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PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Chanya Holness, Senior Coordinator of Policy and Advocacy at Children's Health Fund
5:05:03
ยท
150 sec
Chanya Holness from Children's Health Fund advocated for continued and increased funding for the Healthy and Ready to Learn (HRL) program, which addresses health barriers to learning in New York City schools. She emphasized the program's impact and the need for expansion to support more students, particularly in vulnerable communities.
- HRL has reached nearly 52,000 users through its Resource and Training Center since 2017
- The program aims to expand workshops, enhance early childhood programming, and develop support for immigrant families in FY26
- Children's Health Fund urges the city council and mayor to secure investments for early childhood learning, mental health programs, and the HRL initiative
Chanya Holness
5:05:03
Good afternoon Chair Ayala and members of the committee and thank you for the opportunity to speak with you.
5:05:08
My name is Chanya Holness and I am the senior coordinator of policy and advocacy at Children's Health Fund.
5:05:14
Today I will be speaking about the importance of continued and increased funding for programming that critically supports schools and parents in ensuring that students are well positioned to thrive in schools like our New York City Council funded program Healthy and Ready to Learn or HRL.
5:05:29
HRL was developed by Children's Health Fund in 2014 as part of our mission of supporting kids so they can thrive.
5:05:35
The program is designed to help schools identify and address health barriers rooted in social, racial and economic inequities that impact student learning.
5:05:44
When students have their health needs met, meaning when they can see the board, hear their teacher, focus on schoolwork and so on, they are more likely to learn and succeed in school, ultimately translating into a greater likelihood of a productive and happy life.
5:05:57
HRL started with a strong focus on screening and responding to these health barriers to learning.
5:06:01
And while we continue to address these health barriers, we have evolved to include supporting trauma sensitive school and home environments to better address the fallout from the COVID nineteen pandemic and surrounding social issues like racism and violence.
5:06:14
Through our current model, we leverage findings from our flagship school, PS forty nine in The Bronx in Councilwoman Diana Ayala's district to inform materials and trainings that we conduct with educators, administrators, and parents citywide and through our resource and training center, RTC.
5:06:29
Launched in 2017, RTC is an online platform that enables Children's Health Fund to scale our impact to reach students throughout New York City through an online library of infographics, fact sheets, learning interactive learning images, and others.
5:06:44
Regarding our impact, since 2017, nearly 52,000 users have accessed our RTC.
5:06:50
And in fiscal year twenty twenty four, the RTC had nearly 8,000 users, and we've reached nearly 2,000 individuals through our workshops and trainings.
5:06:59
Our impact is clear, and the demand for our programming continues to increase.
5:07:03
To meet the growing need in our most vulnerable communities, our FY26 goals include expanding to more, workshops, enhancing early childhood programming, and developing tailored support for immigrant families.
5:07:14
To end, I'll say that for these reasons, Children's Health Fund urges the New York City Council and the mayor to include funding to secure critical investments for early childhood learning, mental health program, and our Healthy and Ready to Learn initiative.
5:07:26
These actions will expand access for thousands more students throughout the city, giving them the best chance in succeeding in school and life.
5:07:32
Thank you.