop of our guiding principles to address structural racism, address trauma, and build and support our community.
The COVID-19 outbreak is one of the most significant trials our community has ever faced, and its effects are disproportionately felt by those living in poverty.
The weeks and months ahead will bring new challenges. The need for basic services will continue to rise and the need for workforce development will adjust to a new employment landscape.
Since New York State first put stay-at-home measures in place, RMAPI began gathering feedback on the most pressing needs of our community members. We reached out to thousands of community members, asking about their concerns and what services they need the most. This data is compiled and shared with local leaders on a daily basis, raising the community’s voice during this public health crisis and ensuring that local decisions about how to respond are informed by the input of our community, especially people affected poverty.
RMAPI has also partnered with members of the community to help spread key messages about the COVID-19 outbreak through a number of media including online discussions.
Thanks to the work of RMAPI over the last five years, we are more prepared than ever to face these challenges. Partners have learned to work in a collective way to come up with new and innovative solutions to address poverty. RMAPI’s coalition members have made process changes that allow their organizations to be more responsive to the needs of the community and aligned to our common goals. And the entire initiative has begun making systemic changes to address the factors that have exacerbated poverty in our community.
Rochester Health Profession
Opportunity Grant (HPOG)RMAPI’s first progress report pushed for local employers to address job essentials for the working poor. The HPOG program, funded by an $8 million grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, will work with 1,500 local residents to achieve self-sufficiency and find high-paying jobs in the healthcare field. Administered by Action for a Better Community, the program provides education and training to TANF recipients and other low-income individuals for occupations in the healthcare field.
RochesterWorks! and Monroe County/Rochester Workforce Development BoardRochesterWorks! has incorporated recommendations from the RMAPI’s first progress report to help people living in poverty obtain and maintain steady employment and achieve self-sufficiency. The program works with the Finger Lakes and GLOW Workforce Development Boards to develop career pathways for new and transitioning workers. RochesterWorks! has also worked with the Monroe County/Rochester Workforce Development Board and committees to revise training and supportive service policies to dedicate a greater percentage of funding to the needs of low-income individuals.
City of Rochester/RTS Vanpool ProjectRMAPI’s first progress report created a recommendation to provide better access to the area's public transportation, and the City of Rochester/RTS Vanpool project addresses that need. This project connects Rochester residents to jobs that may be out of reach of public transportation through the creation of vanpools. The project is expanding with $300,000 grant funding received from the New York State Department of Transportation.
Kiva RochesterKiva Rochester provides zero percent interest crowdfunded loans to help entrepreneurs start or grow a business. Qualifying businesses are eligible to receive matching funds from the Rochester Economic Development Corporation. Awarding more than $475,000 in loans to local entrepreneurs, 75 percent of borrowers would likely not be considered creditworthy at traditional financial institutions due to low credit scores, lacking collateral assets, and low income. To date, 41 percent of the loans have gone to women-owned businesses and 78 percent have gone to African-American or Hispanic business owners.
Bridges to Success and Family Independence InitiativeThe first implementation strategy from RMAPI addresses the need for mentoring services for individuals and families seeking to achieve economic self-sufficiency. Bridges to Success couples individuals to a professional mentor while Family Independence Initiative connects families to a group of peers working together in creating change. Both programs help participants identify socio-economic needs and develop a specialized plan to achieve self-sufficiency goals. The programs are administered by Catholic Family Center, Action for a Better Community, and Community Place of Greater Rochester.
Key results include:80.6 percent of participants in the Bridges to Success program advanced from “crisis” or “at risk” to “stable” in at least one major area (e.g., housing, health, education, employment)The average household income for Bridges to Success participants increased by 109.5 percent.The average number of Family Independence Initiative participants employed increased by 19 percent.
Since the release of RMAPI’s first progress report in 2015, coalition members have undertaken a number of efforts to respond to initial recommendations and address the immediate needs of our community.
Young Adult Manufacturing Training Employment Program (YAMTEP)RYAMTEP is a 90-day manufacturing job training program for individuals with low incomes. Supported by the City of Rochester, Monroe County, and RochesterWorks!, YAMTEP has a network of over 30 companies. To date, more than 200 participants have learned valuable manufacturing skills and ultimately found sustainable employment through YAMTEP.
Strengthening Working Families InitiativeRochester Rehabilitation Center has partnered with local employers and community organizations to create access to educational and training institutions for parents with dependent children at home. The program aligns with a recommendation from RMAPI’s first progress report to provide training and support that matches the working poor with willing employers seeking to fill job openings.
OWN RochesterLed by the City of Rochester, this program aims to create a network of community-based, employee-owned businesses that provide employment for individuals facing the most significant barriers. In 2017, OWN Rochester launched its first business, a green energy construction subcontractor called ENEROC. In spring 2018, OWN Rochester launched a floor care services business. OWN Rochester follows a recommendation from RMAPI’s first progress report to support local businesses and increase available jobs.
