Rochester Parents Speak Out On Child Poverty

On December 4th, 2024, Rochester City Council held a hearing on youth poverty. TCA staff members Larry Marx (CEO) and Eamonn Scanlon (Director of Community Impact) provided testimony alongside Qutisha Britt, an outspoken advocate for children with TCA’s Very Invested Parent group. Below is Qutisha’s testimony.  

I am a parent of a six-year-old daughter, Azalya. I am also a parent leader and advocate at The Children’s Agenda’s parent group the Very Invested Parents, known as the VIPs. I am a new member and participant at the Parent Leadership Training Institute (cohort 12), also known as PLTI. Both are in the City of Rochester, where 48.2% of the children in the city struggle financially.   

According to the data, Black and Latino families are suffering from economic hardship daily. We know that racial disparities due to economic hardship have placed families living in Rochester into the bracket known as “living in poverty.” It’s because of this I believe that we must demand more funding to live well. The need for more mental health services and access to all community resources due to inflation, and price gouging in supermarkets is making it impossible to feed our children consistent healthy meals. Not only are parents struggling with food insecurities, they also struggle to provide clothing, and safe, stable, and affordable housing which is putting a deeper strain and emotional instability on the well-being of the entire family. I am a single mother who experiences struggles making it through each month and I depend on the help of resources within my community to get by.   

It is up to us as a community to get the word out about these resources that struggle to stay open to serve its people more effectively. I am afraid we may risk losing resources solely because people are not utilizing or have access to them more frequently and in larger numbers. Losing resources currently is not an option. Instead, there is a great need for more. I tapped into a resource called Project Launch, through the Young Child Wellness Council. I received help with my car needing repair and this program was instrumental to myself and my daughter. They truly assured my daughter, and I received help via support groups and connected me with other resources. They even gave me one thousand dollars to help me with my immediate needs. Unfortunately, I have recently found out that they are no longer available.   

We desperately need programs like this that help set goals and allow families to thrive. We would not be in this situation but would work to get out of poverty. If we keep taking away those resources that help families, how will families improve their quality of life and overcome the difficult life challenges they face? Rochester is full of amazing resources, and we must heal our community and get our families out of poverty. It is time to invest in our families now.   

Respectfully Submitted,  

Qutisha Britt  

Parent advocate for all children.  

To see a clip from the hearing, please visit: https://youtu.be/e5rvQCROhQc?si=jsYbyWJfM79W7jaq 

To learn more about The Children’s Agenda’s work on child poverty, please visit: Child Poverty – The Children’s Agenda