Join the We Are All New York Fellows in raising money to help establish economic security for youth in New York City! The We Are All New York (WAANY) Fellowship, a program of the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York is composed of a dedicated group of non-profit, faith, government and community leaders with the collective goal of building a stronger community together. This year, we are raising funds to award grant(s) to organizations that seek to establish economic security for young people aged 13-21 in New York City, with a special focus on:
- Homelessness prevention / relief
- Mental health services
- Food security
- Workforce development
The Fellows chose these subgroups related to economic security because they each separately can impact one’s ability to be economic independent and secure. See below for a brief snapshot of each of these issues and how they affect NYC youth.
Homelessness Prevention / Relief: According to statistics from Coalition for the Homeless, in December 2017, there were 63,495 homeless people, including 15,568 homeless families with 23,655 homeless children, sleeping each night in the New York City municipal shelter system. Families make up three-quarters of the homeless shelter population.
Workforce Development: The problem of youth disconnection is a serious and costly one, both for young people themselves and for society as a whole. “Disconnected youth” are defined as individuals aged 16-24 who are neither in school nor are working and there are about 100,000 disconnected youth in NYC For disconnected youth, the effects of limited education, social exclusion, employment gaps, and lack of work experience tend to snowball across the course of their lives, affecting everything from earnings and self-sufficiency to health and marital prospects. For youth enrolled in school, despite the fact that a higher percentage of students are graduating [high school] city wide, less than half of city high school graduates are determined to be ‘college ready’. College readiness rates declined at about 16 percent of schools between 2011 and 2015.
Mental Health: In the United States, mental illness — including depression — takes an enormous toll on health outcomes, quality of life, and economic productivity. Research done on mental health in New York City indicates that approximately 1 in 5 New Yorkers experience a mental health disorder each year.
Food Security : Today, nearly 1.3 million New Yorkers struggle to put meals on their tables. 42% of New York City households – 2.7 million men, women and children – lack the income needed to cover basic necessities like food, housing, transportation, and childcare.
