Dr. Seanelle Hawkins's remarks at City of Rochester's "Recovering with Equity" event

On Thursday, May 13, Mayor Lovely Warren held a press conference alongside community leaders to celebrate a full year of efforts to help our community recover from the double pandemic of COVID-19 and racial inequity.

Dr. Seanelle Hawkins, President and CEO, provided the following remarks at the in-person event at Frederick Douglass R-Center:

I’d like to thank Mayor Lovely Warren and her team for their commitment to equity and our community’s recovery.

The Urban League is proud to serve as a partner to the City in its efforts to get back to life and create a pathway for recovery and a more equitable Rochester.

The Urban League is focused on creating visibility, access, and resources for entrepreneurs, community health, and homeownership through partnerships, because that is the only way that we are going to do this work is in partnership, not in silos!

Through partnership, the Urban League has been able to award 138 financial grant awards of up to $10,000 to small business owners. Thank you to ESL and Key Bank Business Boost and Build.

Through our partnership with the City of Rochester, the League brings 41 new affordable home ownership opportunities to Rochester. In fact, our Lease to Purchase Home Ownership Project (L2P) is the first of its kind in New York State. We are excited about creating an opportunity to build wealth through home ownership. Tenants can lease the property for the first 15 years, and, at year 16, the tenant will have the option to purchase the unit for the principal interest, which we estimate at $25,000-30,000, a unique and innovative way to build a fast track to owner equity.

Additionally, through our partnership with Trillium Health and WDKX, the Urban League was able to act as an intermediary to schedule appointments and get hundreds of individuals of color prioritized and vaccinated, during a time when it was difficult to navigate the statewide vaccine appointment website. We continue to provide education to help community members get educated about vaccines.

The Urban League also continues to do its work as the civil rights and advocacy organization of Rochester. We are providing tools, training, and education to individuals and organizations to understand how we dismantle and interrupt systemic racism in our city and across the nation.

It will be the investment of resources and our intentions with the shifting of power that will bring our city back and create an equitable recovery.