Nonprofits on the U.S. Supreme Court decision blocking citizenship question

Six nonprofits are getting some free consulting help from Community Resource Exchange. The organizations will each receive three months of consulting help that aims to aid them in better meeting their respective missions, according to a June 27 press release. The winners, which were selected from 28 applicants, are: the Academy of Medical and Public Health Services, Center for Law and Social Justice, Custom Collaborative, The Feminist Press, Friends of Wheels, and Made in Brownsville.

A July 1 virtual town hall will discuss the film series “When They See Us.” The event, hosted by The Gathering for Justice, will include a discussion of how the Netflix miniseries highlights injustices in the criminal justice system as well as what can be done now to further reform efforts. Moderating the discussion will be Carmen Perez, president and CEO of The Gathering for Justice, Women’s March co-founder Tamika Mallory, New York City Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, former Raise the Age New York Campaign Manager Angelo Pinto, and Hillary Blout, founder and executive director of the Sentence Review Project.

Joining them will be Korey Wise, one of the five men featured in the series who were convicted in the early 1990s of attacking and raping a woman in Central Park when the men were teenagers. The men have all said that police coerced them to implicate each other in the crime. Another man was later found to have committed the crime and the Central Park Five were later awarded a $41 million settlement from New York City.

The virtual town hall takes place on Monday, July 1 at 8 p.m. It can be viewed online here.

Amida Care is getting some attention for its special needs health plan. The newspaper Metro wrote about the nonprofit’s work providing health services tailored to New York Medicaid recipients who are HIV positive or transgender. Amida Care has grown to serve about 7,500 people since its founding in 2003, making it the largest special needs plan in New York. Read more here.

If you're marching this Sunday, be sure to pick up a copy of @metronewyork's special #PRIDE edition where you can read about how we're working to End the HIV Epidemic and advance #LGBTQ equity in NYC: https://t.co/EF2LWpSODI

— Amida Care (@AmidaCareNY) June 27, 2019

City Harvest collected 94,846 pounds of food from the 65th annual Summer Fancy Food Show. The event, which took place June 23-25 in Manhattan, featured more than 2,600 exhibitors, according to a June 27 press release. The rescued food – including imported Italian cheeses, artisanal pasta sauces and organic yogurt – went to ongoing food programs at 14 different organizations throughout New York City, including The Met Council, Kehilat Sephardim, Open Door Outreach Ministries, Children of the Light Ministry, Project Hope Charities and West Side Campaign Against Hunger.

Nonprofits have lots to say about the U.S. Supreme Court decision on the 2020 census. The court ruled on June 27 that the Trump administration had improperly added a citizenship question to the 2020 census. However, the decision left open the possibility that the administration could still add the question, which opponents say would decrease participation by immigrants. The decennial count of the national population determines congressional representation and billions in federal funding.

HUGE NEWS! SCOTUS blocks citizenship question from being added to the #2020Census for now. The case was sent back to lower court, says stated reasons for it was “contrived. Now we start working to ensure everyone, regardless of status, is counted. #WeCount https://t.co/jFhX2cRF0f

— Hispanic Federation (@HispanicFed) June 27, 2019

“We are extremely heartened by the Supreme Court’s decision to minimally delay, if not disallow a citizenship question on the 2020 Census form,” Community Resource Exchange wrote in a statement. “But this debate is far from over. We’re already at serious risk of a 2020 undercount due to the late start in funding outreach efforts, and apprehension around online submissions. Inclusion of a citizenship question would have instilled further fear in people and lead to a woeful undercount in geographies across the United States, particularly in those with diverse immigrant populations such as New York City.”

“While we applaud the Supreme Court’s decision, it does leave open the possibility that the question could still be included if the lower courts are able to resolve the justification question that the justices raised,” Jennifer Jones Austin, CEO and executive director of the Federation of Protestant Welfare Agencies, said in a statement. “The message is clear: as advocates for the rights of all New Yorkers we know that we must remain vigilant to ensure that all New Yorkers will participate in the census. FPWA will be joining with other partners throughout the city to empower low-income and immigrant New Yorkers to be counted and affirm their rights. By standing together as New Yorkers, we all will be counted.”

“Today’s Supreme Court decision to block the citizenship question and send the case back to the lower courts is a victory for immigrants, communities of color, and our democracy,” said Steven Choi, executive director of the New York Immigration Coalition. “We have always known that the Trump administration’s inclusion of the question was designed to deny immigrant rich states access to our fair share of federal funding and political power. But the fight is not over, which is why we’ll continue to fight this administration's attacks on our immigrant communities in the courts, in the legislature, and in the streets.”