Family-to-Family

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Located just north of New York City’s borough of the Bronx,  Mount Vernon is the poorest city in mostly well-off Westchester County.  2022 Census data shows that:

  • 24.1% of Mount Vernon households have an annual income below $35,000.
  • The population is 62% African American and 18% Hispanic or Latino
  • Mount Vernon is home to 2,069 U.S. veterans.

Census data shows that of those 2,069 vets, at least 2,032 of them live at or below the federal poverty level.

Family-to-Family partners with the Mount Vernon Veterans Service Agency in order to provide struggling veterans with a reliable, monthly grocery supplement. Our contact there is Andrea Molina, who works with the vets day in and day out, and recommends those with the most need to our program.

In addition to veterans, we sponsor Gold Star Mothers living in poverty in Mount Vernon as well – mothers whose son or daughter was killed in action.

To read more about sponsoring a veteran in need, click here.

 

Data Source: 2022 American Community Survey, U.S. Census Dept.

As went American industry in the 1970s and 80s, so went Braddock, Pennsylvania. As with so much of the “Rust Belt,” the town of 2,100 in the eastern suburbs of Pittsburgh has seen jobs largely dry up, and despite the spirited and sustained efforts of local workers to revitalize the local economy, its population remains a fraction of its peak in the early 20th century. Poverty today is rampant. 

  • 23.9% of households have an annual income of under $15,000
  • 64.6% are unemployed
  • 50.9% of children under 18 live in poverty

Poverty in Braddock reaches across racial and ethnic boundaries, affecting the town’s African American, Caucasian, Latino and mixed residents. In particular, children in Braddock experience poverty — around 50% of kids there live in poverty, almost triple the statewide average. 

Our community partner in Braddock is the nonprofit For Good PGH, an organization whose programs stress inclusivity in order to “create positive experiences for underserved populations” in greater Pittsburgh. Their convictions that “giving is much easier than we realize” and that “the impact is profound” are ones that Family-to-Family shares. We are proud to support their work.

Community Partner:

Kristen Michaels
For Good PGH
910 Braddock Avenue
Braddock, PA 15104

 

 

Data Sources:
2022 U.S. Census Bureau

Named for the Catholic patron saint of soldiers, the city of San Elizario lies on the banks of the Rio Grande in far western Texas, directly on the Mexican border. It’s an old town — first visited in 1598 by Spanish explorers, and permanently settled since 1789. The town changed hands often throughout its history — first belonging to colonial Spain, then Mexico, and finally an American town in 1848.

Its border town status shows in the town’s demographics. Roughly 35% of residents are foreign born, and over 98% identify as Latino. San Elizario experiences poverty at a startling rate: 

  • 37.1% of residents make under $35,000 a year
  • 43.2% of residents under 18 are living in poverty
  • 65.7% of residents over 25 do not have a high school diploma

Our community partner organization in San Elizario is Familias Triunfadoras, Inc. a women-led nonprofit founded in 2006 by a group of local community activists aiming to improve quality of life along the US/Texas border. Their mission is to empower women and families in this underserved region through programs emphasizing family strengthening, community unity, asset building, community development and economic self-sufficiency. 

Community Contact
Maria Ortiz
Familias Triunfadoras
PO Box 1352
San Elizario, TX 79849

Yes, I’d like to sponsor a family!

Data Sources:

U.S. 2022 Census Bureau
https://datausa.io/profile/geo/san-elizario-tx#about

Nestled amidst the largest metropolitan area in the U.S., Jersey City is one of the country’s most densely populated cities. A port city located on the Hudson River and New York Bay just across from Manhattan, it’s a landing place for a steady stream of immigrants, including significant communities from Asia, Latin America and the Middle East. Many of these immigrants struggle to find housing and employment, and the city’s poverty levels are well above the national average.

According to the Census Bureau’s 2022 American Community Survey on Jersey City:

  • 21% of residents make under $35,000 annually
  • 15.4% of children under 18 live in poverty

Family-to-Family works with the immigrant aid organization Church World Service (CWS) in Jersey City, with CWS recommending refugee families in need to our refugee sponsorship program. The organization focuses on welcoming refugees and asylees to northern New Jersey and enabling them to become self-sufficient members of the community. Last year CWS Jersey City served more than 200 refugees and asylees with everything from home and community orientation, application assistance for public benefits and healthcare, job preparation, job placement, and basic needs support.

Jersey City refugee families sponsored through Family-to-Family receive a monthly grocery store gift card to a store near their home.

Community Contact:
Courtney Madsen
 Church World Service
26 Journal Square, Suite 600
Jersey City, N.J. 07036

Yes, I’d like to sponsor a refugee family!

Located on the shores of the Long Island Sound in New York’s Westchester County is the picturesque town of Mamaroneck. Typified by historic buildings and grassy lawns (the town’s Winged Foot Golf Course hosted the U.S. Open in 2020), it’s not a place one would expect to find poverty or food insecurity. Mamaroneck’s median household income is close to $100,000. 

But in spite of the prosperity experienced by most in the village, a significant number of families struggle against high costs of living — the median apartment rent is over $2,700 per month — and low wages. These issues pose tremendous challenges for the 8.1% of residents living below the poverty line, many of whom are recent immigrants from Latin America.

Our community partner on the ground is the Washingtonville Housing Alliance, a nonprofit that works to provide affordable housing to low income families and individuals within Mamaroneck and the surrounding area. To date, they have constructed or rehabilitated 115 apartments for those in need. Mamaroneck families sponsored through our program receive monthly grocery store gift cards, distributed by Bertha Gallo at Washington Housing Alliance.

Community Partner:
Bertha Gallo
Washingtonville Housing Alliance
136 Library Lane
Mamaroneck, N.Y. 10543  

Yes, I’d like to sponsor a family!

While the prevailing stereotype of Boston is that of a cluster of tightly-knit, mostly white, working class neighborhoods, the reality is that recent decades have brought a sea change to the city’s racial and economic makeup. Boston is increasingly diverse racially (28% of Bostonians were born outside the U.S., one of the highest rates in the country), while also presenting startling levels of income inequality (it’s the 7th least equal city in the nation by some metrics).

According to the U.S. 2022 Census Bureau:

  • 33.3% are unemployed
  • 25.7% of households have an income of under $35,000

Poverty, and the food insecurity it brings, is most keenly felt by those Bostonians born outside the United States. Almost one in three Asians live in poverty — more than double the rate of white Bostonians. Many of these impoverished recent immigrants are the families we help through our Boston partner organization, Josiah Quincy Elementary School (JQES), located in the downtown section of the city.  

The largest public elementary school in Boston; Josiah Quincy is an inner city school with a diverse student body with special programs for English Language Learners and Students with Multiple Disabilities. Over 83% of the students are considered high needs (current or former English Language Learners, Economically Disadvantaged, or Students with Disabilities). The mission of the school is to prepare students to be contributing global citizens, with an emphasis on international mindedness. 

Through our sponsorship program, economically struggling families recommended by our contact at Josiah Quincy, Ashley Alvarez, receive monthly grocery store gift cards to a local grocery store near their homes.

Community Contact

Ashley Alvarez
Josiah Quincy Elementary School
885 Washington Street
Boston, MA 02111

Data Sources:
U.S. Census Bureau, 2022American Community Survey

Yes, I’d like to sponsor a family!