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City of Buffalo to Create Wealth Building Strategies…

City of Buffalo to Create Wealth Building Strategies Addressing Racial Wealth Equity Blueprint Crafted Through Cities for Financial Empowerment Fund program, in partnership with Bloomberg Philanthropies’ Greenwood Initiative, Will Prioritize the Financial Mobility of Black Residents 4/16/24 – Today, the city of Buffalo, along with the Cities for Financial Empowerment Fund (CFE Fund) announced they have been selected to participate in the CityStart initiative with a specific focus on racial wealth equity. The CityStart initiative works closely with local leaders to develop and implement proven strategies aimed at helping families and communities become more financially stable. Bloomberg Philanthropies’ Greenwood Initiative – whose mission is to accelerate the pace of wealth accumulation for Black individuals and families and address systemic underinvestment in Black communities in the U.S. – is advising the CFE Fund and municipal partners on the design and execution of the CityStart program utilizing a racial wealth equity lens. Mayor Byron W. Brown shares that, “Buffalo is a city of Good Neighbors where the future growth of the city is tied to how we invest in each other’s potential. We are grateful for the support of the Cities for Financial Empowerment Fund to enhance our commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion. These investments will support economic mobility and wellbeing in Buffalo’s African American neighborhoods.” The city’s on-going commitment is to ensure that the neighborhoods and communities that have historically been excluded from opportunity are now in the place to prosper. Buffalo’s Opportunity Agenda and 4-year strategic plan both focus on racial equity through inclusive growth and development. A few of the city’s most relevant strategies target an increase in diversity in public and regional institutions procurement practices through Buffalo Purchasing Initiative as well as build wealth in neighborhood through business development and home ownership support. “Across the country, leaders are using the levers of local government to deploy financial empowerment strategies that improve their residents’ financial stability. Our CityStart initiative facilitates deep engagement between local governments, residents, and other stakeholders to create a community-informed plan for transforming residents’ financial lives and advancing racial wealth equity,” said Jonathan Mintz, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Cities for Financial Empowerment Fund. “We look forward to working with the city of Buffalo and Mayor Byron Brown to advance financial empowerment and racial wealth equity in the city and we thank Bloomberg Philanthropies for their longstanding partnership and investment in government-led financial empowerment.” Through the CityStart initiative, Buffalo will receive an intensive technical assistance engagement partnership, along with a $75,000 planning grant. The CFE Fund, with support from Bloomberg Philanthropies’ Greenwood Initiative, will partner with the city to help craft an innovative, actionable blueprint tailored to the community that fosters financial stability across generations, especially for Black residents. In addition, the blueprints will be aligned with the local Administration’s priorities and partnership opportunities. The blueprint will compliment ongoing work within the City of Buffalo government around the establishment of a Financial Empowerment Center located in a historically African American Neighborhood. This center will also serve as a physical hub for economic mobility services. These services will focus on improving resident economic mobility and wellbeing, through education and workforce development, bringing under-represented groups into emerging industries; increasing support for local businesses through commercial corridor development and lastly looking to increase homeownership and the availability of quality affordable housing. In addition to the City of Buffalo other selected cities chosen through the competitive process include Chicago, IL; Indianapolis, IN; Little Rock, AR; and Philadelphia, PA. Local leaders will also have an opportunity for shared learning through the cohort structure, which includes idea exchanges, data collection, and obtaining information regarding local policies, programs, and strategies to address mutual challenges. “Racial wealth inequity negatively impacts our global economy and narrows the opportunities for communities across the U.S. to thrive,” said Garnesha Ezediaro, who leads Bloomberg Philanthropies’ Greenwood Initiative. “Through our partnership with the Cities for Financial Empowerment Fund’s CityStart initiative, we’re equipping local leaders with tools and data to surface the needs within their local economies and create plans to help Black residents flourish financially and build intergenerational wealth.” Cities from previous CityStart cohorts have already started to introduce innovative policy changes that leverage public and private partnerships while prioritizing Black wealth accumulation. For example, Cincinnati, OH leveraged the CityStart engagement to create its Financial Freedom Plan – informed by more than 1,000 residents and dozens of organizations and experts across the private, public, and social sectors. The city dedicated $2 million in public funds to forgive resident medical debt and advance other priorities. In South Bend, IN, the city developed a comprehensive financial empowerment framework that includes offering free professional financial counseling and a wealth-building focus in two historically Black neighborhoods. Buffalo is part of the sixth CityStart cohort, and the third cohort specifically focused on racial wealth equity. To date, 40 localities have participated in the CityStart financial empowerment blueprint process. Drawing on over a decade of CFE Fund work in over 100 cities and counties, the CityStart initiative leverages insights into financial instability impact, crafting measurable strategies to enhance residents’ financial well-being. About the Cities for Financial Empowerment Fund (CFE Fund) The CFE Fund supports municipal efforts to improve the financial stability of households by leveraging opportunities unique to local government. By translating cutting edge experience with large scale programs, research, and policy in cities of all sizes, the CFE Fund assists mayors and other local leaders in over 100 cities and counties to identify, develop, fund, implement, and research pilots and programs that help families build assets and make the most of their financial resources – including 40 local governments that have already participated in the CityStart engagement. The CFE Fund has disbursed over $66 million in grant support to municipal partners. For more information, please visit www.cfefund.org or follow us on Twitter at @CFEFund. Media Contact:Oswaldo Mestre/716-851-5307/omestre@buffalony.govLorey Schultz/716-851-5545/lschultz@buffalony.gov Read More From Buffalo Latino Village All Post Art Books & Poems Business Column Community Community News Education Entertainment español Food & Culture Health

