We are working to connect people to resources located throughout the Capital District, illumating the work that government, non-profits, businesses, and individuals are doing to reduce or eliminate barriers for solving problems in our community.
Navigating this Community Resource Guide
At the top right you will notice two bars. When you click on them, a drop-down menu will appear, letting you select from different categories. You can also use the search feature below.
Click here to download a printable PDF with some key resources.
Quick Facts About Albany
- Albany is one of the oldest surviving European settlements from the original thirteen colonies and the longest continuously chartered city in the United States.
- The Capital Region of New York offers a temperate climate and many positive quality-of-life features for its nearly 1,300,000 residents.
- About 109,000 people support themselves and their families on incomes below the federal poverty levels.
Connecting: When facing need for the first time, one of the challenges is knowing how and where to find access to resources. The Albany Community Resources Guide (in print and online) seeks to help families find assistance immediately. Not only can local communities use finite program resources more efficiently, but also families’ needs can be matched more effectively. We hope to connect people in new ways to create real and impactful change.
Collaborating: We hope to shift thinking about needs in The Capital Region from a “them” problem to a challenge for us to solve. Dialogue has the promise to build awareness and establish common ground. Conversations through our community engagement activities helps us identify any areas that need to be bolstered and how need-based problems are resolved. This interaction can create venues for discussion about alternative ways to allocate and use public resources. We seek to connect people to service opportunities and invite them into broader community collaboration. Future growth opportunities hinge on finding more collective approaches to social problems in the near term. Although there are many challenges, we are optimistic about our ability to meet them.
Empowerment: Community empowerment means that a community has the resources it needs and the talent required to manage its affairs, to control and influence relevant groups and forces within and outside the community, and to develop leaders and community organizations. Empowerment is has to do with the equal distribution of resources, attention to material, and political empowerment on the societal level.
Albany Community Resource Guide 