Thrive Livingston: Livingston County's Rural Anti-Poverty Plan
Livingston County, New York
Ian Coyle, ICMA-CM, County Administrator
In 2017, Livingston County, New York, created Thrive Livingston, a plan to develop an anti-poverty strategy focused on combating social, cultural, economic, and environmental challenges facing residents of this rural community. The plan is built on six pillars: (1) benchmarking to establish a foundation for future phases of the plan; (2) addressing the need for affordable housing; (3) building a solid employment base through job creation and training; (4) reducing transportation barriers; (5) creating long-term, sustainable economic development; and (6) considering the impact of poverty on quality of life.
The county has implemented the plan in phases, and these are the Phase I initiatives that have been complete for more than 13 months:
Benchmarking: A poverty profile and gap analysis was created in 2016, and updated in 2020, to reflect the impact of COVID-19. The analysis considers the dynamics of poverty and identifies community needs.
Housing: The Livingston County Land Bank Corporation was founded in 2017 to support community development by facilitating the return of vacant, abandoned, underutilized, and tax-delinquent properties to productive use. A countywide housing needs assessment in 2019 identified key priorities, including increasing the number of affordable single-family homes and rental housing. An early project win was the opening of a housing development for special needs populations.
Jobs and Job Training: The Livingston County PIT (Path-way Into Trades) Crew is an interdepartmental collaboration that provides public assistance recipients with the opportunity to learn construction-related job skills by working on public works projects. The PIT Crew was critical in the redevelopment of the county’s Al Lorenz Park by developing a new trail system along with the accompanying park benches, trail head kiosks, and new bridges, as well as installing playground equipment. Crew members were able to learn general carpentry skills along with the operation of heavy equipment.
Transportation: Ride Livingston, an online clearinghouse of public transportation options, has a specific emphasis on transportation services for special needs individuals and underrepresented populations. The county also operates a driver’s license support program that helps low-income residents obtain a valid driver’s license.
Youth and Education: Ten microgrants have been awarded to student-led groups for the purpose of stimulating community service projects in the county, including collecting and donating supplies to needy families and forming an Earth Day Club at a local high school.
Quality of Life: Services include a senior nutrition pro-gram that reduces food insecurity by providing cost-free meals (41,781 meals in 2020); an expanded in-home services program that provides personal care to seniors (6,091 hours in 2020); a water supply study listing actions to ensure appropriate public water drinking supply; a county jail inmate re-entry program; and improvements that increased the visitation and use of the county park.
The county learned many lessons throughout the implementation of Thrive Livingston:
- Revisit and Reflect: The county uses insights to recalibrate the living document and better align future decisions about strategic investment in programs and projects that reduce poverty.
- Measure Performance: The county is developing performance measures that will allow for continuous monitoring and reporting, increased efficiencies, and sustainability.
- Collaborate: Implementation has been possible because of the relationships cultivated among government leaders and community partners.
- Lead by Example: Just as the county has learned from the accomplishments of other anti-poverty initiatives, Thrive Livingston can serve as a model for other counties.
Thrive Livingston has been successful because of dedicated county leaders who have responded to community needs, developed creative solutions to the challenges posed by poverty, and promoted social cohesion and better integration of disadvantaged and underrepresented populations for the benefit of the entire community.