Adoption of RMAPI Guiding PrinciplesAcross our community, dozens of organizations have adopted RMAPI’s Guiding Principles to address trauma, address structural racism, and build and support our community. These have become the basis for community decision-making and guided the work of RMAPI.
Participatory Budgeting RochesterRMAPI implemented a Participatory Budgeting process that gave members of the community the power to decide how to spend $200,000 in funding for projects addressing poverty. The process was entirely community run—from the board of community members who set the rules for voting and proposals to the individuals and groups who submitted ideas to the more than 2,600 people who voted on which projects should be funded.
Participatory Budgeting fit into RMAPI’s larger goals to increase civic engagement and encourage political participation, especially in traditionally marginalized groups. Hundreds of community members submitted project ideas, everything from expanding community gardens to building “tiny homes” for very low-income individuals to offering late-night child care services to parents who work the late and overnight shifts.
United Way of Greater RochesterUnited Way of Greater Rochester served as the first convener of the community’s effort to address poverty, bringing together stakeholders from across sectors in 2015 and 2016 to study the root causes of poverty and develop the community’s priorities. The United Way continued to play a key role for RMAPI in the years that followed, serving as the fiscal agent and hosting the RMAPI Backbone Staff.
The United Way has also been an early leader in adopting and promoting the Guiding Principles and continues to take a lead role on community-wide efforts like the Systems Integration Project.
RMAPI’s community collaborative model calls for partners to make changes to their own organization to align with our common poverty-reduction agenda. The RMAPI backbone staff has also led efforts to raise the community’s voice and bring all people—especially those affected by poverty—to the decision-making tables, creating fundamental change to the process by which we address poverty.
Racial Equity and Justice InitiativeRMAPI has worked with St. Joseph’s Neighborhood Center to expand implementation of its Racial Equity and Justice Initiative, which works with local agencies and businesses to create a higher awareness of structural racism and inspire them to combat it within their own organizations. This program has trained 200 individuals from more than two dozen organizations, and uses a Racial Equity Assessment Survey to measure institutional change within these organizations.
Housing discrimination legislation
In June 2017, the Rochester City Council passed an ordinance banning landlord discrimination based on source of income, as previously many landlords outside low-income neighborhoods had not accepted Section 8 public housing vouchers. A similar measure was subsequently adopted in the Town of Brighton. RMAPI is now advocating for this to be codified into state law and apply to landlords outside the Rochester city limits.
Poverty Impact Statement
The Finger Lakes Regional Economic Development Council worked with RMAPI to incorporate the Guiding Principles (addressing structural racism, addressing trauma, and building and supporting our community) into the funding application process for those seeking state funding. The council created a Poverty Impact Statement for funding applicants to define how their project aligns with poverty reduction goals. The council oversees the distribution of a $500 million Upstate Revitalization Initiative grant awarded in 2015, and has identified poverty reduction as one of its chief goals.
Other ESPRI cities are now looking to adopt this model for incorporating community priorities for addressing poverty into funding streams.
Raise the Age
RMAPI created a model of addressing systemic racism and combatting the root causes of poverty by raising the age of criminal responsibility to 18 and ensuring that young people who commit non-violent crimes receive intervention and evidence-based treatment. This became a statewide commitment when Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed legislation making Raise the Age codified into New York State law.
Funding Alignment Council
Local funders including ESL Community Foundation, United Way of Greater Rochester, the Farash Foundation, and Rochester Area Charitable Foundation have led efforts to align local funders around RMAPI’s common poverty-reduction goals.
Pledge for Rochester
The RMAPI Employment Working Group has developed pledges for employers and job training agencies to promote and uphold the RMAPI Guiding Principles to address structural racism, address trauma and build and support our community. These organizations pledge to adopting a set of best practices that reduce barriers to employment and enable sustainable employment for people affected by poverty.
Systemic changes that improve workforce development and access to basic needs will create long-term improvements for our community. These will take time, but our community has already begun to make meaningful systemic changes.
Monroe County Systems Integration Project
The Monroe County Systems Integration Project aims to establish connections between 300 local health, education and human services organizations by building technology and establishing relationships across sectors. This project is a priority identified by the Regional Economic Development Council, the Rochester-Monroe Anti-Poverty Initiative (RMAPI), and others as a critical need for our community, as well as a key need and priority identified by people living in poverty.
RMAPI Policy Agenda
RMAPI’s Policy Working Group develops a list of annual policy priorities aimed at addressing the root causes of poverty. These priorities are determined through months of meeting with local experts, community and government leaders, and representatives from non-profit agencies to determine which actions would be the most effective and the most needed to address poverty. RMAPI’s coalition members then organize advocacy efforts at local and statewide levels.
1199 SEIU United Healthcare Workers East
A Better Rochester
ABVI Goodwill
ACT Rochester
Action for a Better Community, Inc.
