Rochester anti-poverty groups urge lawmakers to fight for federal funding

ROCHESTER, N.Y. – The Rochester Monroe Anti-Poverty Initiative (RMAPI) hosted its annual legislative breakfast with a heightened sense of urgency Friday morning.

The event followed President Trump’s decision to temporarily freeze all federal loans and grants, a move that caused concern among Rochester’s anti-poverty nonprofits. These organizations, which provide essential services like housing and childcare to low-income residents, rely heavily on federal funding.

During the breakfast, RMAPI and its partners questioned state and local leaders on their plans to secure funding and continue programs vital to the city’s low-income community. Although President Trump rescinded the funding freeze two days later, nonprofit leaders remained uneasy.

“If these funds are not available to our community, and these programs and services are not available to our community, then the basic fundamental safety net is going to be shredded,” said one attendee. “We knew we had to have a conversation with our local lawmakers to say what are you going to do. Because now is the time for you to stand up and fight to make sure we don’t lose any progress that we’ve made and we fight against this.”

RMAPI introduced five policy priorities for 2025, focusing on housing, childcare, income growth, healthcare access, and financial exploitation of the poor. They emphasized the importance of holding elected leaders accountable to ensure continued funding for anti-poverty initiatives.

A.I. assisted with the formatting of this story. Click here to see how WHEC News10NBC uses A.I.