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Archives
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Gifford
Miller |
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Liz Krueger |
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Leslie Crocker Snyder |
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Catherine Stimpson |
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Eric Gioia |
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Adolfo Carrion Jr. |
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David Wepri |
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Featured Non Profit
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Youth at Risk
Youth at Risk is
committed to reducing
the at-risk behavior of
troubled youth.
Each year there are over
2.5 million arrests
involving youths under
the age of 18. Over
103,00 are for violent
crimes. Suicide is the
2nd leading cause of
deaths for teenagers -
over 500,000 attempts
per year.
The U.S. has the highest
teenage pregnancy rate
of any developed nation
- over 1 million teens
in this country become
pregnant each year.
According to Youth at
Risk's President and
Executive Director,
Claudette C'Faison, it
really does take a
community to raise a
child.
Youth at Risk's
mentoring community is
unique in it's
comprehensive training
program - Committed
Partner Mentors undergo
65 hours of training,
ongoing coaching,
evaluation and follow-up
training.
Youth at Risk works with
foster care group homes,
schools, community-based
organizations, homeless
shelters, the NYPD and
the Department of
Probation.
Their intervention
programs have a lasting
impact on the youths
they help as well as
their families:
The Warrior's Way
Program - focuses on
mentoring boys aged
11-14 who do not have a
father figure in the
house.
The Woman - to - Woman
Program - an
intervention and
preventive program for
teenaged mothers.
World Leaders - a
three-year violence
prevention program.
The Family Program - 12
week program for parents
who have had more than
one child exhibiting
at-risk behavior.
The Next Step Academy -
a 9 month youth
leadership program
focusing on improving
academic standing,
social skills and
community service
involvement.
Youth at Risk transforms
the chaotic lives of
youth through persistent
and compassionate
mentoring.
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Guest Editor: Manhattan Borough President C. Virginia Fields
To address many of the issues resulting from the 2000 Presidential
election fiasco in Florida, Congress passed the Help America Vote Act (HAVA)
of 2002 in order to ensure that all future election results accurately
reflect the will of the voters.
This legislation requires that voters have the ability to verify their
votes on the ballots before they are cast and to correct errors on their
ballots before they are counted. HAVA also requires better access to
voting technology for people with disabilities and language minorities,
improvements in poll worker training, better educational outreach to the
public and improvements in statewide voter registration lists. Most
significant, HAVA will provide $140 million in federal funds to help New
York State replace its antiquated voting equipment.
New York’s Governor had the task of appointing people to the State HAVA
Task Force, which is responsible for recommending how New York State
will spend its federal election reform dollars. The Task Force he
appointed, however, does not reflect the diverse interests and needs of
New York State voters. Fourteen of the 19 task force members are
Republicans and only 2 members are citizen advocates. Constituencies
that will be significantly affected by New York’s HAVA plan, including
language minority populations and people with disabilities, were not
adequately represented on this task force.
My concerns regarding this Task Force were confirmed by the release of
the draft State HAVA Implementation Plan, which was uniformly denounced
as “vague” and “inadequate” by those who testified at a recent public
hearing on the plan. Although I was disappointed with the plan as a
whole, I was particularly concerned that the plan does not specify the
steps it will take to select voting machines that ensure disabled voters
have access to a private and independent vote.
The State HAVA Implementation Plan must define the accessibility
standards that will be used to select new voting machines for New York
State. In that regard, I submitted to the Task Force a set of
accessibility standards that my office developed in conjunction with the
Center for Independence of the Disabled in New York. These standards
were developed using the feedback of over 100 individuals with
disabilities who tested eight different voting machines at a Voting
Technology Fair that I co-hosted last January. There are 20 different
standards that we developed, which can be used as selection criteria for
the procurement of a voting machine that is accessible to wheelchair
users, the blind and visually impaired, people with limited arm reach or
hand dexterity and the hard of hearing. Although I submitted the report
that outlined these standards several months before the Task Force
released its draft plan, none of these standards are included in the
plan and the plan says nothing about how New York will meet the specific
needs of voters with different types of disabilities.
The most significant conclusion of our analysis is that a full-face
ballot machine is not accessible for many disabled voters. Some people
are unable to reach the buttons or switches located on its upper and
outer portions. People with cognitive disabilities sometimes cannot
process the ballot information or discern the different choices and
contests when there is too much information on the ballot.
As long as New York State continues to have a full-face ballot law, the
many voting machines that are more accessible to a greater number of New
York voters with disabilities, cannot be certified for use in this
state.
I have encouraged the State HAVA Task Force to review the report I
co-authored on disabled access to voting and consider the use of its
recommendations as standards for certifying new voting machines in New
York State. I strongly believe that applying these recommendations as
standards used for certifying new voting machines will ensure that the
maximum number of disabled New Yorkers are able to vote independently,
privately and with dignity. It is now up to the Chair and other members
of the State HAVA Task Force to re-draft a plan that details what New
York will do to ensure that all voters can participate in the electoral
process with confidence.
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C. Virginia Fields
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Featured Non Profit
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The AIDS Vaccine Advocacy
Coalition
The AIDS Vaccine Advocacy
Coalition (AVAC) is a community and
consumer based organization, founded
in December 1995 to accelerate the
ethical development and global
delivery of vaccines against
HIV/AIDS.
AVAC provides independent analysis,
policy advocacy, public education
and mobilization to enhance AIDS
vaccine research and development.
The goal of AIDS advocates is to
bring an end to the AIDS epidemic.
This means advocacy on a local and
international level for AIDS care
and services, access to treatments,
better prevention education and
interventions, and research for new
treatments and new means for HIV
prevention.
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Featured Non Profit
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Children's Hope Foundation
HIV/AIDS is the 7th leading
cause of death for children 1 to 4
years of age.
Approximately half of all new HIV
infections identified in the U.S.
are among people under the age of
25.
The NYC area is the most devastated
metropolitan area in the country,
reporting the highest number of HIV
and AIDS cases.
Children's Hope Foundation improves
the quality of life for young people
and their families affected by HIV
and AIDS by meeting their medical
and social needs.
Children's Hope Foundation works in
partnership with medical facilities
and community-based organizations in
the New York area.
Children's Hope Foundation serves
more than 17,000 HIV affected young
people and their families through
their eight programs:
Among their programs are:
The Family Needs Program - provides
new items such as beds, cribs,
strollers and clothing to children
and families with HIV/AIDS.
The Emergency Funds Program -
assists families of HIV positive
children with rent, food and
utilities.
The Holiday Toy Drive Program -
coordinates individual and corporate
toy drives and distributing the
gifts to thousands of HIV affected
young people in the New York area.
The SuperFriends Program -
one-on-one mentoring and buddy
program for HIV infected/affected
young people.
TeensMatter Program - life skills
workshops and special events for HIV
positive teens.
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