U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand met with a number of Bronx clergy leaders and local lawmakers last week to promote legislation she’s sponsoring to reduce the number of unemployed young people in urban areas.

The Urban Job Acts of 2011 would funnel money to both national and local nonprofit organizations that work with young minorities, according to a press release. The funding would be used for educational, job readiness and social service programs that specifically target at-risk city populations, like high school dropouts or those involved with the criminal justice system.

“This program would give city organizations the tools and resources they need to help our youth prepare for future jobs, find employment opportunities, and reach their full potential,” Gillibrand said. “The skills they would acquire through this program are invaluable. Helping our youth compete in this difficult economy will have a lasting, positive impact on our community.”

Gillibrand sponsored a “roundtable” discussion with Bronx Assemblyman Carl Heastie and local Bronx faith leaders two weeks ago at Bronx Christian Fellowship Church, in Williamsbridge (she made similar stops in Harlem and Queens).

“These are the types of initiatives that we support as we look to create both preventive as well as intervention solutions for Bronxites,” Tim and Que English, senior pastors at the Bronx Christian Fellowship Church, said jointly in a statement. “We believe that implementing solutions from both perspectives will reduce the alarming school-to-prison pipeline statistics and offer hope where it appears to be absent.”

According to Census data, over 20 percent of Bronx residents between the ages of 20 and 24 are unemployed.
Gillibrand’s Bronx visit comes just a week after Mayor Bloomberg launched a “Young Men Initiative,” which aims to address social and economic disparities faced by young black and Latino men.