United Way of Southern Chautauqua County to Lead State Funded Effort to Fight Poverty in Jamestown

JAMESTOWN – The city of Jamestown will be moving forward with its effort to fight poverty, thanks to a recently acquired state grant.

Jamestown Mayor Sam Teresi announced Thursday that he’s designated the United Way of Southern Chautauqua County (UWSCC) as the nonprofit agency to administer the Empire State Poverty Reduction Initiative (ESPRI).

The ESPRI is a $1 million state grant for the design and implementation of ground-breaking initiatives to fight poverty within the city.

Jamestown was one of 16 communities state-wide selected to receive an ESPRI award earlier this year.

Through the grant program, the United Way and city will work together to build a community task force to study poverty factors specific to Jamestown, create a plan to combat those issues, and implement that plan with a variety of community partner organizations.

Of the $1 million ESPRI grant, up to $200,000 is available for the administration of the entire initiative. The balance of the funding will be available to support strategies implemented in Phase Two to reduce poverty in the City of Jamestown.