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NEW SLAVES FOR THE NEW GLOBAL ECONOMY – Part 3

Column / Buffalo Latino Village

Playing the Game It seems like America has become not only the paper processing agent of the world, but it has also changed its role from producers to consumers of goods and services. It’s become the mecca for many migrants to come, make their nest, gather their eggs, and return home to fulfill a dream. In the process they, like everyone else, work round the clock, day after day, in a numbing state of automated activity from dawn to dusk. During that time, people submit their identity and conform to roles necessary for assuring personal survival: the paycheck! That ticket which, after the bills (e.g. rent, utilities, services, and groceries), might offer opportunities for some leisurely escapades. Thus, the need for multiple breadwinners, with multiple jobs, to sustain a single household. Meanwhile, their children are often left to fend for themselves either in the streets or stuck in the often seductive and violent world of virtual reality. Need you wonder why the young are in the news – why unchecked curiosity often leads to rebellious deviance? To many, It’s a mad world. Things are happening fast! Demands are coming from all directions and the threat of becoming an outcast is constant. The fear of being left alone and obsolete is real and it’s easier to become an ostrich; just stick your head in the sand and leave the rest of you up for grabs – Isn’t that a swift kick in the ###. Under such circumstances, prolonged feelings of powerlessness and helplessness grow and give birth to feelings of neurosis, depression, anxiety, panic attacks and more. Thus, the system knows the automaton needs occasional tweaking and lubrication; it (you) needs to experience some sense of freedom and control. Thus, enters government endorsed and supported Hedonism; the simple effort to live life in the most pleasurable way possible. It’s the pursuit of sensual self-indulgence in ways that tries to maximize pleasure and minimize pain. Just prioritize pleasure in one’s lifestyle, thoughts, or actions and let Viva La Vida Loca! Top on the list of immediate gratifications is Consumerism: when you feel ill, stuck, whatever – just shop! Shop! Shop! And when necessary, just Charge It! Alas you become a slave to the next paycheck. But do Party when you’re a bit stressed and in need of company. By all means, feel free to spice your life with vises of all sorts: Buzz it all out and get loose with a drink and a touch of coke, dope, smoke, or some new exotic trick in a pill. Just Chill! After all, you can always get on the couch and legally medicate with your neighborhood pill pusher/psychiatrist and brain twister/psychologist. But beware! When all else fails there are labels to assign and justify institutionalization; face it! Hospitals and prisons make good business. And so, with good reason, the system is flexible: To survive the alienating effects of constant shifts in socio, economic compartmentalization and sustain sufficient cognitive dissonance (a split between one’s internal values and external reality), it expands to accommodate and contracts to motivate the new slave, the automaton. Point! Capitalism needs, and sustains, a certain level of Neurosis, narcissism, deviance, and addiction. Until the next issue, consider the movie “Wolf of Wall Street” where one is allowed, based on affordability, to indulge one’s insatiable hunger for pleasurable people, places, and things. Meanwhile, let’s medicate to animate the automaton party. 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 NEW SLAVES FOR THE NEW GLOBAL ECONOMY – Part 3 April 4, 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 NEW SLAVES FOR THE GLOBAL ECONOMY Part 2: Slaves vs Automatons March 4, 2024/7 Comments “Slave labor anywhere threatens real jobs everywhere.” When the idea of profit is its justification, watch out! Rulers tend to… Read More NEW SLAVES FOR THE GLOBAL ECONOMY February 6, 2024/3 Comments Slavery is the total control of one person by another for economic exploitation. Keeping in mind that from the dawn… Read More Load More End of Content.