Ark of Jesus Ministries
Base One Technologies
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Rochester
Bridges to Success
CAC
CCSI
CEO Works
CGR
CareerStart
Catholic Family Center
Causewave Community Partners
Center for Collaborative Health at CCSI
Center for Employment Opportunities
Center for Governmental Research
Center for Youth
Charles Settlement House
Children's Institute
City Roots Community Land Trust
City of Rochester
City of Rochester Mayor's Office
City of Rochester Office of Innovation and Strategic Initiatives
City of Rochester Office of Innovation and Strategic Initiatives, Mayor's Office
City of Rochester Office of Neighborhood and Business Development
City of Rochester: Neighborhood & Business Development
College at Brockport Metro Center
Common Ground Health
Community Advisory Council
Community Member
Compeer Rochester
Connected Communities, Inc.
Conscious Capitalism Rochester Chapter
Consumer Credit Counseling Services
Cooperative Extension Monroe County
Council of Agency Executives
Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families
Department of Labor
ESL Federal Credit Union
ESL Foundation
Education Success Network
Empire Justice Center
Empire State Development
Enterprise Holdings
Excellus
FLPPS
Family Counseling Service of the Finger Lakes, Inc.
Farash Foundation
Finger Lakes Performing Provider System
Flower City AmeriCorps
Foodlink
Genesee Transportation Council
Great Tie Consulting
Greater Rochester Chamber of Commerce
Greater Rochester Health Foundation
Greater Rochester Housing Partnership
Habitat for Humanity
Harris Corporation
Heritage Christian Services
Hester Street Collective
Home Leasing
Huther Doyle
Ibero-American Action League
Institute for Poverty Studies and Economic Development (IPSED)
Jordan Health
Just Serve
KV Strategies
Key Bank
Law NY
LiDestri
Lifespan
Maximus
Mayor's Office of Community Wealth Building
McGowan Foundation
Metro Council for Teen Potential
Monroe Community College
Monroe County
Monroe County Office of the Public Defender
NY State Department of Labor, Division of Employment and Workforce Solutions
NYS 7th Judicial District
NYS Assembly
Nazareth College of Rochester
New York State Senate
North American Breweries
OWN Rochester
Office of Rep. Joseph D. Morelle | NY-25
PHU concepts
PMI
PathStone Corporation
RCSD
ROC the Future
Reconnect Rochester
Regional Transit Service
Rochester & Genesee Valley Area Labor Federation
Rochester Area Community Foundation
Rochester City School District
Rochester Educational Opportunity Center
Rochester Housing Authority
Rochester Institute of Technology
Rochester Public Library
Rochester Regional Health System
Rochester Regional Transit Service
Rochester Rehabilitation
Rochester/Monroe county Homeless Continuum of Care
RochesterWorks!
SUNY Rochester Educational Opportunity Center
School of the Holy Childhood
St. John Fisher
St. Joseph's Neighborhood Center
State of New York
Strong Center for Developmental Disabilities (UCEDD)
Systems Integration Project
Tenants’ Union
The Beat 105.5 FM
The Children's Agenda
Truform Manufacturing
U of R EPO at East Upper and Lower
US Congress
United Christian Leadership Ministry
United Way of Greater Rochester
University of Rochester
University of Rochester/EAST Partnership
Urban League of Rochester
Veterans Outreach Center
Veterans Service Agency, Monroe County
Volunteer Legal Services ProjectWegmans Food MarketsWhy Wait: International Higher Education SolutionYAMTEPYWCA
RMAPI’s success depends on the hard work and support of thousands of individuals and organizations across our community who share common goal of reducing poverty through systemic change. Thanks to the financial support of our funders, the time and energy of coalition members designing and implementing these changes, and the community members who support this work, RMAPI has become a national leader in poverty reduction.
The community collaborative model we have created over the past five years has been replicated across the state through the Empire State Poverty Reduction Initiative and held up as a national example for how to bring innovation to poverty reduction.
This important work is far from over, but we thank you for your help in turning the curve and look forward to working with you in the years to come.
February, 2019
August, 2016
Participatory Budgeting Rochester
Led by RMAPI backbone staff, more than 2,600 Monroe County residents voted to decide how to spend $200,000 on capital projects to fight poverty and improve their neighborhoods.
RMAPI Employer Pledge: RMAPI pushes local employers to be an employer who enables sustainable employment for individuals seeking to move from poverty to self-sufficiency.
As RMAPI enters Phase II, the initiative is shifting focus away from piloting and funding programs and redirecting energy to influencing larger-scale systems and policy change. RMAPI plans to influence policy, practice, and behavior throughout local systems and institutions.
Monroe County Systems Integration Project: A project initiated to establish connections between 300 local health, education and human services organizations by building technology and establishing relationships across sectors.
January, 2018
RMAPI Policy Agenda: Released each year, the RMAPI Policy Agenda identifies policies and funding recommendations that will bring long-term, meaningful poverty reduction
July, 2017
COVID-19 Community Response
U.S. Census Data Shows Poverty Decline
Data released in December by the U.S. Census Bureau for the most recent five-year period indicates a decrease in overall poverty rates and child poverty rates throughout the city of Rochester
The Rochester Area Community Foundation and ACT Rochester released Poverty and the Concentration of Poverty in the Nine-County Greater Rochester Area, showing that Rochester had some of the highest poverty rates and concentrations of poverty in the nation. This report spurred local leaders to start work collectively to address these high poverty rates.
