Community News

The long-rumored departure of Byron Brown from Buffalo’s mayoralty has been confirmed. After nineteen years filled with controversy and accusations of corruption, Byron Brown has announced his resignation. In a surprising and sudden turn of events, he has taken on the role of CEO at the Western Regional Off-Track Betting Corporation, overseeing horse race betting in fifteen counties across Western New York, including Buffalo and Rochester. His departure appears to be an attempt to distance his tenure as mayor from Buffalo’s ongoing financial troubles. However, this seems unfeasible as his mayoralty and the city’s fiscal challenges are deeply intertwined. Brown’s tenure, characterized by prioritizing profits over people, self-described fiscal conservatism, and favoritism towards real estate developers and the influential elite of Buffalo, has left the city in financial ruin, with the consequences unfolding in the present.   Byron Brown’s announcement further highlights his policy of prioritizing personal gain over the needs of Buffalo’s residents. As he is poised to earn a substantial salary, Buffalo continues to be one of the nation’s poorest and most segregated cities. Moreover, Brown’s departure underscores the need for systemic change to strengthen democracy. Rather than completing a historic fifth term, he has engaged in reciprocal politics. His current exit strategy enables a political ally to assume the mayoral position, circumventing a democratic election by the people of Buffalo.  Despite all this, there is power in the present moment. Amidst a city rife with corruption, nepotism, and unfathomable incompetence, which will be the mayor’s legacy, community organizers and activists have resisted the worst of his profit-driven policies. Our collective movement for genuine equity, justice, and fairness in Buffalo has acted as a bulwark against the mayor’s millionaire shadow-cabinet, affirming year after year that a Buffalo for the few is not the Buffalo we deserve. While the Brown administration has focused on rewarding loyalists through patronage, grassroots community organizers throughout the city have successfully created spaces, policies, and funding that benefit the common good. They have also achieved the removal of several key public officials, facilitated the inclusion of women in the Buffalo Common Council for the first time in over 60 years for the Masten District, and rendered the mayor’s departure inevitable.  None of this would have been possible without India Walton challenging the political establishment in Buffalo in 2021, with a mayoral primary victory that set the stage. As the 2025 mayoral race commences, OCAB unequivocally opposes any efforts to substitute Byron Brown with a political confidant who rallied MAGA backers like Carl Paladino to overthrow the Democratic mayoral candidate in 2021, serving merely as an endorser of detrimental public policy and reckless fiscal plans. Chris Scanlon, with over a decade in elected office, is seen as partaking in Byron Brown’s record of unsuccessful leadership and administrative incompetence.  He is criticized for not embodying the city’s collective interests and for neglecting to engage with the viewpoints of dissenters. Essentially, Chris Scanlon is viewed as a symbol of outdated political favoritism, a relic from which there is no return. This transitional moment is filled with hope. It’s our chance to finally honor our nickname, “City of Good Neighbors,” for every single resident. Local elections are crucial. By donating to The People’s Victory Fund, you can help challenge the political norm and the imposed candidacy of the elite. Join us by signing up to reclaim our city in 2025 on our website. Consider donating today.    Read More From Buffalo Latino Village All Post Art Books & Poems Business Column Community Community News Education Entertainment español Food & Culture Health Interviews Media Military & Veterans Music Peace People Politics Sports Technology FROM OUR CITY ACTION BUFFALO: MAYOR BROWN ADVANCES TO CEO AS CITY’S CHALLENGES PERSIST  September 9, 2024/No Comments Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Ut elit tellus, luctus nec ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus leo. Read More… Read More RECEIVING WITH HUMILITY August 26, 2024/No Comments Have you ever felt uncomfortable receiving help or a gift from another person? Did you ever have difficulty asking for… Read More TALKING IS KEY TO SUICIDE PREVENTION August 26, 2024/No Comments “Un million de gracias! Por traernos un taller de prevencion al suiciding. Es importante! Es primordial. Debemos educarnos! Suicide prevention… Read More Load More End of Content.

