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PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Leslie Thrope, Executive Director of Housing Conservation Coordinators (HCC)
4:29:47
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146 sec
Leslie Thrope, Executive Director of Housing Conservation Coordinators (HCC), testified on behalf of the Legal Services for the Working Poor Coalition, requesting increased funding to address the civil legal needs of working poor and low-income New Yorkers. The coalition is seeking $600,000 per year for each of its five member organizations to expand services in areas such as immigration, workers' rights, public benefits access, and economic justice.
- The coalition has been serving New Yorkers whose income slightly exceeds the threshold for traditional free legal services for over 20 years.
- Services provided by the coalition help prevent working individuals and families from falling into poverty due to civil legal crises.
- The requested funding increase is seen as critical in light of federal policy changes and budget cuts that are eroding the social safety net for working New Yorkers.
Leslie Thrope
4:29:47
Thank you chairs Brandon and Ayala, and to the members of the New York City Council and their staff for your long standing support of the legal services for the Working Poor Coalition.
4:29:59
My name is Leslie Thrope and I serve as the executive director of housing conservation coordinators, one of five members organizations of this working poor coalition.
4:30:10
Alongside HCC, the coalition includes CAMBA, Mobilization for Justice, Northern Manhattan Improvement Corporation, and Take Root Justice.
4:30:19
For over twenty years, with the steadfast support of city council, this coalition has worked to address the civil legal needs of working poor and other low income New Yorkers, individuals whose income slightly exceeds the threshold for traditional free legal services.
4:30:36
The Working Poor initiative is vital to preserving the economic stability and independence of these New Yorkers.
4:30:43
It allocated 455,000 to each coalition partner in fiscal year twenty five and this year we are requesting an increase to $600,000 per year for the organizations.
4:30:55
That's a full restitution of last year's funding and an enhancement to meet the growing demand and increasing challenges that we face.
4:31:04
This increased investment will allow coalition members to increase and expand our services to our communities including immigration services, workers' rights services, access to public benefits, and economic justice.
4:31:17
These services are more critical than ever as federal policy changes and budget cuts continue to erode the social safety net for working New Yorkers.
4:31:26
Every day our organizations work with clients who face civil legal crisis that threaten their livelihoods in their homes.
4:31:33
These include wage theft and unpaid labor, identity theft of frozen bank accounts, denial of public benefits, consumer and foreclosure issues that jeopardize their housing stability.
4:31:45
Without legal assistance, these issues often push working individuals and families into poverty.
4:31:52
In conclusion, the council's investment in the legal services for the working poor remains the only funding stream specifically dedicated to addressing the civil legal needs of working people in New York City.
4:32:04
We urge you to not only continue this flexible essential funding but to increase it.
4:32:10
We thank you for your time and your continued support.