Empowering Women

Albany, NY 12247

The Honorable Serino

188 State Street, Legislative Office Building
RM 613
Albany, NY 12247

Dear Senator Serino:

As a state’s constituent, I am writing to ask for your support for increased funding of the
education programs for women on mental health and empowerment offered in New York.
Currently, there are movements but no identified government agency that is supporting
this cause. State assistance is essential in expanding these services and helping more and
more of our women residents. Last year alone, 15.3% of women between the ages of 18-
64 living in New York were living in poverty. Poverty for women is directly related to
lack of education or empowerment of these women. As a result of our services, 5% of
those seeking better employment gained a higher paying job, 3% of women we served
found employment, and 10% received a high school diploma or equivalent. In addition,
15% improved their parenting and mental health status (reported by participants), 5%
gained computer skills to obtain better employment, and 1% opened their own
businesses.

But there’s much more work to be done. Our vision is that women will realize their full
social economic potential in families and communities which respect women dignity.
Through, women will realize and taking steps to improve and educate themselves,
poverty will reduce, their families and children will be healthier, and need less mental
health attention.

For our state and this nation to thrive and have a healthier younger generation, we need to
help women to develop their capabilities, mental health status, and obtain higher paying
work they can do.

In New York, depression and mental health is high, with one in five New Yorkers,
suffering from a depression or mental illness. Although, we do not have statistics on how
many of those are women, many are. The ADAA website reports “From the time a girl
reaches puberty until about the age of 50, she is twice as likely to have an anxiety
disorder as a man. Anxiety disorders also occur earlier in women than in men.”. Reducing
stress and increasing self-care in our mothers, caretakers, wives, will have a direct impact
on the children, community, and others in the lives of women for the better.

Empowering Women is more than just agency to educate, even though this is a priority, it
is a place that women to gather to obtain skills on parenting, money issues, mental health,
better employment, trainings, and how to care for themselves, as well as others.
 Empowering Women
Albany, NY 12247

Of course, educating the people of women’s greater resource needs takes more than just
volunteers. State funding for women’s’ programs will help develop one of America’s
greatest resource – its caretakers.

If you would like more information or have any questions, please don’t hesitate to have
your staff contact me at 317-474-7758.

Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,

Katharine A Foddrill
CEO and Founder of Empowering Women
Human Service Worker