FALL 2020 A M E S S AG E F R OM T H E C E O Throughout time, the North Star has been a beacon of inspiration and hope. It led slaves to freedom and brought immigrants to new shores. This year, illness and death, economic collapse, unprecedented unemployment, and simmering social discord exposed fissures in the fabric of our society that have never been mended. The upheaval wrought this year makes our North Star, elevating New Yorkers out of poverty, even more consequential than ever before. Honestly, your commitment and generosity enabled us to meet unprecedented demand in 2020, and only your continued support will make it possible for New York to one day hold our North Star within her grasp. Before COVID-19, our own data revealed a staggering 50% of New Yorkers lived in poverty for at least one year and nearly 80% are people of color. Since the pandemic began in New York City, 23,861 people have died and 242,315 have been stricken by the virus, leaving families tattered and in shambles. Today, more than 1 million New Yorkers are out of work with two-thirds of unemployed New Yorkers earning $40,000 or less a year, before the pandemic’s outbreak. The pandemic and the subsequent economic crisis revealed the stark inequities people live with every day in New York City. These inequities may not have always been visible to everyone, yet existed and festered nonetheless. Seventy-five percent of the low-wage, hourly workers called to remain on the frontline throughout the pandemic, are people of color. Blacks and Latinx people died of COVID-19 at twice the rate of white New Yorkers, and the hardest hit communities in the city continue to be home to immigrants, low-income households, and people of color. This summer we also experienced a national reckoning with racism, fueled by fresh examples of widespread systemic bias in police departments that, too often, result in the wrongful deaths of Black people. The experiences of this year reinforces what data and research concluded: Poverty is concentrated, generational, and relentlessly intentional. As New York moves forward from relief to recovery, Robin Hood will be resolute in embracing the challenges laid bare this year. We will continue to meet the immediate needs of our neighbors. We will help them regain their footing, and we will work together with our community partners, elevating people from poverty, by dismantling the systemic structures of racism and poverty. I want to invite you to read through this year’s fall magazine and see what we have accomplished together, how we envision recovery, and how, we can contribute to the resurgence of New York City for a stronger, more equitable future. Thank you for everything you have done this year and all you continue to do as we work to make our North Star a reality.
TA B L E O F CON T E N T S
A MESSAGE FROM THE CE0 RELIEF TO RECOVERY INTRODUCTION
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RELIEF TO RECOVERY
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RELIEF TIMELINE
STORIES FROM THE FIELD CASH ASSISTANCE
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HEALTH
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FOOD
10-11 12-13 14-15 16-17 18-19 20-21 22-23 24-25 26-27 28-29
HOUSING
JOBS
EDUCATION
BENEFITS
SAFETY
PARTNERSHIPS
RESURGENCE
THE POWER FUND
RESURGENCE 0F NYC POLICY THANK YOU
RISE UP NEW YORK ROBIN HOOD CORPS WAYS TO GET INVOLVED
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WHY WE GIVE
ROBIN HOOD NATION
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Elevate,
ABOUT THE COVER The image on the cover, designed by Robin Hood’s creative director Mary Power , is an artistic homage to the quilt-making tradition in the United States. According to the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of African American History and Culture , this tradition of expression is shared across cultures, genders, and eras. In the African American quilting tradition, the use of bright colors, asymmetry, and large shapes conveys many meanings and stories, but for Robin Hood this year, the theme of comfort and its symbolism of the cycles of life resonates especially, both for their functionality and aesthetic beauty. This year, we all need to be held closely, taken care of, and reminded that our destinies are interwoven by the space, time, and place we all share in the city we all call home.
Wes Moore
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