December, 2019
RMAPI undertakes efforts to gather community feedback to determine what individuals need most amid the COVID-19 outbreak. This data is compiled and shared with local leaders on a daily basis to help guide the decision-making process that addresses the needs of Rochester’s impoverished communities
December, 2013
Renewed State Funding And RMAPI Second Phase
RMAPI provides the state of New York a summary of activities in its initial phase and a summary of priorities in the second phase, which takes a stronger focus on system redesign.
August, 2017
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announces the launch of an initiative to reduce poverty in Rochester through the collective work of stakeholders across the community. Work groups are formed to investigate underlying causes of poverty in Rochester. This would lead to the formation of the Rochester-Monroe Anti-Poverty Initiative.
Wage Disparities in Monroe County by Race and Gender
The Mayor’s Office of Innovation conducts an analysis of the local workforce in Monroe County. The report finds that minorities, women, and people with disabilities face disparities in pay and that minorities earn less than their white counterparts in nearly every industrial sector.
September, 2015
January, 2015
March, 2020
November, 2015
Selection of Target Neighborhoods
RMAPI partners with the City of Rochester's Office of Innovation and Connected Communities to identify three areas to pilot its work. The areas have the highest density of poverty and the most children living in poverty, but have strong community assets like schools, recreation centers, churches, etc.
Published “Progress Report: A Roadmap for Change”
Report compiled the findings of working groups formed to study key drivers of poverty, setting a roadmap and issuing 33 recommendations for addressing poverty.
2014: U.S. Census data shows poverty increase
New U.S. Census Bureau data for the most recent five-year period through 2014 shows an increase in poverty, with a total of 68,222 people in the City of Rochester living below the federal poverty line, the highest number of the last decade.
Monroe County Systems Integration Project
Governor Andrew Cuomo proposes $15 million to create a five-year system integration project in Rochester. The project aims to establish connections between 300 local health, education and human services organizations by building technology and establishing relationships across sectors. The Regional Economic Development Council and RMAPI defines the project as “high priority.”
Beginning January 2016: Adult Mentoring Programs
The first implementation strategy from RMAPI addresses the need for mentoring services for individuals and families seeking to achieve economic self-sufficiency. The pilot project period ends in 2019, showing the following key results:
RMAPI partners with the community collaboratives to create the first county-wide resident-driven leadership table to ensure community voice and representation at all levels of decision-making
Community Advisory Council created
80.6 percent of participants in the Bridges to Success program advanced from "crisis" or "at risk" to "stable" in at least one major area (e.g., housing, health, education, employment)
The average household income for Bridges to Success participants increased by 109.5 percent.
The average number of Family Independence Initiative participants employed increased by 19 percent.
December, 2018
Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced $4.75 million in funding to support the expansion of early childhood anti-poverty initiatives aligned with RMAPI priority areas. Funding supports new summer learning programs, child care, and home visiting services for children and caregivers.
March, 2016
Early childhood Funding
IBM Smarter Cities
Challenge Report
RMAPI uses the report’s recommendations to guide the implementation efforts of a person-centered system of social support.
Beginning January, 2018 Creating Systemic Change
Guiding Principles Report
Report released to the public in an effort to align and coordinate the broader community around shared values to address trauma, address structural racism, and build and support our community.
Employment of People with Disabilities:Identifying Barriers and Creating Opportunities
The Mayor’s Office of Innovation releases a report showing that poverty is disproportionately affecting people with disabilities.
Through the Rochester-Monroe Anti-Poverty Initiative, we came together in unprecedented ways to identify the root causes of poverty. We made changes within our own organizations and across sectors, creating a system where all members of the community have a place at the table. We pledged to make all our decisions against a backdrop of our guiding principles to address structural racism, address trauma, and build and support our community.
Together, we studied the root causes of poverty in Rochester and took action to address them. After issuing a progress report, RMAPI’s partners took on our community’s initial recommendations, helping move people out of poverty while we worked together toward long-term solutions.
This has been one small part of RMAPI’s larger work. Service providers have formed new partnerships to better understand the experience people go through when looking for work, navigating human services, and finding safe and affordable housing. Employers have pledged to make changes to hiring and retention practices that help people on the path to self-sufficiency.
The current COVID-19 crisis will be unlike anything we have ever faced, but we are confident in our ability to rise to the challenge, just as we did five years ago.
When RMAPI first brought community members together in 2015, we made a commitment to do everything needed to reduce poverty, no matter how difficult the work, no matter how long the hours or how deep the changes we would need to make. Today we are recommitting to that goal, confident that by working together we can rise to any challenge.
