During the StriveTogether Cradle to Career Convening in Atlanta, GA, Sherica Ross-Nickel and Jasmin Vega, parent/family partners with ROC the Future Alliance, led the Rooted to Rise: Housing Stability and Student Success presentation in collaboration with Rochester Monroe Anti-Poverty Initiative and OmegaCDC, a StriveTogether network partner based out of Dayton, Ohio.
Attendees explored the crucial link between housing stability, community leadership, and civic infrastructure, and their impact on student outcomes. Attendees also learned how Rochester and communities like ours, are tackling the challenge of housing insecurity head on, so that more children and families can succeed educationally. A key takeaway was how ROC the Future Alliance and RMAPI successfully utilized community-driven data advocacy to influence local policy change.
A significant example of this advocacy is our support of the Rochester Housing Authority’s decision to prioritize housing for families enrolled in the Rochester City School District (RCSD) who meet the McKinney-Vento definition or have children under 18 years old. To date, 30 families received this preference and encouragingly 25 of these households have already received housing vouchers and secured housing.
Access the toolkit from the presentation to learn more.
