December 18, 2024

Governor Hochul and her team are working on next year’s New York State budget, and it’s critical that Human Services funding is prioritized in her budget proposal in January. Over the past few years, we’ve seen Human Services receive small increases in the budget—but they’ve never met the growing needs of our sector.

These increases have been appreciated, but they haven’t even kept up with rising costs. We’ve done the math, and the numbers show that we’ve fallen 7.8% further behind in recent years. And we can’t fall any further behind. We need to grow to meet the growing needs of our community.

How do we make things grow? By investing in them. That’s why we’re calling on our leaders to take action We’re asking them to invest in us:

Invest 7.8% in Human Services.

Demand for human services that help with critical challenges like mental health, child welfare, substance abuse recovery, domestic violence, hunger, and homelessness continues to skyrocket. At the same time, our workforce is shrinking due to low wages, difficult responsibilities and the cost of inflation. Agencies are experiencing 30% turnover rates and have thousands of unfilled jobs. 

In addition, 60% of employees in the sector work in jobs with an average salary of $36,000/yr. Per federal guidelines, the poverty level for a household size of 2 is $37,814. So, if you’re a single parent with one child, you’re basically at the poverty level while providing life-saving services to vulnerable New Yorkers.

Let’s make a real impact. Let’s speak with one voice and urge the governor to stand up for vulnerable New Yorkers and the workforce that stands ready to help them when they need it most. Let’s take action.

How can you help? Stand up and be heard. Call the governor’s office at 518.474.8390 and tell her you support a 7.8% investment in Human Services!