The Center for Youth provides services to youth ages 12 – 24 years facing housing instability. This grant supports the Arnett House which includes housing, counseling, workforce readiness, and advocacy for young people ages 16 - 24 years in a transitional living site with 24/7 staff. The six-bed facility has a trained, compassionate staff with skills in trauma informed care and social/racial justice, with aims to prevent chronic homelessness among a vulnerable population.

Itethe quarterback for breaking the cycle of poverty within the Beechwood & EMMA neighborhoods in Rochester. Pursuing the pillars of housing, education, wellness, and economic development, it is engaged both in systems-change work as well as programming to support its goals. One aspect of its housing work is co-developing the scattered-site affordable housing known as Beechwood Family Apartments. Local residents--working as Resident Ambassadors and Block Ambassadors--are key players bringing about strong outcomes they are seeing. This collaboration grant supports CC's general operations.

Empire Justice is a not-for-profit firm that strengthens legal rights by practicing, educating, and improving the law on behalf of people of New York who are poor, disabled, or otherwise marginalized. This project will address the long-racialized history of exclusionary zoning in our country that is still playing out in our community via the prioritization of single-family zoning, inadequate affordable family rental housing, and a lack of access to affordable homes and mortgages for first-time and first-generation homebuyers. It aims to increase access of this population, primarily Black and Brown families, to affordable housing, homeownership, and quality schools for Rochester families seeking to move to Monroe County towns. This grant will provide technical assistance to willing towns and groups seeking more affordable housing, as well as providing community-informed feedback to Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) lenders to increase bank financing to benefit this population. A three-year grant of $30,000 per year is recommended to support the specific program work identified.

The Hub585 is a relationship-centered community where marginalized youth and families hope, heal and thrive. Their vision is for a restored community where youth and their families have moved from systemic trauma to a place of power and belonging. They serve youth and families involved in foster care and other systems and those with multiple adverse childhood experiences (ACES). The grant would provide general operating support for The Hub585’s current programs (which include an online portal to meet practical needs; mentoring of foster teens; life skills courses that reach 150 foster youth annually; and cash assistance to foster youth transitioning to independent) and for its new programs, which include opening a foster home for teen girls and training and skills development for biological and foster parents.

JPC provides various supports to formerly justice-involved people, including a program to remove barriers to their employment and restore other rights called the Civil Action Project. This work helps hundreds of applicants per year gain certificates through a judicial process that can restore eligibility for certain employment and licensures, and help these individuals be in a better position with respect to applications for housing. JPC data show that homelessness, substance abuse relapse, and recidivism decrease as a result of participation in their program, and that main goals of their participants are to gain employment and be able to secure their own housing. A prevention grant of $20,000 goes toward the staffing costs of this specific program.

We are pleased to announce continued investment in Our Local History. OLH's mission is to support and empower students, teachers, and communities with the tools to engage with and own their local history of civil rights through inquiry, equity, and civic action. With their expertise in centering the learner on important and sometimes difficult topics, the grant will create additional impactful community workshops that go deeper on the historical and current housing system in Rochester using primary research such as papers of Joe Wilson and Franklin Florence, as well as interviews with folks still living with relevant historical knowledge. They will draw parallels to recent housing recommendations generated by the city/county's joint Commission on Racial & Structural Equity (RASE) and share the lessons learned from efforts in the past to change the trajectory of zoning and other discriminatory housing practices that worked to exclude low income and Black and Brown residents and hinder greater Rochester's economic growth. A two-year advocacy grant of $80,000 ($40,000/yr) was awarded.

TE's prevention-focused approach to youth development includes hiring Youth Organizers to use their own voices and skills to address systemic inequities in their own neighborhoods and community. YOs report strong skill building, including increases in pride, civic engagement, the ability to respectfully disagree with others, improved school work, feeling better equipped to avoid violence, and better resolving conflict. This grant of $20,000 supports general operations.

The Children’s Agenda is a research-based advocacy group promoting policies that support the success of children, especially the most vulnerable due to racism, poverty, health inequities, & trauma. Their work falls under 4 categories: early childhood, health and safety, education, and child poverty. TCA advances its systems-change agenda via high-quality, widely disseminated research reports and policy briefings with the help parents with lived experience called the VIPs (“Very Invested Parents.”) With a focus on population-level results, they have achieved significant wins for children over their 20-year history. This advocacy grant supports general operating expenses.

The House of Mercy is a 76-bed shelter serving those experiencing homelessness in one of the poorest areas of Rochester. Although basic needs support, such as food, clothing, and shelter—all of which House of Mercy provides—are important, they recognize that their guests face a number of complex hardships, including physical and mental health challenges, and addiction struggles. To address them, HOM treats each guest with a trauma-informed, whole-person approach as relevant programming and a social work team guides them on their journey from homelessness to housing. This grant supports general operating expenses.

RMAPI is the only organization working on structural and systemic solutions to upward mobility that has the potential to impact tens of thousands of people in the Rochester area living in poverty. As a research-based collective impact initiative, RMAPI adopted a Unity Agenda which includes as one of its pillars that all live in a "safe, opportunity rich neighborhood," and that the "Housing System offers safe, affordable, desirable" options. With a strong track record of results, a future focus on mobility metrics, and sustained work to build a coalition of supporters who take action across all sectors, RMAPI’s approach is well-aligned with the Foundation’s “Collaboration” strategy for change. A three-year grant of $75,000 ($25k/yr) supports general operations.

SCPO is the only proram in Monroe County providing residential wraparound services to individuals re-entering the community from the incarceral system where the can have stable housing and receive support as they work to achieve their goals. Goals may include family reunification, mental stability, ending chemical dependency, and vocational/educational advancement. This 5-year grant matches a NYS grant to expand supportive housing

UM is a grassroots organization dedicated to violence prevention, youth empowerment, and community building. Their Community Vanguard program builds skills using restorative, trauma-informed practices that can lead the CVs toward jobs in human services and to more positive life outcomes, including economic betterment, improved health and wellness, and a sense of belonging in their own community. This prevention approach catalyzes change by allowing youth to recognize their own power, find their own voice, and create the solutions they need while influencing their peer groups toward more positive actions. This grant of $50,000 partially funds several CVs and other program personnel and podcast costs.

The YWCA of Rochester & Monroe County helps women and girls facing homelessness and other crises by dispeling stereotypes and promoting racial justice on the path to a health, successful future. YWCA provides the entire continuum of housing designed to prevent a return to homelessness. This grant allows the YWCA to respond to complex barriers, primarily impacting women and families of color living in extreme poverty.

SJNC is a neighborhood health clinic that has served the uninsured and underinsured in our region with quality health care services for 30 years. Their model of service delivery, with many volunteers that provide countless hours of direct care, enables the clinic to have a greater impact. This capacity building grant provides trauma informed care training for clinic staff and volunteers that includes a “train the trainer” module to enable the long term sustainability of trauma-informed practice improvements. As well, the grant includes funding for the Executive Director to continue her involvement in a facilitated cohort of nonprofit executives engaged in training and professional development.