Count Us Forward

What is your idea?
“Count Us Forward” is a proposed 12-month program supporting veteran street vendors through outreach, trained veteran peer navigators, referrals to services, and civic education. It helps participants find reliable information, connect with available support, and participate in community boards, public hearings, and participatory budgeting, so their voices help shape decisions that affect their livelihoods.
What problem is your idea trying to solve?
Veteran street vendors contribute to neighborhood life and local economies, yet fragmented information, difficulty navigating services, and barriers to civic participation can leave their needs unheard and support out of reach. The program focuses on veteran street vendors, including older adults, people with disabilities, LGBTQIA+ veterans, public housing residents, justice-impacted veterans, and veterans experiencing homelessness. Count Us Forward would address these gaps through a 12-month Bronx program combining direct outreach, trained veteran peer navigators, referrals with follow-up, and accessible civic education workshops. Participants would learn to raise neighborhood concerns, engage with community boards, give public testimony, and participate in participatory budgeting. Veteran vendors would help identify unmet needs and shape program activities. Progress would be measured through people reached, completed referrals, workshops delivered, and participation in civic activities. Privacy-protected, aggregate findings would document service gaps and inform future outreach. By connecting veteran vendors to existing resources and helping them turn lived experience into civic action, the project would strengthen community participation and give them a practical pathway to being heard.
Which group(s) does your idea focus on?
Older Adults (65 +)
Public Housing Residents
Justice Impacted People
People with Disabilities
Veterans
LGBTQIA+ People
Unhoused People

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NYC Civic Engagement Commission (CEC)'s official logo

Count Us Forward

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