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PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Nikita Boyce, Budget Policy Coordinator at Coalition for Asian American Children and Families (CACF)
6:17:46
ยท
3 min
Nikita Boyce, representing the Coalition for Asian American Children and Families (CACF), advocated for increased funding for Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) communities in New York City. She highlighted the rapid growth of the AAPI population and the disproportionate challenges they face, including poverty and lack of access to services.
- CACF leads the "18% and Growing" campaign, uniting over 90 AAPI organizations to fight for equitable budgeting.
- They are requesting specific funding increases: $7.5 million for the AAPI Community Support Initiative, $7.5 million for the Communities of Color Nonprofit Stabilization Fund, and $4.5 million for the Access Health Initiative.
- Boyce emphasized the need for a "people's budget" that better represents and serves the diverse AAPI diaspora in New York City.
Nikita Boyce
6:17:46
Hi, my name is Nikita Boyce and I'm the budget policy coordinator at CACF, the coalition for Asian American children and families.
6:17:54
Thank you to the Finance Committee and the City Council members for your time.
6:17:58
Since 1986, CACF is the nation's only pan Asian children and families advocacy organization that leads the fight for transformative movements in policy, progressive systems change, and racial equity within government institutions to increasingly invest and equitably fund community based organizations and city initiatives that directly impact and far reach the Asian American and Pacific Islander diaspora.
6:18:25
CACF leads the 18% and growing campaign, a critical and diverse city wide campaign uniting over 90 AAPI led and serving organizations across the city to fight for a fair and equitable budget that protects the needs of our most vulnerable community members.
6:18:41
We advocate as a collective in solidarity to hold New York City accountable in providing the necessary resources to serve and empower the diverse needs of all AAPI New Yorkers and other communities of color.
6:18:54
The 18% and growing campaign is advocating for expanding the AAPI Community Support Initiative to 7,500,000.
6:19:02
The Communities of Color Nonprofit Stabilization Fund to 7,500,000, and the access health initiative to 4,500,000, among other key citywide initiatives and investments.
6:19:13
This includes 134,000,000 per the people's plan to invest in legal services, sanctuary zones, and rapid response funds to safeguard immigrant New Yorkers from Trump's mass deportation scheme.
6:19:27
The AAPI diaspora is the fastest growing ethnic diaspora in New York City and yet it faces the highest rates of poverty, linguistic isolation, rising inequities, and widening gaps between social services.
6:19:40
Despite this growth of 18% being the number of AAPI in New York City, Eighteen Percent of the population, In the last few fiscal years, we've not seen enhancements to our critical initiatives that serve the needs on the ground.
6:19:55
AAPI organizations only receive a 5.3 share of discretionary funding per initial schedule C data, But as our needs become more diverse and require increased capacity, we need more resources.
6:20:08
We demand that we receive funding that our communities so desperately need in order to fill the gaps left by city government.
6:20:15
And that's why we're urging city council to uplift our collective priorities, which again are 7,500,000.0 to the AAPI Community Support Initiative, seven point five million to the Communities of Color Nonprofit Stabilization Fund, and 4,500,000.0 to the Access Health Initiative.
6:20:32
In order to create a more inclusive, safe, healthy, and sustainable society for our diverse, very diverse diaspora, We need a people's budget that leads to a more value driven, culturally representative, and human centered New York City.
6:20:47
Thank you.