CPC launched the inaugural Advocacy Advisory Council

The Policy and Public Affairs Team inducted the first ever cohort of the Advocacy Advisory Council of staff members across our programs: Benice Mach, Caroline Scown, Tommy Lee, Jeff Lau, Genesis Calderon, and Anna Chen. Members worked closely with the Policy team in advocacy efforts including speaking at rallies, joining coalition meetings, and traveling up to Albany to meet with legislators.  

CPC weighed in on emerging issues that directly impact our communities 

CPC staff and community members showed up in full force this past year to numerous rallies and press conferences ranging from having living wages for human services and home care workers, redistricting, having a progressive tax structure, and fully funding a just and care budget. In addition, we have released statements and given comments regarding the budgets on the City and State level as well as the rise in anti-Asian hate crimes. 

CPC hosted 4th annual State Advocacy Day

In February, CPC held our 4th Annual State Advocacy Days. CPC staff and community members met with over 60 New York State legislators to discuss how CPC has been supporting our communities during COVID-19, why it is critical that we fund our programs and staff, and how we need guaranteed healthcare, housing relief, an AAPI Equity Budget, and more for a just recovery. 

CPC hosted our City Advocacy Day rally in person for the first time in over two years! 

In April, CPC held its 5th Annual City Advocacy Day, meeting with Council Members and their staff, and rallying at City Hall with over 400 staff and community members in attendance. CPC staff and community members  discussed how human service workers deserve a living wage, how we need to invest in AAPI’s long term healing and recovery, as well as investments into our immigrant communities through adult literacy programs. 

CPC created the Our Lives, Our Power poster 

The Policy team collaborated with the Center for Urban Pedagogy and designers Shelby Rashap, Maria Useche, and Pamela Wang to create the Our Lives, Our Power guide that breaks down the different levels of government and the ways that community members can take action to influence governmental decisions.

CPC staff rallied at City Hall to ensure that human service workers are paid a living wage 

As part of the Just Pay coalition, CPC staff showed up to City Hall to ensure that there are deep investments made to a sector that has been historically underfunded by government contracts despite the crucial services provided. In addition, we demanded that there be an establishment of a cost of living adjustment and a wage floor of not less than $21/hour on all human service contracts. 

CPC continued to advocate for home care workers 

CPC attended rallies, testified at hearings,and published op-eds to ensure not only that home care workers are paid a living wage but also that 24-hour shifts are replaced with 12-hour split shifts. New York’s seniors and people with disabilities need quality care and that starts with the State’s Medicaid investment in the workforce.  

CPC celebrated the passage of the Our City, Our Vote legislation

As part of the Our City, Our Vote coalition, we were thrilled to see the passage of this bill that would allow 800,000 non-citizens to vote in New York City’s municipal elections. Many of our immigrant community members have expressed the importance of including their voices in the decision making process. While this bill is navigating the legal system, CPC will continue to fight for our immigrant community members and their right to participate in our democratic process.   

CPC released the COVID-19 Community Health Resources and Needs Assessment (CHRNA) Report 

CPC partnered with the Coalition for Asian American Children + Families (CACF) and NYU Center for the Study of Asian American Health (CSAAH) to create and administer a survey that gauges the experiences of AAPI communities during the COVID-19 pandemic. We received a total of 1,000 responses all across the metropolitan area and were able to share our findings in the CHRNA report. 

CPC held a speaker series for staff and community members 

The Policy team invited speakers from our partner organizations and campaigns to speak on the issues that are directly impacting our staff and community members. Topics included community schools, housing, transit access, and civic engagement.

CPC staff and community members showed up in great numbers to the City’s Executive Budget hearing 

With the Mayor’s proposed cuts to critical sectors such as social services and education, our staff and community members testified before the City Council’s Finance Committee to discuss the need to fully fund programs in the FY23 budget. Through advocacy efforts, we were able to expand the AAPI Community Support Initiative, double the Adult literacy budget, and secure a $10 million investment in the Care for All Families campaign that ensures that all children including undocumented children have access to the care that they deserve.