On Thursday, Feb. 13, V.I. Department of Human Services Commissioner Kimberley Causey-Gomez participated in an event and panel discussion hosted by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York titled “Youth Poverty in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands: Updates and Policy Recommendations.”
The purpose of the event was to bring a variety of leaders together from the non-profit, community development and health sectors to discuss the national impacts of child poverty on health, its economic costs and options to reduce child poverty.
“It was an honor to be invited by The Federal Reserve Bank of New York to participate in this important discussion with esteemed colleagues,” said Commissioner Causey-Gomez. “It is critically important to not only address and discuss the issue of youth poverty, but to also dissect policies that impact this issue and re-imagine new pathways forward. To fail to do this is to fail our respective territories and the United States of America.”
The event was open to the public and held at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York in New York City. Other leaders came from across the non-profit, community development and health sectors. They included: Claas Ehlers, CEO of Family Promise; María Enchautegui, research director of Instituto del Desarrollo de la Juventud; and Dr. Irwin Redlener, clinical professor of Health Policy and Management and Pediatrics at Columbia University. Félix V. Matos Rodríguez, chancellor of the City University of New York, moderated the discussion.
