The Public News Service reported Monday that lawmakers in Albany gave tentative approval on Sunday evening for Governor Cuomo's $132 billion budget, which will be the catalyst to wiping out billions of dollars with budget cuts. The backlash of these cuts hits human services the most, specifically for women and children. These budget cuts will promote further instability for women and children and completely limit opportunities for improvement.
The Human Services Council (HSC), referred to as the "Voice of the Human Service Community," represents thousands of nonprofit organizations in New York City and advocates for the needs of the human services sector as a whole. The mission of the organization is to build broad recognition and support for the substantial and essential contributions of the nonprofit human service sector to the citizens and the fabric of New York City.
Never before has the sector needed a grassroots campaign more than it does now to advocate for re-allocations of funding to human services to help the most vulnerable populations of people in New York City. "To counter this cold climate, HSC is launching a new, proactive campaign that will be targeted in a way HSC has never done before. HSC is seeking to raise public awareness about the need for human services and to work with elected officials to protect and restore critical funding, says, Michael Stoller, executive director of the Human Services Council.
The "Who Cares? I Do" campaign is supported by individuals, organizations, businesses, policy makers, philanthropists and many others who recognize how critical human services are to New York and all its communitites. Whether it is an after-school program, a senior center, shelter for the homeless, a food pantry, assistance for domestic violence victims, a mental health clinic, a home for foster children or a day care center, the Who Cares? I Do campaign works to make government accountable to the needs of all New Yorkers by honoring the committments made to their communities.
The campaign delineates what you can do to help in one minute, ten minutes, one hour and one day. If you want to get involved, this how to do so:
One Minute:
Ten Minutes:
- Call Your Representatives
- Write Your Representatives
To find your representatives, scroll through the links below:
One Hour:
To find your representatives, scroll to click on the links below:
One Day
Organize Call-In Day (here is a link for a Call-in Toolkit)
Organize Letter Writing Campaign (here is a link to a Letter Writing Campaign Toolkit)
Organize Virtual Rally (here is a link to a Virtual Rally Toolkit)
To find your representatives, scroll to click on the links below:
Since 1991, HSC has helped bring together a diverse network of human services organizations to discuss ideas and take collective action on issues and concerns that impact the entire sector. Through advocacy, information, collaboration and technical assistance, member organizations and their leaders are supported by the whole human services community in addressing their concerns of public policy, economic trends and regulatory environment.
HSC is the sector’s lead advocate for government contract reform. Working with government, HSC helps to shape procurement policies while also providing guidance to member agencies on the continuously evolving and often confusing procurement process. HSC's budget and policy unit unites the sector and brings collective problems to the attention of government officials at the state and city levels. HSC fights against cuts to programs and brings systemic and regulatory problems to the forefront of the political debate by shedding light on the effect these issues have on our most vulnerable citizens.
A breakdown of the proposed humans service budget cuts can be viewed here. To keep up with the HSC's Who Cares? I Do campaign, please join them on Facebook or Twitter.
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