PROVIDENCE – Mayor David N. Cicilline will formally receive the recommends of the Poverty, Work & Opportunity Task Force at a news conference on Thursday, November 1 at 9 a.m. at Casey Family Services, 1268 Eddy Street in Providence. 

Mayor Cicilline announced the creation of the Poverty, Work & Opportunity Task Force during his Inaugural Address in January 2007, and charged a diverse group of community and business leaders with developing strategies to reduce poverty by creating more opportunities for low-income families to move into the middle class.

Nearly 25% of Providence residents and almost 36% of children in the Capitol City lived in families with incomes below the federal poverty line.

The Task Force conducted extensive research on strategies to reduce poverty and increase economic opportunity for Providence residents.  Over the course of several months drafted a comprehensive report entitled Pathways to Opportunity containing a set of recommendations for the City to consider.  The work was work of the Task Force was facilitated by Rhode Island KIDS COUNT. 

Several members of the 35-member Task Force, community and business leaders, educators and elected officials will be on hand for the news conference.

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