NEW YORK, Oct. 31 /PRNewswire/ -- The New York Stimulus Alliance, a coalition of grassroots organizations and their policy and research partners, today offered their response to the first major release of jobs data about the federal stimulus act. In an unprecedented statewide organizing collaboration, they held simultaneous two-hour training sessions with a subset of the groups' grassroots members in four locations throughout New York State - in New York City, Newburgh, Buffalo, and Albany. Partners in Syracuse will host a similar event in the coming week.

In the workshops, information was shared about how best to track stimulus monies and testimony was solicited from economically marginalized citizens about how to ensure stimulus spending reaches all communities, especially the residents of distressed neighborhoods who need jobs, housing support, and community development the most. These trainings are the first in the country to present grassroots perspectives and responses to the new data made available at recovery.gov on Friday, October 30.

Preliminary reports from the community have raised concern about whether stimulus funds are reaching the most vulnerable communities. "We're in the worst economy I've ever seen in my life. And I know they say we're past the darkest hour but I can't tell from where I'm standing. A lot of folks don't know if the stimulus is working because they can't tell the difference between a recovery project and business as usual. These teach-ins help people like me understand what's happening where I live. If the recovery is really going to work, we need transparency and accountability," said Maxine Murphy of PUSH Buffalo.

Reviewing and responding to job creation numbers creates great opportunities for ordinary people to ensure that stimulus spending responds to those communities most in need throughout New York State. "$787 billion is an unprecedented level of investment and it's an unprecedented opportunity to make America a more resilient nation, not just right now but for decades to come. But only if we do it right. If real recovery does not reach the hardest hit, communities of color and poor communities, we will have missed a once-in-a-lifetime chance to make vulnerable populations strong and America a place of lasting prosperity," said Brittny Saunders, the Senior Advocate for the Center for Social Inclusion.

As members of the NY Stimulus Alliance stressed in their workshops today, the first step in seizing this opportunity is getting the word out. "Common Cause has been pushing for government transparency for forty years and the information released yesterday on recovery.gov represents a watershed moment in the push for open, accountable government. New Yorkers can now follow the money in ways they never could before and will use it to engage their policy-makers and build a recovery that benefits all of our state's communities," said Chris Keeley, Associate Director of Common Cause/ New York, a government watchdog organization.

"Just because we are low-income doesn't mean we don't have feelings--people look down on us as statistics, just like they look at war casualties as collateral damage. We need to know what is going on - we need to have some sort of say so about where the money goes. We have to make sure that as the residents of public housing, we have the power to oversee the stimulus money and where its going, and hold NYCHA [the NYC Housing Authority] accountable to do what they are supposed to with this money," said Anne Washington, a Board Member of Community Voices Heard and leader in their public housing campaign in New York City. NYC received $423 million in public housing capital funds that is being dedicated to 70 shovel-ready projects. Public housing residents at the teach-in spoke about how to use Section 3, part of a federal law, to ensure that residents have access to jobs created through this work at their developments.

Immigrant issues were also discussed at the trainings. "One in five New Yorkers is an immigrant, and immigrants account for nearly a quarter of the state's gross economic output, so it's absolutely critical that some fiscal stimulus funds are directed toward immigrant-specific initiatives," said Ericka Stallings, housing advocacy coordinator with the New York Immigration Coalition. "Any comprehensive recovery strategy in New York must include support for adult English language programs. There's no better investment we can make in immigrant workers than tackling the language barrier to employment and economic mobility."

As a next step, the collective of groups have submitted a formal request for grassroots leaders to meet with Timothy Gilchrist, the Chair of the New York State Economic Recovery and Reinvestment Cabinet, to discuss how the Recovery Act is being implemented in New York, what types of information they need to better gauge its impacts, and to ensure all communities will see its positive benefits. "A safe community is an employed community--it is critical that stimulus monies be used to get people from all communities, especially in economically challenged areas, connected to good jobs and new opportunities," said Rev. Joyce Hartwell, Chair of ARISE Justice Task Force in Albany.

Another specific pot of money that grassroots leaders flagged as having the potential to create jobs for low-income, communities of color was the Emergency TANF (Welfare) Contingency Fund, which the federal stimulus will provide 4:1 matching funds for subsidized employment programs that are invested by a state or locality. Brenda Beal, a leader in Community Voices Heard's Welfare and Workforce Development Campaign stated, "Transitional jobs created by the stimulus package are good because they are putting you back into the workforce, helping you pay your bills, getting you off of welfare, and raising your self esteem. When I didn't have a job, my unemployment ran out, I was evicted, and eventually I ended up in a shelter. Living on public assistance as a single person caused me to go through a depression. The stimulus money is going to put more people back into employment." The state has already drawn down $20 million in federal resources from this pot to bolster a newly created Transitional Jobs program, but far more can be drawn down if action is taken soon.

In the Mid-Hudson Valley, Loretta Manning, a leader of Community Voices Heard, flagged another critical pot of money for low-income communities, the Community Development Block Grant Funds. She stated, "Year after year we've watched our city government [in Newburgh] misspend Community Development Block Grant Funds to meet their own needs instead of the needs of the community. Now that the stimulus has provided extra funds, we want to make sure it actually gets to the low-income community."

Grassroots groups organizing around the stimulus are working to make sure that money passed through traditional federal funding streams does not continue to promote the same inequities they have faced in the past. Members talked about their desire to make sure that the recovery addresses these inequities rather than simply reinforcing them.

The New York Stimulus Alliance is a statewide alliance of grassroots organizations, networks and researchers dedicated to ensuring that federal stimulus funds allocated via the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act) are distributed in an open and accountable manner that will create good jobs, and workforce and community development opportunities for people of color, immigrants, marginalized persons, the unemployed and for working families in New York State, especially its metro regions. Grassroots groups involved include: Common Cause/New York, Community Voices Heard, Gamaliel New York, Make the Road New York, National People's Action New York, the NYC AIDS Housing Network, the New York Immigration Coalition & PUSH Buffalo. Policy and resource allies include: the Advancement Project, the Center for Social Inclusion, the Kirwan Institute, and The Opportunity Agenda.

SOURCE New York Stimulus Alliance