In 2013, our community received a wake-up call. A report from the Rochester Area Community Foundation and ACT Rochester showed that Rochester had some of the highest poverty rates and deepest concentrations of poverty in the nation.
Faced with such a daunting challenge, Rochester has done what we always do best – rally together.
Through the Rochester-Monroe Anti-Poverty Initiative, we came together in unprecedented ways to identify the root causes of poverty. We made changes within our own organizations and across sectors, creating a system where all members of the community have a place at the table. We pledged to make all our decisions against a backdrop of our guiding principles to address structural racism, address trauma, and build and support our community.
Together, we studied the root causes of poverty in Rochester and took action to address them. After issuing a progress report, RMAPI’s partners took on our community’s initial recommendations, helping move people out of poverty while we worked together toward long-term solutions.
This has been one small part of RMAPI’s larger work. Service providers have formed new partnerships to better understand the experience people go through when looking for work, navigating human services, and finding safe and affordable housing. Employers have pledged to make changes to hiring and retention practices that help people on the path to self-sufficiency.
The current COVID-19 crisis will be unlike anything we have ever faced, but we are confident in our ability to rise to the challenge, just as we did five years ago.
When RMAPI first brought community members together in 2015, we made a commitment to do everything needed to reduce poverty, no matter how difficult the work, no matter how long the hours or how deep the changes we would need to make. Today we are recommitting to that goal, confident that by working together we can rise to any challenge.
In 2013, our community received a wake-up call. A report from the Rochester Area Community Foundation and ACT Rochester showed that Rochester had some of the highest poverty rates and deepest concentrations of poverty in the nation.
In 2013, our community received a wake-up call. A report from the Rochester Area Community Foundation and ACT Rochester showed that Rochester had some of the highest poverty rates and deepest concentrations of poverty in the nation.
Faced with such a daunting challenge, Rochester has done what we always do best – rally together.
August, 2016
March 2020
July, 2017
The COVID-19 outbreak is one of the most significant trials our community has ever faced, and its effects are disproportionately felt by those living in poverty.
The weeks and months ahead will bring new challenges. The need for basic services will continue to rise and the need for workforce development will adjust to a new employment landscape.
Since New York State first put stay-at-home measures in place, RMAPI began gathering feedback on the most pressing needs of our community members. We reached out to thousands of community members, asking about their concerns and what services they need the most. This data is compiled and shared with local leaders on a daily basis, raising the community’s voice during this public health crisis and ensuring that local decisions about how to respond are informed by the input of our community, especially people affected poverty.
RMAPI has also partnered with members of the community to help spread key messages about the COVID-19 outbreak through a number of media including online discussions.
Thanks to the work of RMAPI over the last five years, we are more prepared than ever to face these challenges. Partners have learned to work in a collective way to come up with new and innovative solutions to address poverty. RMAPI’s coalition members have made process changes that allow their organizations to be more responsive to the needs of the community and aligned to our common goals. And the entire initiative has begun making systemic changes to address the factors that have exacerbated poverty in our community.
Strengthening Working Families Initiative
Rochester Rehabilitation Center has partnered with local employers and community organizations to create access to educational and training institutions for parents with dependent children at home. The program aligns with a recommendation from RMAPI’s first progress report to provide training and support that matches the working poor with willing employers seeking to fill job openings.
RochesterWorks! and Monroe County/Rochester Workforce Development Board
RochesterWorks! has incorporated recommendations from the RMAPI’s first progress report to help people living in poverty obtain and maintain steady employment and achieve self-sufficiency. The program works with the Finger Lakes and GLOW Workforce Development Boards to develop career pathways for new and transitioning workers. RochesterWorks! has also worked with the Monroe County/Rochester Workforce Development Board and committees to revise training and supportive service policies to dedicate a greater percentage of funding to the needs of low-income individuals.
City of Rochester/RTS Vanpool Project
RMAPI’s first progress report created a recommendation to provide better access to the area's public transportation, and the City of Rochester/RTS Vanpool project addresses that need. This project connects Rochester residents to jobs that may be out of reach of public transportation through the creation of vanpools. The project is expanding with $300,000 grant funding received from the New York State Department of Transportation.
Young Adult Manufacturing Training Employment Program (YAMTEP)
RYAMTEP is a 90-day manufacturing job training program for individuals with low incomes. Supported by the City of Rochester, Monroe County, and RochesterWorks!, YAMTEP has a network of over 30 companies. To date, more than 200 participants have learned valuable manufacturing skills and ultimately found sustainable employment through YAMTEP.
Bridges to Success and Family Independence Initiative
The first implementation strategy from RMAPI addresses the need for mentoring services for individuals and families seeking to achieve economic self-sufficiency. Bridges to Success couples individuals to a professional mentor while Family Independence Initiative connects families to a group of peers working together in creating change. Both programs help participants identify socio-economic needs and develop a specialized plan to achieve self-sufficiency goals. The programs are administered by Catholic Family Center, Action for a Better Community, and Community Place of Greater Rochester.
