Working to develop Plan Omaha to end poverty,

OMAHA — Two Omaha meetings are scheduled for Oct. 1 and Oct. 3 to gather public input for the city to develop an action plan to combat poverty.

North Omaha State Sen. Terrell McKinney. (Zach Wendling/Nebraska Examiner)

One result of what Nebraska’s two largest cities need is a plan like this law passed The Nebraska Legislature passed the bill earlier this year. The goal of the legislation introduced by North Omaha State Sen. Terrell McKinney is to better understand and address poverty and ultimately improve the economic well-being of poor families across the state.

Omaha’s program is coordinated by the Nebraska Justice Research Center at the University of Nebraska at Omaha and the City of Omaha’s Department of Human Rights and Relations.

They are hosting public engagement sessions to understand Omahan people’s perspectives on the causes of poverty and come up with solutions to eradicate it.

In addition to community engagement, key components of the plan include needs assessments, data analysis, education and job training, affordable housing and health care services.

The plan, due to be submitted to the Legislature in mid-2025, includes strategies to use federal, state and local incentives to help affected areas reduce poverty.

While a proposal for Nebraska cities to develop five-year anti-poverty plans received mostly support at a legislative hearing in January, some opponents worried the plans would be costly for small towns. The bill does not come with any funding allocations.

McKinney said lawmakers ultimately narrowed the mandate to apply only to Omaha and Lincoln.

Lincoln officials say they will submit the Lincoln Plan to the Legislature by July. They have not yet scheduled a community input meeting.

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