Forum for Community Leaders to Include Keynote Remarks from Dr. Benard Dreyer, President of American Academy of Pediatrics #BronxSummit  

Bronx, NY (November 18, 2016) – Today, community-based stakeholders participated in The South Bronx Summit on Childhood Poverty to

identify priorities to transform New York’s 15th Congressional District in the South Bronx into a model for child well-being.

The summit was held at the Metropolitan College of New York’s newBronx campus and featured remarks from Dr. Benard Dreyer, President, American Academy of Pediatrics, Abe Fernández of the Children’s Aid Society and Melody Lee of the Katal Center for Health, Equity & Justice.

Abe Fernández, Children’s Aid Society and City Limits Editor Jarrett Murphy discuss Empire State Poverty Reduction Initiative.

Eddie Borges, Summit organizer and MCNY Bronx Scholar in Residence

“The end of the first quarter of the 21st Century is fast approaching and the concentrated poverty in which several generations of Puerto Ricans, Dominicans, and now Mexicans, were born, lived, and died, in the poorest U.S. congressional district since the middle of the last century, remains persistent for the foreseeable future,” said Eddie Borges, Summit organizer and MCNY Bronx Scholar in Residence. The Citizens’ Committee for Children of New York (CCC) provided a report on what childhood poverty looks like on the ground in the South Bronx. The Community Service Society (CSS) and Mixteca of Sunset Park briefed the summit on the poorest children in the city which is primarily a mix of Puerto Rican, Dominican, and Mexican decent.

 

Advocates then broke up into working groups to set 2017 legislative priorities for City Hall, Albany, and Washington,

Dr. Bernard Dreyer, American Academy of Pediatrics says, “It’s no secret that children in the US are in poverty. Other countries do something about it.”

D.C. Also included in the summit discussions was an analysis of the Raise the Age campaign to date and how to advance this initiative to end the prosecution of 16 and 17 year old children as adults in NY. New York is one of only two states in the U.S. that prosecutes children as adults. A quarter of the children serving time in adult prisons are from New York’s 15th Congressional District in the South Bronx. The new legislative session starting in January presents the opportunity for a culturally-relevant, community-based campaign to implement a strategy that can move it through the state legislature and signed into law.

Participants in this discussion included the organizers of the NO MORE YOUTH PRISONS campaign which successfully closed Spofford & Bridges in New York City, the EMPTY BEDS, WASTED DOLLARS campaign that generated the political capital to transform New York’s juvenile justice system to improve outcomes for children, including closing half the state’s juvenile jails, and the #CLOSERIKERS campaign.

Click here for a complete list of speakers: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/south-bronx-organizing-summit-on-childhood-poverty-registration-28875518453 More information on American Academy of Pediatrics findings on Childhood Poverty: http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/137/4/e20160339  

About Metropolitan College of New York Audrey Cohen, educational visionary and activist, founded the Women’s Talent Corps in 1964. Through development and training for new professional positions, the Talent Corps created employment for thousands of people. It became The College for Human Services, later Audrey Cohen College, and today Metropolitan College of New York (MCNY).  For over 50 years, MCNY has continued the tradition of offering highly motivated learners an education that combines applied skills with professional knowledge to effect personal transformation and positive change in the workplace and community.  MCNY is a not-for-profit, accredited, independent college. Full year-round offerings accelerate degree completion, and a unique approach to learning permits close integration of workplace activities and study. MCNY locations are in the Financial District at 60 West Street, New York, NY 10006 and in the Bronx at 463 East 149th Street, Bronx, NY 10455.  For more information on MCNY, visit mcny.edu or call 800.33.THINK. About TheHub@mcny TheHub@MCNY is a concept developed by MCNY Bronx Scholar in Residence, Eddie Borges. TheHub is a forum to bring thinkers and leaders together to help find solutions to issues that affect/effect our community – both good and bad. Metropolitan College of New York is located at 463 East 149th Street in the South Bronx. For more information email thehub@mcny.edu or call 718-665-7787.