Nearly 300 AHRC NYC advocates joined with fellow disability services organizations and families at this year’s Rally in the Valley at Rockland Community College. New York State Assemblymember, Senators, and the area’s federal representative, Congressman Mike Lawler, heard directly from 3,200 self-advocates, parents, staff members, and leadership in a call to include a 4% targeted inflationary increase (TII) in the upcoming New York State budget and to protect Medicaid funding at the national level.
2026-27 New York State Budget
Governor Hochul included just a 1.7% TII in her budget proposal released in late January. Both houses of the New York State legislature heard our advocacy and included a 4% TII in their one-house budgets. This adjustment sends an important signal that lawmakers recognize the financial pressures facing nonprofit providers and the need to better align state funding with the real cost of delivering services.
Marco Damiani, AHRC NYC CEO, said to the rally crowd, “A 4% investment helps ensure that we can support the workforce and meet the real cost of providing care and opportunities for people we support and their families. And let me state this clearly–supporting people with IDD is a human issue. It’s all about inclusion and building strong communities.”
Legislators and the governor are continuing the negotiate the final budget—make your voice heard today.
Families and Advocates Speak
Cory O. Henkel, First Vice President of the AHRC NYC Board of Directors, said that her daughter Kyra relies on staff members for all of her daily living needs at our Dickson-Goodman Apartments in Harlem.
“Thanks to AHRC New York City, Kyra has something every person needs and wants. A home where she is safe, where she is truly known, where she is cared for. My husband and I can sleep at night because we know that she is surrounded by dedicated professionals who care for her, who support her, and who help her live.”
James Murray and Anne DeMello Murray spoke emotionally and passionately about their son attending Brooklyn Blue Feather Elementary School.
“Our PTO is continually raising funds to support our school. These funds should be used for fun things. But instead of learning, it’s being used to buy paper for schools, filling operational gaps, as well as helping building units. Our parents should not have to pick up where they are failed by state and federal budgets.”
Erick Portes, a student at the Melissa Riggio Higher Education Program at BMCC, said that he has found more than just community and friends at his college program.
“My message is basically saying that we need to support our DSPs because that’s all we have. We don’t think of them as friends or staff members–we think of them as part of our family.”