By July Battista This Volunteer Spotlight story originally appeared in AFSP’s 2023 Annual Report. To read other inspiring Volunteer Spotlight stories, and to learn more about our exciting work, visit our website.  In 2008, at the age of 20, Judy Battista’s son Daniel died by suicide. Judy and her family decided to be open to others that Danny’s death was by suicide, and to learn more about this leading cause of death. Met with love and support from her community, she was invited to an Out of the Darkness Walk. Later that year, she attended her first International Survivors of Suicide Loss Day (also known as Survivor Day) event and began volunteering for AFSP. In addition to coordinating the Healing Conversations program for her chapter and hosting numerous Survivor Day events over the years, Judy was also a panelist for Día de Esperanza (Day of Hope), a national virtual panel discussion taking place a day before Survivor Day, offering support specifically for Hispanic and Latinx communities that have been affected by suicide loss. “We all grieve differently. As I began to find my path after losing Danny, I realized that giving to others in Danny’s memory was a gift of healing to myself, too. The Loss & Healing programs are the heart of AFSP. Being able to speak to loss survivors, equipped with the confidence of science-based research, is a gift of compassion, empathy, and love we share. I organized my first Survivor Day event in 2009. Fast-forward, and it’s 14 years later! Each chapter is unique in how they present their International Survivors of Suicide Loss Day program, and therein lies the beauty of it. It is a healing event made up of moments: a day that people look around and see they are not alone. The sense of unity is powerful, and that is where the healing magic happens. Some people attend once and move forward. Others return year after year. I feel like a proud mother, seeing how they have grown in their own healing experience. As a Latina, I was glad to participate this year in the Día de Esperanza (Day of Hope) event. I grew up in a dual language household, and we only spoke about mental health in passing. There are over 21 different Spanish-speaking countries, and each has its own cultural values passed down through generations. The Día de Esperanza conversation was held in Spanish. For those of us who are bilingual, it feels like living in two worlds. I had processed suicide loss grief more in English. Having these conversations in Spanish is like flipping an empanada to cook it on the other side! It is a profound, internal shift that is both validating and empowering. It helps me grieve and heal in both languages. As a Healing Conversations volunteer, you sometimes see your own journey in people whose loss is more recent. The training for the program is incredible, and one learns to listen, cry, laugh or just sit in silence with them. It really is a sacred space. Healing Conversations volunteers must have empathy, compassion, and the ability to identify, listen and offer hope. I may not know a person’s exact pain, but I may have felt something parallel with them. It’s like looking in a mirror, to a past reflection of myself. As one loss survivor said to me after a visit, ‘Thank you for giving me hope — at least I know I can survive as long as you have!’ We don’t stop grieving. We don’t stop loving. As much as we change because of our loss, we remain our authentic selves. Through my involvement with AFSP, I have learned to be the voice of the voiceless, to have more compassion, and that I am a good mother. I have learned that helping others is helping yourself, too. That love never dies. This is Danny’s gift to me.” Are you in a crisis? Call or text 988 or text TALK to 741741 ¿Estás en una crisis?Llama o envía un mensaje de texto al 988 o envía un mensaje de texto con AYUDA al 741741 Read More From This Writer All Post Art Books & Poems Business Column Community Community News Education Entertainment español Food & Culture Health Interviews Media Military & Veterans Music Peace People Politics Sports Technology BRINGING HOPE TO OTHER LOSS SURVIVORS HAS HELPED ME HEAL July 19, 2024/No Comments Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Ut elit tellus, luctus nec ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus leo. Read More… Read More The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention Shines Light on Reducing Mental Health and Suicide Stigma in Latinx and Hispanic Communities July 19, 2024/No Comments The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP), a leading suicide prevention organization in the U.S., is continuing to advance health… Read More El Festival del Libro July 11, 2024/1 Comment El Festival del Libro, a program of La Fortaleza Project, aims to market and promote Puerto Rican/Latino poets, writers, and… Read More Load More End of Content.