REMARKS
Collaboration between city agencies and community advocates
2:37:04
ยท
39 sec
Council Member Althea Stevens addresses the importance of collaboration between city agencies and community advocates with lived experience. She highlights that ACS is still present and has likely heard the testimony about involving credible messengers.
- Stevens encourages DYCD to implement a similar credible messengers program
- She expresses hope for collaboration between those offering to help and city agencies
- The council member emphasizes the opportunity to connect those wanting to be part of the solution with agencies that can make it happen
Althea Stevens
2:37:04
Well, thank you for always showing up and and being such an advocate in these these spaces.
2:37:08
And just so you know, because you're not ahead in chambers today so you don't see, ACS is still in the building.
2:37:13
And so, hopefully, they're hurt what you said, right, around how do we make sure that we're connecting the dots because in their testimony, they did say they have an accredibles messengers program that they're working on, and and and I did encourage DYCD to do the same to to support providers on that and do some type of collaboration.
2:37:29
So I think this is a beautiful opportunity where we can have some collaboration and cross between someone saying that they want to help and be a part of the solution, and and city agencies hearing that and taking that in and figuring out how to make that happen.
2:37:42
So that's my hope, and like I said at the beginning of this hearing, this hearing is about us talking about something that is the underbelly of the city that no one wants to talk about, because no one wants us to think that young people are being trafficked in the city just like they don't like to talk about homeless young people.