Does the Local Government Do Enough for Non-Profits in the Area?
By: Francesca Vasta and Gabriella Gamba
Poughkeepsie is home to many different non-profit organizations (NPOs), including those that feed the hungry, house the homeless, and assist with mental health issues. These organizations run solely on donations from outside entities, and the presence or absence of government funding is often a large factor in determining the success and growth of these non-profit organizations.
For some NPOs, the local government is fully aware of their presence and supports their causes wholeheartedly. That support, though, does not always come in the form of funding.
Mayor of Poughkeepsie Robert Rolison explains that sometimes as local legislators, the best way to support non-profits is to show advocacy.
“As a former and current board member for a non-profit, there are a couple of things I can do,” he said. “One thing is that I can be supportive publicly through social media, help promote their activities… going to support their fundraisers, being around and being accessible.”
Next to showing support by just “being there,” though, Rolison does acknowledge that the local government has money set aside to aid NPOs that are in need.
“We have certain monies that are allocated to the City of Poughkeepsie through our Community Development Block Grant Program, up to 700 to 800 thousand dollars a year we get from the federal government because the poverty level is such, and much of that money can be directed to that,” Rolison explained.
According to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Community Development Block Grant Program (CDBG) was designed in 1974 to address a variety of unique community development needs. It can further be divided into five sectors including economic development, affordable housing, public facilities and improvements, non-homeless public services and homeless public services.
The 700 to 800 thousand dollars Rolison discussed is split into these categories as needed. The CDBG funds are administered through the County’s Department of Planning and Development, as described by the Dutchess County and City of Poughkeepsie Consolidated Plan, and are highly competitive. Organizations must complete an annual application in order to be considered for these government funds. In particular, the non-homeless public services, referenced above, support the funds specifically given to daily meal preparations, such as Meals on Wheels of Greater Hyde Park.
Jack Fenton, the president of the Board of Directors for local non-profit Meals on Wheels of Greater Hyde Park (MOWHP), is no stranger to the long and somewhat tedious grant application process. MOWHP, which “provides hot, nutritious meals to senior citizens residing in the Hyde Park school district and village of Rhinebeck,” according to Fenton, received a one-year grant from New York State Assemblywoman Didi Barrett, beginning this past July.
“One of Didi Barrett’s staff members contacted us regarding the grant,” Fenton explained. “We then had a fairly lengthy application to complete to send to the Council on Children and Families, who gave us the money. We got approved, then there was more contract paperwork to be completed. Then, we received grant papers and we had to submit a bill to them at some point.”
Although MOWHP does not have a designated grant-writer due to its small staff, Fenton worked with other board members to complete the application, which he admitted could be an “intimidating” feat to accomplish.
The money allocated to MOWHP was to be used for one specific purpose, according to Fenton. “It was strictly to pay for paper goods, like the bags and trays we use to deliver the meals,” he said. He mentioned that paper goods are actually the organization’s biggest expense, so this grant helped out a great deal.
This grant, however, was the only government funding MOWHP has ever received. Fenton is not discouraged by this, though. He explained, “We like operating without government intervention because it gets the local businesses, civic organizations, church groups and citizens involved in supporting our senior neighbors.”
Despite this, Fenton is grateful for the support MOWHP receives from local politicians who come in from time-to-time to deliver meals to the clients. In the past, New York State Senator Sue Serino, Hyde Park Town Supervisor Aileen Rohr, County Executive Marc Molinaro, and Assemblywoman Barrett have all delivered meals to Meal on Wheels’ clients and promoted the organization on their social media accounts.
While Fenton and the Meals on Wheels of Greater Hyde Park board are happy with the level of government funding and involvement, Tina Lee, Outreach and Program Coordinator for the National Alliance on Mental Illness — Mid-Hudson (NAMI Mid-Hudson), is not.
According to Lee, NAMI Mid-Hudson, “provides support, education and advocacy for families, individuals and caregivers with mental health conditions.” It recognizes the idea that those who take part in the organization either have a mental health condition or are living with a loved one who suffers from one; either way, it takes a toll.
NAMI’s website says, “approximately 1 in 5 adults in the U.S….experience mental illness in a given year,” and “1 in 5 youth aged 13 to 18 experience a severe mental disorder at some point during their life.”
Although these numbers are alarmingly high, Rolison, who has never heard of NAMI Mid-Hudson despite one of their locations being in Poughkeepsie, explains that, “The city [of Poughkeepsie] doesn’t have what I call ‘discretionary funds.’ The county on the other hand, has larger competitive programs for NPOs to compete for monies.”
Lee’s views on the matter coincide with Rolison’s statement in that the area is lacking in discretionary funds that could be used to aid mental health issues. “There’s lots of discussion, but no money,” she said.
She reflected on a time where NAMI Mid-Hudson wanted to implement a youth mental health program in local schools, but there were 10 schools on a seemingly untouched waiting list for funding. In one particular case, Lee and her staff felt that the program was so valuable for students to experience, that she and her staff provided these services free of charge.
“Everyone in the organization is so passionate about what we do, so we wanted to do it for free, even if they [the government] wouldn’t fund us,” she stated. “That’s the problem in Dutchess County. We’ve done it backwards by giving [the program] for free.”
She continued. “We do a great job in helping families keep their loved ones safe,” she said. “But if they need to go to the hospital, there are no children’s beds. At Mid-Hudson Regional Hospital, the wait time for a children’s psych bed is horrendous.”
Lee hopes to see improvements in local government funding in certain aspects in treating mental health in the future. With NAMI’s statistic of 13 percent of children aged between 8 and 15 having experienced mental illness, she believes something needs to change.
