November 4th, 2022
A multi-year $7.1 M investment in the City of Rochester that builds capacity at trusted neighborhood centers and empowers residents to meet community needs.
Monroe County Executive Adam Bello joined Congressman Joe Morelle, City of Rochester Mayor Malik Evans, and representatives from numerous community-based organizations to announce a proposed investment of $7,160,849 to support the Neighborhood Collaborative Project (NCP). The NCP is an unprecedented collaboration among almost two dozen organizations to strengthen and empower neighborhoods within the City of Rochester.
This proposal is one of almost 40 projects selected as part of Bring Monroe Back, Monroe County’s plan to utilize federal funds received through the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). Through the efforts of Congressman Joseph D. Morelle and Senators Charles Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand, Monroe County is the recipient of $144,080,127 in local fiscal recovery funds.
“As County Executive, I have been actively finding opportunities to decentralize services and bring resources into neighborhoods. We cannot expect people to travel long distances to multiple sites to receive the services they need,” said County Executive Bello. “The Neighborhood Collaborative Project meets people where they live, empowers neighbors and neighborhoods, and builds capacity in organizations that people know and trust.”
The Neighborhood Collaborative Project will build service capacity within neighborhood community organizations. This innovative project will bring a wide variety of services directly into neighborhoods rather than requiring individuals to travel to multiple sites across Monroe County to access the services they need. The NCP will engage in grassroots outreach, literally walking neighborhoods, talking to residents, hosting pop-up events, and bringing new services to community organizations that are already familiar to residents. The team will build relationships within the community and use feedback from residents to identify community needs. Residents will be empowered, because they drive the solutions to community problems and identify the unique needs of their own communities.
NCP will be facilitated by an oversight committee that includes: fiscal sponsor Community Resource Collaborative; anchor agencies S.W.A.N. at Montgomery Center (Southwest Rochester), the Father Tracy Advocacy Center (North Clinton Ave.) and Cameron Community Ministries (Lyell-Otis Neighborhood); and project partners Beyond the Sanctuary, MC Collaborative, C3 Consultancy Services, and On The Ground Research. The committee will also work with other groups including: Lyell Avenue Business Association; the People’s Pantry; Barakah Muslim Charity; Lincoln, Lyell and Phillis Wheatly Libraries; Fidelis Care; Action for A Better Community’s Action Front Center; Trillium Health Harm Reduction; Third Presbyterian Church; Foodlink; and Baden Street Counseling Center.
“The Community Resource Collaborative does critical work to uplift young people in our community — connecting them with the resources and help they need following a traumatic event,” said Congressman Joe Morelle. “This new funding I helped secure will expand their network of neighborhood community centers and service providers, allowing them to provide an even higher level of care and support to those in crisis. Thank you to County Executive Bello for his ongoing partnership and steadfast commitment to utilizing ARPA funding to uplift families across our community.”
“When I secured funding for local governments in the American Rescue Plan, it was not only to help our communities recover from the pandemic, but to build for the future,” said Senator Schumer. “The Neighborhood Collaborative Project is the perfect example of what I envisioned, and I applaud the Community Resource Collaborative for providing resources and services to directly address the community’s needs. I commend County Executive Bello for prioritizing this project and for being devoted to strengthening our neighborhoods across the Rochester region.”
“True collaboration is key to this work; for us that means working together, thriving on differences, and being responsive to emerging neighborhood needs. Through this collaboration we will develop and implement an agile and sustainable services platform at the neighborhood level; increase neighborhood capacity to address issues important to the community; and improve neighborhood conditions,” said Olivia Kassoum-Amadou, executive director, Cameron Community Ministries; Ciara McGillivray, interim CEO, Father Tracy Advocacy Center; and Patricia Jackson, executive director, SWAN Inc. at Montgomery Neighborhood Center.
About the Bring Monroe Back ARPA initiative:
Under County Executive Bello’s Bring Monroe Back recovery initiative, the Department of Planning conducted a community wide survey, held numerous public meetings and heard testimony from community organizations to determine community-funding priorities. The plan is now before the Monroe County Legislature for consideration and approval. Selected programs align with one or more of County Executive Bello’s four pillars for Monroe County’s future: Public Health and Wellness, Public Safety, Economic and Workforce Development, and Infrastructure.
Pending approval by the County Legislature, Monroe County will enter into a contract with the Community Resource Collaborative on Behalf of the Neighborhood Collaborative Project that will commence on or about Jan. 1, 2023
