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PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Ella Grace Downs, Policy & Government Affairs Manager at Girls for Gender Equity
5:24:17
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129 sec
Ella Grace Downs from Girls for Gender Equity (GGE) testified about the importance of continued funding for their youth programs, emphasizing the critical need to support Black girls and gender-expansive youth of color across NYC. She requested specific funding amounts for various programs and highlighted the mental health crisis facing young people.
- GGE requested a total of $900,000 in funding from various sources (YWI, Dove, STARS, ATI) for FY 26 youth programming.
- The organization offers programs such as the Young Women's Advisory Council, Sisters in Strength Survivors Program, and partnerships with STARS coalition.
- Downs stressed the importance of investing in youth during a time of increased mental health challenges, financial hardship, and declining trust in institutions among young people.
Ella Grace Downs
5:24:17
Good afternoon Chair Stephens and members of the Joint Committee.
5:24:20
My name is Ella Grace Downs and I'm the policy manager at Girls for Gender Equity, GGE.
5:24:25
GGE is a Brooklyn based organization focusing on youth leadership, policy advocacy and culture shift to achieve racial and gender justice.
5:24:33
We offer this testimony today because the funding we receive is imperative to the development and growth of black girls and gender expansive youth of color across NYC.
5:24:42
We request continued support from City Council for FY 26 youth programming in the amount of 350 ks from YWI, two hundred ks from Dove, one hundred ks from STARS, and 250 ks from ATI so that GGE may continue to address the needs of young people across all five boroughs and expand its reach during this critical period.
5:25:02
The time to invest in our youth is now.
5:25:05
Youth are experiencing a mental health crisis.
5:25:07
Alongside increased loneliness and isolation in our highly digital world, young people in particular girls and black and Latin youth are not receiving the social support they need.
5:25:17
National polls recently revealed today's young people are navigating increased financial hardship, frayed social bonds, and declining trust in institutions.
5:25:26
This is where GGE steps in.
5:25:29
Our programs are a safe space for the youth of New York City.
5:25:32
When interviewing participants about what they love most about GGE they said things like it's knowing that I'm always being cared for and welcomed into a loving space.
5:25:41
GGE teaches us to be leaders and how to care for ourselves and our community and I get to learn about what's happening in the world and to be able to change it.
5:25:50
Our programs include the Young Women's Advisory Council, WIWAC, our Sisters in Strength Survivors Program, and our partnership with the Sports Training and Role Models for Success, STARS coalition, as well as youth education work to end school push out and promote alternatives to incarceration.
5:26:09
Though through these requested appropriations, council can reaffirm its commitment to black girls and gender expansive youth of color by supporting our lifesaving programs, especially at this dire time when the funders are shying away from investments toward racial justice diversity.
5:26:23
When New York City invests in in its young people, it invests in its future.