Onondaga County is the first in the state to win funds from a new pot of some state anti-poverty cash. The money comes at a time when federal census estimates show the city of Syracuse with a 45.6% child poverty rate, the worst in the country.
Onondaga County lawmakers are hoping $12.2 million can boost programs aimed at reducing those child poverty rates. They approved the state funding that will be poured into the county’s Child Poverty Reduction Initiative. Among programs and initiatives that will be helped, is a pilot program called 2Gen, which is meant to fight generational poverty. Clay Republican Cody Kelly said initial reports on its success are promising.
“Try to reduce some of the choices and some of those sacrifices people have to make as far as, you know, do we pay the rent or do we buy groceries this week, for example," Kelly said. "So it's a holistic approach and I think it's open-minded in terms of meeting people where they are and trying to identify the needs instead of dictating what people need.”
Also receiving funds, the Central New York Diaper Bank, a program providing housing liaisons to ensure safe housing, and a program aimed at improving attendance in the Syracuse City School District.
