The assemblywoman met this week with Peter Schmidt, director of the Empire State Poverty Reduction Initiative in the city of Watertown, to get an update on how the grant money is being spent. The United Way of Northern New York is administering the grant for the city.
Assemblywoman Jenne said she and Mr. Schmidt focused on the transportation and housing components of the grant program at their meeting.
The Watertown Urban Mission was allocated $150,000 for a "Wheels to Work" program. The transportation services can range from obtaining a reliable used vehicle to auto insurance and vouchers for maintenance repairs or state inspections.
Assemblywoman Jenne said she learned that the need for financial assistance in purchasing vehicles is more acute than the need for help making insurance and repair payments. The Urban Mission is spending up to $4,000 on vehicles to help low-income families get to and from work.
The families receiving the vehicles are required to make monthly payments of $100 for their vehicles and are also responsible for the maintenance costs.
"It has proved to be very popular. That's not a real surprise because we know the lack of reliable transportation is an issue that keeps many people out of the workforce," Assemblywoman Jenne said.
She noted ESPRI officials are already looking for additional sources of funding to continue that program.
"I think the success of the program in the city of Watertown, the first city in the state to implement its ESPRI program, may open up additional funding sources for this program," said the assemblywoman.
"The United Way of NNY has data that proves the success of this program. We know the working poor in our community are benefitting from this program," she added.
"We all need reliable transportation to get back and forth to work in the North Country and that can be out of reach for some families seeking to transition out of poverty and for the working poor seeking to maintain employment," Assemblywoman Jenne said.
Assemblywoman Jenne said she and Mr. Schmidt also discussed the ESPRI housing program.
The grant called for $300,000 to be awarded to the Thousand Islands Area Habitat for Humanity for the Pathway to Home Ownership. Working with the Development Authority of the North Country, Neighbors of Watertown and the city of Watertown, the program calls for six to 10 homes to be bought in distressed areas, rehabilitated and then sold to low-income families. Assemblywoman Jenne noted that leadership turnover at Thousand Islands Habitat For Humanity has led to some changes in the administration of the program.
"It appears Neighbors of Watertown will be playing a higher profile role in this program, but the goal remains the same. The plan calls for purchasing distressed homes, paying for materials and utilizing volunteer labor to rehabilitate those structures," Assemblywoman Jenne said.
The grant also allocated $196,000 to the Community Action Planning Council of Jefferson County, which will be used to implement two training programs. One program will educate community members about the complexity of the issues surrounding poverty and how there is no single approach to overcome it, while the second will help individuals living in poverty take charge of their lives by developing strategies that can lead them to a better life.
Another $175,000 was allocated to the Jefferson County Department of Employment & Training to help implement the "Employer Resource Network" program, which will connect employers with success coaches that can assist employees who struggle with poverty.
Assemblywoman Jenne noted the 2016 executive budget called for ESPRI funding to Albany, Binghamton, the Bronx, Buffalo, Elmira, Hempstead, Jamestown, Newburgh, Niagara Falls, Oneonta, Oswego, Syracuse, Troy and Utica. She successfully fought during the budget negotiation process to have the city of Watertown added to that list.
