Organizations fight to stop budget cuts

By Tony Fiorello and Darryl Granger
Bengal News Reporters

Dr. Myron Glick speaks to a crowd opposing federal aid cuts

 At a mid-morning rally on Barton Street, the Jericho Road Family Practice, opposing cuts to federal funding of health services and AmeriCorps, is holding a press conference. The crowd of supporters overflowing into the street makes way for an ambulance attempting to reach the practice. Patients of the practice and Myron Glick, founding physician and chief executive officer, are telling their personal success stories and the importance of the practice to a line of cameras.

Dr. Myron Glick addresses supporters about the nation's health care:



  This scene is becoming much more common as the recent federal budget cuts are affecting everything from healthcare providers to military contracts. The West Side is littered with non-profit services that aid members of the community and the budget cuts will have an impact on many of them.
  In a time when the country is largely calling for government cuts and fiscal responsibility, non-profits are often at risk for the chopping block. These cuts could substantially cut programs like the Home Energy Assistance Program, refugee services, and home ownership programs.
  “I think [the cuts] are really hurting the people that need it the most,” said Linda Chiarenza, the executive director for the West Side Neighborhood Housing Services.

Supporters gather outside Jericho Road Family Practice

  The housing services work with low-income families to promote home ownership on the West Side. This organization also accepts money from government programs to support its program.
  “We are meeting with all of our elected officials to let them know how important our programs are,” said Chiarenza.
  By helping lower-income families on the West Side become homeowners, these families will save money in the long run rather than being delegated to a life of renting, says Chiarenza. The possible budget cuts threaten the funds that would be loaned to these families looking to purchase a home.
  “[The groups] are targeted because it is just another place to save money,” said Dr. Keith Henderson, a political science professor at Buffalo State College.
  According to Henderson, the cuts are a sign of the times and both Democrats and Republicans are feeling the pressure to cut services.
  “They’ll get by with less and some of them will go out of business,” said Henderson.
  Henderson said if the program sees a nice recovery from the current recession in this country, there might be more inclination to support these groups. In the meantime, the larger groups will do what they can to lobby officials for their cause.
  One of the largest non-profit organizations in the West Side is the People United for Sustainable Housing. According to the website, its mission is to “mobilize residents to create strong neighborhoods with quality affordable housing, to expand local hiring opportunities and advance economic justice in Buffalo.”
  However, the budget cuts across New York State would restrict the work of PUSH.
  “We’ve been trying hard to get our community development grant money invested in the West Side neighborhoods to rebuild them, and cutting that money would make it near impossible to see our plans come to fruition,” said Sara Gordon, the community organizer for PUSH.
  Western New York AmeriCorps, one of the biggest contributors to non-profit organization in the area, is also in danger of these cuts. AmeriCorps is a federal program that supplies workers for many of the local non-profits including Jericho Road Ministries, which provides patient-centered medical services to families throughout the West Side.
  “We are a federal program that assists with disaster relief and poverty education, and our parent organization is set to be cut by the government,” said Patrick Metzger, the director of integrated communication at PUSH.
  These situations beg the question: If these programs are cut, what next?
  “We fight like hell,” said Metzger.

Edited by Max Borsuk and Becky Ebert