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MEET KELLY CAMACHO

Column / Buffalo Latino Village

There’s a difference when you RECKON something and when you know something. Like the difference between when you code and when you write. Coding is defined as a language used to program (give instructions to) computers and Reckoning is defined as to think or believe, basically giving instructions to neighbors. When a neighbor says, “I reckon,” I’m full of red, white, and blue ears, with stars on top. Teachers are responsible for teaching us to write and code. I reckon they are the most important role America has seen, second to parents and awfully close to soldiers. Buffalo Girl, Kelly Camacho, SUNY and public-school graduate, a proud Puerto Rican, knows teachers, she’s the daughter of one. Under thirty, full of motivation and life, she currently lends her energy to the New York State United Teachers. Per their website: NYSUT is a federation of more than 1,200 local unions, each representing its own members. We are affiliated with the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) and the National Education Association (NEA). We are also part of organized labor – the AFL-CIO – and of Education International, with more than 20 million members worldwide. Kelly is an asset to NYSUT because her passion for helping neighbors understand the power of collective voice is connected to her deeper work of finding hers, shoes on and off, a little country, a little Urbana. Her focus word is “union.” “Union” has meant a lot of things in America; at one point, it was a pseudonym for what we were fighting for. A word to remind our country during times of great dissent, we in the United States are people united by a national commitment to liberty, best spiced up by state identity. New York’s spice would be something in between everything bagel, sofrito, and curry powder. To a SUNY kid “meet me in the UNION” means energizing food, fun, and friends. This month, we mean all of the above, but specifically the methodology we use as Americans. When we reckon, we might have some ideas, we need some time to talk about them. Kelly’s energy is what Unions need to keep those conversations going. Kelly’s quote reads: “When people have the same problem, it becomes an issue. I would like to see our local and global communities move from a ‘me’ to a ‘we’ attitude. No matter what issue, if you fail to build solidarity and leaders, you have failed. The success of the movement hinges on our ability to build power in all communities. Our inclusion, protection, and solidarity with women, Black and Brown people, and LGBTQ+ is pivotal. The inclusion of groups for strategy and not solidarity is extractive.” Latinas are no stranger to “unions.” Historically, we have contributed to their evolution, creation, and cupcake sales. Looking into the future, our roles will continue to evolve, but one thing will stay the same: the need to sign that card.. And if you’re spicy, you can join the ranks of folks like Kelly changing the world, it’s like dinner, the more, the merrier,” and like you girls know, there’s work to do. — Connect with Kelly Camacho on LinkedIn and or a NYSUT near you or via email at Kelly.Camacho@nysut.org Kelly Camacho 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 MEET KELLY CAMACHO April 4, 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 Latina HerStory March 4, 2024/6 Comments Aileen Marti , Manager, Older Adult Program WS Community Services “Projections” are defined as forecasts of a future situation, like… Read More Data resilience February 5, 2024/1 Comment What is your mother’s favorite song? The answer is par of her “consumer profile”, and part of her consumer data.… Read More Load More End of Content.

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