Key results include:80.6 percent of participants in the Bridges to Success program advanced from “crisis” or “at risk” to “stable” in at least one major area (e.g., housing, health, education, employment)The average household income for Bridges to Success participants increased by 109.5 percent.The average number of Family Independence Initiative participants employed increased by 19 percent.
Rochester Health Profession
Opportunity Grant (HPOG)
RMAPI’s first progress report pushed for local employers to address job essentials for the working poor. The HPOG program, funded by an $8 million grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, will work with 1,500 local residents to achieve self-sufficiency and find high-paying jobs in the healthcare field. Administered by Action for a Better Community, the program provides education and training to TANF recipients and other low-income individuals for occupations in the healthcare field.
Kiva Rochester provides zero percent interest crowdfunded loans to help entrepreneurs start or grow a business. Qualifying businesses are eligible to receive matching funds from the Rochester Economic Development Corporation. Awarding more than $475,000 in loans to local entrepreneurs, 75 percent of borrowers would likely not be considered creditworthy at traditional financial institutions due to low credit scores, lacking collateral assets, and low income. To date, 41 percent of the loans have gone to women-owned businesses and 78 percent have gone to African-American or Hispanic business owners.
OWN Rochester
Led by the City of Rochester, this program aims to create a network of community-based, employee-owned businesses that provide employment for individuals facing the most significant barriers. In 2017, OWN Rochester launched its first business, a green energy construction subcontractor called ENEROC. In spring 2018, OWN Rochester launched a floor care services business. OWN Rochester follows a recommendation from RMAPI’s first progress report to support local businesses and increase available jobs.
The United Way has also been an early leader in adopting and promoting the Guiding Principles and continues to take a lead role on community-wide efforts like the Systems Integration Project.
Participatory Budgeting fit into RMAPI’s larger goals to increase civic engagement and encourage political participation, especially in traditionally marginalized groups. Hundreds of community members submitted project ideas, everything from expanding community gardens to building “tiny homes” for very low-income individuals to offering late-night child care services to parents who work the late and overnight shifts.
Participatory Budgeting RochesterRMAPI implemented a Participatory Budgeting process that gave members of the community the power to decide how to spend $200,000 in funding for projects addressing poverty. The process was entirely community run—from the board of community members who set the rules for voting and proposals to the individuals and groups who submitted ideas to the more than 2,600 people who voted on which projects should be funded.
Adoption of RMAPI Guiding PrinciplesAcross our community, dozens of organizations have adopted RMAPI’s Guiding Principles to address trauma, address structural racism, and build and support our community. These have become the basis for community decision-making and guided the work of RMAPI.
Racial Equity and Justice InitiativeRMAPI has worked with St. Joseph’s Neighborhood Center to expand implementation of its Racial Equity and Justice Initiative, which works with local agencies and businesses to create a higher awareness of structural racism and inspire them to combat it within their own organizations. This program has trained 200 individuals from more than two dozen organizations, and uses a Racial Equity Assessment Survey to measure institutional change within these organizations.
United Way of Greater RochesterUnited Way of Greater
Rochester served as
the first convener of
the community’s
effort to address poverty, bringing together stakeholders from across sectors in 2015 and 2016 to study the root causes of poverty and develop the community’s priorities. The United Way continued to play a key role for RMAPI in the years that followed, serving as the fiscal agent and hosting the RMAPI Backbone Staff.
Housing discrimination legislation
In June 2017, the Rochester City Council passed an ordinance banning landlord discrimination based on source of income, as previously many landlords outside low-income neighborhoods had not accepted Section 8 public housing vouchers. A similar measure was subsequently adopted in the Town of Brighton. RMAPI is now advocating for this to be codified into state law and apply to landlords outside the Rochester city limits.
Funding Alignment Council
Local funders including ESL Charitable Foundation, United Way of Greater Rochester, the Farash Foundation, and Rochester Area Community Foundation have led efforts to align local funders around RMAPI’s common poverty-reduction goals.
Systemic changes that improve workforce development and access to basic needs will create long-term improvements for our community. These will take time, but our community has already begun to make meaningful systemic changes.
RMAPI Policy Agenda
RMAPI’s Policy Working Group develops a list of annual policy priorities aimed at addressing the root causes of poverty. These priorities are determined through months of meeting with local experts, community and government leaders, and representatives from non-profit agencies to determine which actions would be the most effective and the most needed to address poverty. RMAPI’s coalition members then organize advocacy efforts at local and statewide levels.
Raise the Age
RMAPI created a model of addressing systemic racism and combatting the root causes of poverty by raising the age of criminal responsibility to 18 and ensuring that young people who commit non-violent crimes receive intervention and evidence-based treatment. This became a statewide commitment when Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed legislation making Raise the Age codified into New York State law.
Monroe County Systems Integration Project
The Monroe County Systems Integration Project aims to establish connections between 300 local health, education and human services organizations by building technology and establishing relationships across sectors. This project is a priority identified by the Regional Economic Development Council, the Rochester-Monroe Anti-Poverty Initiative (RMAPI), and others as a critical need for our community, as well as a key need and priority identified by people living in poverty.
