Basic Needs

Meeting peoples’ basic needs and reducing poverty through targeted initiatives transform individuals’ lives, moving them from crisis to self-sufficiency. Ensuring basic needs such as food, shelter, and safety is the first step to identifying the complex, long-term issues individuals and families face. Together, we can work to provide basic needs and on collaborative solutions to success. Over 24,000 residents are defined as food insecure, indicating a lack of access to enough food for an active, healthy life. Of those facing food insecurity, 25% do not qualify for SNAP or other public nutrition assistance programs. From 2018 to 2019 in the Southern Tier, there was a 30% increase in individuals facing homelessness overall and an 85% increase of families facing homelessness. New York State has the highest demand for domestic violence services in the country. In Broome County alone, law enforcement responds to 550-600 domestic incidents each month. Disasters are difficult to predict, meaning that it’s imperative that individuals are prepared when they happen and are helped back on their feet. While we work toward providing long-term positive outcomes through the three building blocks of a quality life, covering basic needs is a vital first step on the pathway to success. When needs are unmet and uncertain – if someone is hungry, if they don’t have a place to sleep, if they are in fear for their safety – the other challenges they encounter in life become even more difficult to overcome. Individuals cannot focus on getting a better job, going to school, or taking care of their health without meeting basic needs first.

Feeding America; 2018
Department of Housing and Urban Development; 2019
NYSCADV; 2019