CITY OF WATERTOWN, NEW YORK

ROOM 302, WATERTOWN CITY HALL

245 WASHINGTON STREET
WATERTOWN, NEW YORK 13601
315-785-7720

PRESS RELEASE
June 26, 2017

For Immediate Release

Contact: Mayors Office

MAYOR JOSEPH M. BUTLER, JR. AND

UNITED WAY OF NORTHERN NEW YORK
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR BOB GORMAN
ANNOUNCE REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS TO FUND PROJECTS

Today, the City of Watertown issued a Request for Proposals to fund projects that will
help reduce poverty in the City.
The request comes near the culmination of Phase I of the Empire State Poverty
Reduction Initiative (ESPRI) which provides the City in excess of $800,000 to spend on
projects. The 16-city initiative was announced last year by Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
Mayor Joseph M. Butler, Jr. selected the United Way of NNY to administer the grant.
The United Way in turn hired Peter Schmitt as its ESPRI director.
The projects were approved by an 80-member task force that spent the past six months
studying ways to reduce poverty in Watertown.
 Projects that will be funded are:
Bridges out of Poverty, which will train mentors regarding the effects of poverty,
and fund Getting Ahead, a 16-week course for people in poverty to teach them how
to help themselves to a better future.
Wheels to Work, which will provide vehicles to residents who have jobs, but lack
personal transportation.
Pathway to Home Ownership, which will refurbish six to eight homes that could
eventually be owned by people who have a job but cant afford a mortgage.
Employee Resource Network, which will help train employers how to keep employees
who have trouble doing their jobs due to the poverty and chaos in their lives.

Information about how the ESPRI process was conducted can be found on the Watertown
ESPRI website at http://espri.unitedway-nny.org/
The RFP form is available at http://espri.unitedway-nny.org/rfp-program
The RFP committee will review the RFPs and submit them to the Task Force for final
approval.
For additional information, please contact Bob Gorman at the United Way at 315-788-
5631.