Pledge for Rochester
The RMAPI Employment Working Group has developed pledges for employers and job training agencies to promote and uphold the RMAPI Guiding Principles to address structural racism, address trauma and build and support our community. These organizations pledge to adopting a set of best practices that reduce barriers to employment and enable sustainable employment for people affected by poverty.
RMAPI’s success depends on the hard work and support of thousands of individuals and organizations across our community who share common goal of reducing poverty through systemic change. Thanks to the financial support of our funders, the time and energy of coalition members designing and implementing these changes, and the community members who support this work, RMAPI has become a national leader in poverty reduction.
The community collaborative model we have created over the past five years has been replicated across the state through the Empire State Poverty Reduction Initiative and held up as a national example for how to bring innovation to poverty reduction.
This important work is far from over, but we thank you for your help in turning the curve and look forward to working with you in the years to come.
1199 SEIU United Healthcare Workers East
A Better Rochester
ABVI Goodwill
ACT Rochester
Action for a Better Community, Inc.
Ark of Jesus Ministries
Base One Technologies
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Rochester
Bridges to Success
CAC
CCSI
CEO Works
CGR
CareerStart
Catholic Family Center
Causewave Community Partners
Center for Collaborative Health at CCSI
Center for Employment Opportunities
Center for Governmental Research
Center for Youth
Charles Settlement House
Children's Institute
City Roots Community Land Trust
City of Rochester
City of Rochester Mayor's Office
City of Rochester Office of Innovation and Strategic Initiatives
City of Rochester Office of Innovation and Strategic Initiatives, Mayor's Office
City of Rochester Office of Neighborhood and Business Development
City of Rochester: Neighborhood & Business Development
College at Brockport Metro Center
Common Ground Health
Community Advisory Council
Community Member
Compeer Rochester
Connected Communities, Inc.
Conscious Capitalism Rochester Chapter
Consumer Credit Counseling Services
Cooperative Extension Monroe County
Council of Agency Executives
Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families
Department of Labor
ESL Federal Credit Union
ESL Foundation
Education Success NetworkEmpire Justice Center
Empire State Development
Enterprise Holdings
Excellus
FLPPS
Family Counseling Service of the Finger Lakes, Inc.
Farash Foundation
Finger Lakes Performing Provider System
Flower City AmeriCorps
Foodlink
Genesee Transportation Council
Great Tie Consulting
Greater Rochester Chamber of Commerce
Greater Rochester Health Foundation
Greater Rochester Housing Partnership
Habitat for Humanity
Harris Corporation
Heritage Christian Services
Hester Street Collective
Home Leasing
Huther Doyle
Ibero-American Action League
Institute for Poverty Studies and Economic Development (IPSED)
Jordan Health
Just Serve
KV Strategies
Key Bank
Law NY
LiDestri
Lifespan
Maximus
Mayor's Office of Community Wealth Building
McGowan Foundation
Metro Council for Teen Potential
Monroe Community College
Monroe County
Monroe County Office of the Public Defender
NY State Department of Labor, Division of Employment and Workforce Solutions
NYS 7th Judicial District
NYS Assembly
Nazareth College of Rochester
New York State Senate
North American Breweries
OWN Rochester
Office of Rep. Joseph D. Morelle | NY-25
PHU concepts
PMI
PathStone Corporation
RCSD
ROC the Future
Reconnect Rochester
Regional Transit Service
Rochester & Genesee Valley Area Labor Federation
Rochester Area Community Foundation
Rochester City School District
Rochester Educational Opportunity Center
Rochester Housing Authority
Rochester Institute of Technology
Rochester Public Library
Rochester Regional Health System
Rochester Regional Transit Service
Rochester Rehabilitation
Rochester/Monroe county Homeless Continuum of Care
RochesterWorks!
SUNY Rochester Educational Opportunity Center
School of the Holy Childhood
St. John Fisher
St. Joseph's Neighborhood Center
State of New York
Strong Center for Developmental Disabilities (UCEDD)
Systems Integration Project
Tenants’ Union
The Beat 105.5 FM
The Children's Agenda
Truform Manufacturing
U of R EPO at East Upper and Lower
US Congress
United Christian Leadership Ministry
United Way of Greater Rochester
University of Rochester
University of Rochester/EAST Partnership
Urban League of Rochester
Veterans Outreach Center
Veterans Service Agency, Monroe County
Volunteer Legal Services ProjectWegmans Food MarketsWhy Wait: International Higher Education SolutionYAMTEPYWCA
City of Rochester/RTS Vanpool Project
Rochester Health Profession Opportunity Grant (HPOG)
Led by the City of Rochester, this program aims to create a network of community-based, employee-owned businesses that provide employment for individuals facing the most significant barriers. In 2017, OWN Rochester launched its first business, a green energy construction subcontractor called ENEROC. In spring 2018, OWN Rochester launched a floor care services business. OWN Rochester follows a recommendation from RMAPI’s first progress report to support local businesses and increase available jobs.
