TESTIMONY
Purnell Brice, Vice President for Policy and Advocacy, Children's Health Fund on the Healthy, Ready to Learn Program
4:06:32
·
103 sec
Purnell Brice discusses the aims and impacts of the Healthy, Ready to Learn program funded by the NYC Council to keep kids in school by addressing health and social issues.
- The program is designed to complement comprehensive health care services by tackling issues that lead to school absences.
- Addressed problems include socioeconomic, racial issues, lack of vision and dental care, asthma, and childhood trauma.
- Examples of specific initiatives include dental days at schools and vision services.
- Brice expresses gratitude for the current funding level of $750,000 and advocates for continued support for this and other non-profits.
- The ultimate goal is to remove barriers to education and promote children's success in school.
Pernell Brice
4:06:32
Good afternoon, Committee.
4:06:35
Counselwoman's great seeing you.
4:06:36
Again, my name is Purnell Bryce, and a vice president for policy and advocacy for children's the children's health fund.
4:06:42
As Arturo said, since 2014, we've been funded by the New York City Council for healthy, ready to learn program.
4:06:50
This program complements our overall services to provide comprehensive health care to children but also creating a program that really ensures that children stay in school.
4:07:02
The focus is to address many issues that keep children out of school, many that are rooted in social economic, racial issues.
4:07:12
Our focus is really trying to meet kids where they are.
4:07:16
We wanna make sure that they have the resources to seize.
4:07:20
We provide vision services.
4:07:21
We wanna make sure that they don't miss school because the dental issue issues.
4:07:25
We do dental days at schools like PS 49 in in your district councilwoman.
4:07:29
And so our goal with HRL is also to and I know it's important to you councilwoman is addressed barriers like asthma that prevents students from being in school.
4:07:38
So that that is our focus as well as addressing trauma, whether it's childhood trauma, or trauma in the community and gun bonds as well.
4:07:46
And so we've been very thankful for the amount of funding that we've received in the tune of $750,000 Again, we'll be reapplying for that, but we also stand on support of many of our other nonprofits that have spoken today about the challenges of receiving funding.
4:08:04
We've had challenges.
4:08:05
It's been a little bit quicker this year, but we want to just say we're thankful for the funding.
4:08:09
And we hope that you'll continue to support our other nonprofit brethren who are, you know, doing great work in this movement.
