Two Staunch Child Advocates on the Potential of Every Child
Two staunch child advocates, Bruce Lesley of First Focus on Children and Phoebe Boyer of Children’s Aid, talk about the...
About This Episode
Two staunch child advocates, Bruce Lesley of First Focus on Children and Phoebe Boyer of Children’s Aid, talk about the detrimental impact of poverty on children and the crucial role of social safety nets and nonprofit organizations in mitigating this harm. “Every aspect of the life of a child is negatively impacted by poverty. It impacts their health, their education, their early childhood, their nutrition, their housing situation, and also abuse and neglect,” Lesley states. “I look at every child that comes into our programs as having incredible potential, and there are all these barriers in their way, and our job is to remove those barriers,” says Boyer. Both guests stress that all of us have a role to play in protecting children against proposed changes and cuts to safety net programs that threaten kids’ wellbeing and ability to thrive.Resources and Mentions:
Phoebe Boyer
president and CEO
Phoebe Boyer is president and CEO of Children’s Aid, a nonprofit that provides comprehensive supports to children, youth, and their families in high-needs New York City neighborhoods.
Bruce Lesley
president
Bruce Lesley is president of First Focus on Children, a bipartisan advocacy organization dedicated to making children and families the priority in federal policy and budget decisions, and its partner organization First Focus Campaign for Children.
First Focus Campaign for Children
First Focus Campaign for Children is a bipartisan advocacy organization working to make children the priority in federal policy and budget decisions. With a dozen policy experts in the many areas that affect our nation’s 73 million children, First Focus Campaign for Children and our sister organization First Focus on Children offer thorough, bipartisan, achievable solutions to ensure the well-being of children in the U.S. and around the world.
Children’s Aid
Children's Aid helps children in poverty to succeed and thrive. We do this by providing comprehensive supports to children, youth, and their families in targeted high-needs New York City neighborhoods. They believe all kids have limitless potential. But for those growing up surrounded by poverty, family instability, and physical or emotional stress, life is too often about survival, not possibility. It’s unacceptable that in New York, a city of historic opportunity, so many of our children face serious barriers to realizing their own promise. Children’s Aid is a professional powerhouse of solutions for young people. They are teachers and social workers, coaches and health care providers. They know what it takes to ensure children grow up strong and healthy, and ready to thrive in school and life: excellent education and health care, social-emotional support, and strong, stable families.
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