NYer Of The Week: Organizer Helps Needy Locals Apply For City Resources
To view our videos, you need to:
1. Enable JavaScript. Learn how.
2. Install Adobe Flash. Install now.
Then come back here and refresh the page.
The latest New Yorker of the Week is giving low income and unemployed New Yorkers a chance to get ahead by bringing resources right to their communities. NY1's John Schiumo filed the following report. Two years ago, Judith Rubenstein was pleased to start her own organization, Connecting to Advantages, which helps connect low income or unemployed residents to the resources they are entitled to but may not know about.
"I am having the time of my life," says Rubenstein. "It's about benefits and money for sure, but it's about empowering people to get the benefits and money."
She started researching government services for low income and unemployed New Yorkers. However, she found it hard to understand all the rules and regulations for applying for food stamps, public housing and Medicare.
So Rubenstein broke it down and created "The Resource Notebook," a user-friendly guide with information sheets that she and her 40 volunteers hand out at food pantries, career fairs and housing developments in Manhattan and Brooklyn.
"I think a lot of people, they get fearful that they need help but they don't know where to turn, and I think a lot of the time if they are armed with that information they'll be more inclined to do something for themselves," says volunteer Debbie Dixon.
This summer, Rubenstein is promoting free summer camps, food stamps for the recently unemployed and free breakfast and lunch programs for kids.
"I want families to have more money more easily so they can pay more attention to their children's schooling, to their children's summer camp, so they can pay more attention to registering to vote, deciding who to vote for," says Rubenstein. "You know, I want a just world."
A couple of months ago, a participant, who asked that she not be identified inquired about food stamps for her family. She now gets almost $400 a month for three people.
"She did it. She went and waited online and said the right things and pulled out our referral letter and feels real good that she got her family more money," says Rubenstein.
So, for empowering New Yorkers to get the help they need, Judith Rubenstein is the latest New Yorker of the Week.
If you'd like to nominate someone to be NY1's New Yorker of the Week, send an email describing their qualifications to: nyer@ny1.com or mail a letter to:
NY1 News
New Yorker of the Week
75 Ninth Avenue, 6th Floor
New York, NY 10011