Strengthening Working Families Initiative
Young Adult Manufacturing Training Employment Program (YAMTEP)
RochesterWorks! and Monroe County/ Rochester Workforce Development Board
Bridges to Success and Family Independence Initiative
Rochester Rehabilitation Center has partnered with local employers and community organizations to create access to educational and training institutions for parents with dependent children at home. The program aligns with a recommendation from RMAPI’s first progress report to provide training and support that matches the working poor with willing employers seeking to fill job openings.
OWN Rochester
RochesterWorks! has incorporated recommendations from the RMAPI’s first progress report to help people living in poverty obtain and maintain steady employment and achieve self-sufficiency. The program works with the Finger Lakes and GLOW Workforce Development Boards to develop career pathways for new and transitioning workers. RochesterWorks! has also worked with the Monroe County/Rochester Workforce Development Board and committees to revise training and supportive service policies to dedicate a greater percentage of funding to the needs of low-income individuals.
Kiva RochesterKiva Rochester provides zero percent interest crowdfunded loans to help entrepreneurs start or grow a business. Qualifying businesses are eligible to receive matching funds from the Rochester Economic Development Corporation. Awarding more than $475,000 in loans to local entrepreneurs, 75 percent of borrowers would likely not be considered creditworthy at traditional financial institutions due to low credit scores, lacking collateral assets, and low income. To date, 41 percent of the loans have gone to women-owned businesses and 78 percent have gone to African-American or Hispanic business owners.
RMAPI’s first progress report created a recommendation to provide better access to the area's public transportation, and the City of Rochester/RTS Vanpool project addresses that need. This project connects Rochester residents to jobs that may be out of reach of public transportation through the creation of vanpools. The project is expanding with $300,000 grant funding received from the New York State Department of Transportation.
YAMTEP is a 90-day manufacturing job training program for individuals with low incomes. Supported by the City of Rochester, Monroe County, and RochesterWorks!, YAMTEP has a network of over 30 companies. To date, more than 200 participants have learned valuable manufacturing skills and ultimately found sustainable employment through YAMTEP.
The first implementation strategy from RMAPI addresses the need for mentoring services for individuals and families seeking to achieve economic self-sufficiency. Bridges to Success couples individuals to a professional mentor while Family Independence Initiative connects families to a group of peers working together in creating change. Both programs help participants identify socio-economic needs and develop a specialized plan to achieve self-sufficiency goals. The programs are administered by Catholic Family Center, Action for a Better Community, and Community Place of Greater Rochester.
Key results include:80.6 percent of participants in the Bridges to Success program advanced from “crisis” or “at risk” to “stable” in at least one major area (e.g., housing, health, education, employment)The average household income for Bridges to Success participants increased by 109.5 percent.The average number of Family Independence Initiative participants employed increased by 19 percent.
RMAPI’s first progress report pushed for local employers to address job essentials for the working poor. The HPOG program, funded by an $8 million grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, will work with 1,500 local residents to achieve self-sufficiency and find high-paying jobs in the healthcare field. Administered by Action for a Better Community, the program provides education and training to TANF recipients and other low-income individuals for occupations in the healthcare field.
United Way of Greater Rochester
Participatory Budgeting RochesterRMAPI implemented a Participatory Budgeting process that gave members of the community the power to decide how to spend $200,000 in funding for projects addressing poverty. The process was entirely community run—from the board of community members who set the rules for voting and proposals to the individuals and groups who submitted ideas to the more than 2,600 people who voted on which projects should be funded.
Participatory Budgeting fit into RMAPI’s larger goals to increase civic engagement and encourage political participation, especially in traditionally marginalized groups. Hundreds of community members submitted project ideas, everything from expanding community gardens to building “tiny homes” for very low-income individuals to offering late-night child care services to parents who work the late and overnight shifts.
Across our community, dozens of organizations have adopted RMAPI’s Guiding Principles to address trauma, address structural racism, and build and support our community. These have become the basis for community decision-making and guided the work of RMAPI.
United Way of Greater Rochester served as the first convener of the community’s effort to address poverty, bringing together stakeholders from across sectors in 2015 and 2016 to study the root causes of poverty and develop the community’s priorities. The United Way continued to play a key role for RMAPI in the years that followed, serving as the fiscal agent and hosting the RMAPI Backbone Staff.The United Way has also been an early leader in adopting and promoting the Guiding Principles and continues to take a lead role on community-wide efforts like the Systems Integration Project.
Racial Equity and Justice Initiative
RMAPI has worked with St. Joseph’s Neighborhood Center to expand implementation of its Racial Equity and Justice Initiative, which works with local agencies and businesses to create a higher awareness of structural racism and inspire them to combat it within their own organizations. This program has trained 200 individuals from more than two dozen organizations, and uses a Racial Equity Assessment Survey to measure institutional change within these organizations.
Adoption of RMAPI Guiding Principles