IMPACT OF OUR WORK
In 2003, the Network released "Women of Color in New York City: Two Thirds of all women, still invisible in Policy". The report spurred the New York City Council to pass a resolution urging the city to hold hearings on the socio-economic disparities that plague women of color, particularly in health, poverty, employment and education. The Network partnered with the Women's Issues Committee of the City Council to hold multiple hearings, where advocates pushed for a change in policies, programs and practices. As a follow up in 2006, the Network unveiled a policy agenda to the Women's Issues Committee on the efforts to refocus on socio-economic trends that continue to plague New York City's women of color in health, poverty, employment and education.
In 2004, the Committee on Community Economic Development for City Council asked the Network to devise a new framework for economic development and create a methodology for targeting resources to underserved communities. Subsequently the Network was invited to serve as consultants to the committee that was responsible for the development and implementation of the City's $14 million first workforce development initiative. The Network's work illustrating the geographical concentration of working poor and the unemployed prompted the City Council to employ our methodology of targeting zip codes to allocate funding.
In 2003, the Network released "We Speak: New York City Women Living with HIV/AIDS", a needs assessment of women living with the virus in New York City. This report, commissioned by United Way, documents the emerging needs of women living with HIV/AIDs in New York City. The Network interviewed clients and providers of the Women and Families Initiative of United Way of New York and pulled together a comprehensive data on current, unmet and emerging needs. In addition, the Network compiled detailed epidemiological community profiles for each of the United Hospital Fund Neighborhoods providing a contextual narrative to the qualitative findings.
In 2006, The Network produced a three-part series of our findings and recommendations for future programs in workforce development. The Network partnered with the United Way to access the viability of New York City's first workforce development program. We worked with United Way to identify labor and workforce trends as well as barriers and challenges to sustained employment within low-income communities. The network conducted surveys and individual interviews with program participants.
The Network's report "An Assessment of Girls' and Young Women's Programs", documents the demographic and social economic changes of young women in New York City and monies (both private and public) allocated to girls and young women's programming. The report commissioned by the New York Community Trust will guide their funding activities and grants portfolio and provides recommendations for the future of girls and young women's programming in New York City.