NEW REPORT BY THE OPPORTUNITY AGENDA SHOWS AMERICANS ARE CONCERNED ABOUT HUMAN RIGHTS AT HOME

New York, NY, December 10th – Today, International Human Rights Day, The Opportunity Agenda will release a new national poll that reveals that many Americans see human rights as crucial to American values and they worry that our national policies and practices are not living up to those principles.

According to the survey eighty percent of Americans agree that “every person has basic rights regardless of whether their government recognizes those rights or not.”  Eight in ten Americans also believe that “we should strive to uphold human rights in the U.S. because there are people being denied their human rights in our country.”  And three-quarters want the U.S. to focus on making regular progress on human rights. Only two in ten said the U.S. should move “slowly” or allow human rights solutions to “evolve naturally."

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NEW REPORT:  New York State Health Care System Violates Human and Civil Rights Laws

NEW YORK – November 28, 2006.  A report released today by The Opportunity Agenda found that the inequitable distribution of health care services across New York communities violated state, federal, and international laws protecting residents’ right to health care.  The report, Dangerous and Unlawful:  Why Our Health Care System is Failing New York Communities and How to Fix It, also noted that many neighborhoods with the highest health care needs, which are disproportionately low-income and communities of color, often have the fewest health care resources.

Prompted by the release of the recommendations of the New York State Commission on Health Care Facilities in the 21st Century – commonly known as the Berger Commission or the Hospital Closing Commission – the report notes that any further cuts to services in underserved communities exacerbating these conditions would constitute new and independent violations of the law.  Read More>>

NEW POLL: 77% of New Yorkers AGREE Hospital Closures would be BAD for New York’s Health Care System

Findings indicate public opinion is at odds with likely recommendations of Berger Commission, to be announced next week.

NEW YORK - November 20, 2006.  On November 28th, New York’s Commission on Health Care Facilities in the 21st Century will release recommendations for which hospitals and nursing homes to be closed or consolidated throughout the state.  However, a representative statewide survey commissioned by The Opportunity Agenda and Harvard University shows that a substantial majority of New Yorkers (77%) believe that hospital closures in New York would be a bad thing for the health of New York residents and the state’s health care system.
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Wealth Building Impeded Due to High Cost Lending 
Washington, DC- April 17, 2006 – Homeownership and Wealth Building Impeded: Continuing Lending Disparities for Minorities and Emerging Obstacles for Middle-Income and Female Borrowers of all Races, a joint study conducted by the National Community Reinvestment Coalition (NCRC), The Opportunity Agenda and the Poverty & Race Research Action Council (PRRAC), reveal that home loan lending inequities transcend not only, racial and gender lines, but the ethnic make-up of neighborhoods as well.  Read Full Release>>