Resolution in support of fully funding ABCD Title X funding. On motion of CouncilorsLouijeune and Flaherty, Rule 12 was invoked to include Councilor Mejia as a co-sponsor.
0517 Councils Louisiana and Florida offered the following resolution in support of fully funding ABCD Title ten funding. The Chair recognizes consultation and consultation. You have the floor. Thank you, Mr. President. I asked to suspend Rule 12 and add my fellow colleague, Councilor Julian me here as a third co-sponsor. Seeing and hearing. No objection. Councilman here is certainly added. Thank you so much, Mr. President. I also like to give a head tilt also to Councilor Aaron Murphy. If I could add a fourth co-sponsor, I would add her. The reason being, as Councilor Flaherty mentioned last week, ABCD lost its Title ten funding and I appreciate him for bringing that to our all of our attention, especially because all of the at large city councilors we sit as board members on ABCD. So this was an issue that really affected us and we're all really trying to figure out what we could do. As some of you may know, ABCD stands for action. The Boston Community Development was established in 1962 by the First Lady of Roxbury, Melanie Akash, who was a leader in so many ways in our city and centering the needs of those who are often forgotten of voting rights of just a number of issues that were important to Bostonians. But if you low income Bostonians regarding an absentee you worked on job training, child care, heating assistance, you name it, number of folks, constituents and family members have relied on ABCD over the years. They participated in Title ten program for nearly 50 years and they use that to really help empower folks and equip them with the tools to overcome poverty through a comprehensive and holistic approach to a range of health and racial barriers faced by households in poverty. The cultural, linguistic and economic distinctions in communities and neighborhoods create pockets of extreme poverty, exacerbated by history, by decades of neglect. And ABC works integrally in those spaces to really help empower those communities. And so with two days notice, they lost $2.8 million in grant funding, and it provides substantial resources to all the communities that I already mentioned. And so it was a very big hit to its family planning services. So members of the City Council and our representatives who all serve on the ABC board have been working with our city, with our state and federal partners here, the Boston delegation in Congress to really I talked to Secretary Beshear and hopefully reinstitute this to a $2.8 million in funding, which is so critical to family planning across our city. And so I just think my co-sponsors here for your work in supporting this resolution, also in our work together on the board of ABCD either personally or through our representatives. So thank you. Thank you. Counsel again, the chair recognizes counsel of clarity. Counsel clarity of the floor. Mr. President, and thank you to the council we stand for for our partnership on this issue. As is referenced, it's a fantastic community organization on the front lines for community health services, fuel assistance, drug training placements, food pantries, you name it, the ABCD does it. They've been their Title ten funding has been doing and has been partnering with ABC for 47 years. Not quite sure what happened. Not sure how the ball sort of got dropped, but there was an oversight here. But it's critical that we get clarification and have this decision be reversed so that the Title ten funding be restored to ABC. And then for councils, colleagues, edification. That's the plan. And I were on a call with Congressman Lynch this week who with his relationships was also getting his phone was burning up on this issue. And I know that he was going to make efforts to connect with the secretary to try to have this Title ten funding restored . So I just want to give him a shout out. For his efforts on. On behalf as well. Thank you, Mr. President. Thank you, counsel. Clarity. The chair recognizes. COUNSEL Here. Counsel Here you have the floor. President And thank you to Counselor Lujan and clarity for having me as a co-sponsor. ABCDE has for me has meant the entire world first. My brother went through Head Start. We got our homes heated through the fuel assistance program and I ended up getting my first job right out of college through the Family Planning Title ten initiative . And, you know. The woman that hired me is Irving Golson, God rest her soul. I gave him my first job and introduction to family planning, to community engagement, to public health. This was 30 something years ago. So for me to be fighting to ensure that these funds. Stay with ABC. Is is personal. And I think we need to do everything in our power to ensure that everything that ABC has done for so many people that we all rise up and fight to to to keep this organization alive and. And I'm really thinking about Irene right now. I'm really thinking about Irene Golson and how much she's poured into this city around taking care of our bodies out of our health. And this is for her. And we have to fight for her. So thank you. Thank you, Councilmember. Here the chair recognizes counsel Murphy. Counsel Murphy of the floor. Thank you. I'm happy to partner with my At-Large councilors. Thank you for including me. ABCD is a $200 million nonprofit. Organization and they recently. Lost their $2.8 million family planning grant. As we already heard, this loss won't shut their doors, but they will have to make some hard decisions and have. To lay off as many. As 15 counselors. ABCD provides social services for our youngest children in Headstart, child care settings, career training, summer jobs and they also run the William Oster Guy High School that services our youth recovering from substance abuse, clothing, food, housing and utility bill, advocacy for families and all the way up to our seniors where they help thousands of Boston seniors promoting health and financial. Security and offering activities. To help combat challenges like hunger and isolation. After struggling through the pandemic these past two years, we need these social services now more than ever. I'm in support and fully funding ABCDE, so there are no interruptions in the services they provide to our Boston residents. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, Councilor Murphy. The chair recognizes counsel and counsel. Yes. I just want to thank you, sir. I just want to add to the record that the majority of Title ten funding is goes to Matt Mattapan, Roxbury, Dorchester. And so when we're in an era of trying to make sure that these neighborhoods are getting maximum resources, we shouldn't be taking it away. Just wanted to add that for the record. Thank you. Thank you, counsel. And. Would anyone else like to speak on this matter? Just want to. I want to acknowledge and thank counsel, clarity and counsel and counsel here for their work on this important issue. Counsel Clarity received a call on a cell phone, I believe, from John Drew, who was the the executive director there, talking about how how this impact would hurt families in need. So I just want to acknowledge the the role the City Council played in advocating for families in need. ABCD plays a critical role in our city. They also supervise and administer the food access program SNAP, which I think is probably the best federal program there is. But having said that, I just want to thank my my colleagues for their important work on this on this matter. Consoles and console clarity. Console me here. And. Would anyone like to add their name? Please raise your hand, please. Council. Royal Council. Baker. Council. Bar Council. Brighton. Councilor Fernandez Anderson. Councilor. Laura. Please get the chair. Councilors Lujan seek suspension of the rules. Adoption of Docket 0517. All those in favor say our policy. The ayes have it. The docket has been adopted. We're on to personal orders. Mr. Clerk, please read docket 05180158.