The Public Good

The Public Good explores the importance of local elections and why youth and community engagement are key to shaping Buffalo’s future.
Guests Fatima Nor, Leighton Jones, and LeMoyne Hill — representing LOLA Buffalo, Our City Buffalo, and Great for Life — share their insights on the urgent need for youth representation, more community centers, and community input on major developments like the proposed police training facility in Broadway-Fillmore.
The discussion also dives into the upcoming Board of Education and mayoral elections, the effort to reopen Buffalo’s City Charter, and calls for accessible meetings, term limits, and stronger civic education to ensure residents have a real voice in local government.
From challenging systemic disinvestment to inspiring youth leadership, this conversation is a powerful reminder that change starts with showing up — and that Buffalo’s next chapter depends on empowering its young people to build a more just, equitable, and community-centered city.
Learn More / Get Involved:
LOLA Buffalo: lolabuffalo.org
Our City Buffalo: ourcitybuffalo.com

Join Tiffany Gaines of the Burchfield Penney Art Center, Heather Gring of Frontline Arts Buffalo, Emma Brittain-Hardy of Locust Street Art, and host Dejia James for a conversation on the importance of arts funding and community engagement in Buffalo, New York. Together, they highlight the critical role that the arts play in strengthening community health, fostering youth development, and contributing to economic stability.
The discussion underscores the urgent need for public investment in the arts, with particular attention to frontline organizations built by and for underserved communities. The guests reflect on the impact of federal budget cuts, the importance of sustaining local arts programs, and the necessity of paying artists fairly for their work.

The Igniting Hope Conference builds on a community-driven health equity action plan and brings together diverse voices to confront health disparities that continue to widen under the current federal administration. Guests Samantha Hidalgo of the Buffalo Center for Health Equity and Chantazia Bronson of UB’s Community Health Equity Research Institute share why this conference is more important than ever in these tumultuous political times.
This year’s gathering is dedicated to shaping a strategic plan for health equity across primary care, healthy foods, housing, workforce development, and education and literacy. The work is urgent, as federal cuts and shifting priorities threaten critical services for Western New Yorkers.
The weekend also includes a Community Day on Friday, September 19th at MLK Park, featuring food trucks and a mobile health unit—a chance for neighbors to connect, celebrate, and access resources.
All events are free and open to the public.
une in to learn how Western New York is standing together to demand equity, build power, and chart a healthier future.
Click here for more info on the conference.

This week on The Public Good, we continue our Buffalo in Transition series with a conversation on supporting new Americans—immigrant and refugee communities who have played a major role in Buffalo’s recent population growth and are essential to the city’s future.

Host Dejia James is joined by Bijoux Bihati of Jewish Family Services, Grace Karambizi of the Buffalo Immigrant Leadership Team (BILT), and Regine Ndanga of Partnership for the Public Good. Together, they explore what it means to build a more inclusive and equitable Buffalo—especially in this moment of historic mayoral transition.

The episode highlights the growing diversity of our city and the importance of recognizing the voices, needs, and leadership of new Americans. We also discuss the urgent need for cross-cultural community solidarity to create lasting solutions and a better future for all Buffalo residents.

Listen now and read the accompanying report, "Building Better Services for New Americans."

What if Buffalo’s vacant lots could become thriving spaces for housing, gardens, and community power?

This week on The Public Good, we’re joined by Tim Chen from Grassroots Gardens of WNY, and Tendaji Ya’Ukuu and Star from Eastside Stewards for a conversation rooted in transformation. Inspired by the Buffalo in Transition series, this episode dives into how we can reimagine the city’s abundance of publicly-owned vacant land—through community-driven planning, a bold Clean and Green program, and policy changes that support neighborhood-led development.

Buffalo Public Schools suspend students for weeks or even months—at rates higher than any other district in New York State. For the second consecutive year, Community Agenda advocates are urging the Buffalo Board of Education to adopt state-recommended reforms on suspensions to reduce this harmful and disproportionate practice.

This week on The Public Good, Quinn Martha of the New York Civil Liberties Union, Judith Gerber of the Legal Aid Bureau of Buffalo, and Samantha White of the WNY Law Center join us to break down the systemic impact of school suspensions, students’ legal rights, and what real alternatives can look like.

Visit the BPS Suspension Dashboard here.

Black women are approximately three times more likely to die from pregnancy-related causes than White women—a stark disparity. In honor of Black Maternal Health awareness, local leaders, healthcare professionals, and advocates come together to shine a light on the urgent and often overlooked intersection between domestic violence and Black maternal health.

This week on The Public Good, LuAnne Brown, CEO, Buffalo Prenatal Perinatal Network (BPPN), Catharine Miles-Kania, CEO, Family Justice Center, and Dr. J'Leise Sosa, OB-GYN join us to discuss improving outcomes through community-based support, domestic violence and Black maternal health and the clinical perspective on treatment and proper care.

While New York State implemented mental health, drug, and opioid courts to handle modern crises, the implementation of these options has remained patchy and ineffective. Members of the Treatment Not Jail (TNJ) Coalition detail the real experience of people suffering from addiction in our legal system. The system as is does not address the root causes of addiction nor consider the best approaches for rehabilitation from substance abuse. This results in years spent toiling through a system with pending charges and little hope.

This week on The Public Good, Tom Culkin and Laura Robinson of the TNJ Coalition join us to provide updates and insight on the Treatment Court Expansion Act for New York State. Tune in to learn about the statewide advocacy to ensure humane, safe, and fair legal processes for people in New York. 

To learn more about our work, visit our website at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ppgbuffalo.org⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Be sure to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠sign up for our newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and follow us on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Share your ideas for improving our community by emailing us at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Whether it's highlighting community organizations you admire, shedding light on deserving initiatives, or providing feedback on our current episode, we welcome your thoughts. Let us know how you envision positive change in our community!

For decades, election cycles have come down to a two-party "lesser of two evils" dynamic of candidate options. The struggle to produce unifying or politically diverse candidates has many feeling unrepresented and ultimately disillusioned with the state of the current voting system. However, some states and municipalities have decided to implement a new form of voting, Ranked Choice Voting (RCV). RCV allows voters to rank candidates in order of preference, which encourages productive political discourse, and requires candidates to win genuine policy support from voters.

This week on The Public Good, Lori Robinson of the League of Women Voters, David Green of Unite NY, and Connor Whitney from the UB Civic Engagement Team join us on behalf of the WNY Ranked Choice Voting Coalition to discuss an alternative voting system. Tune into the discussion to learn more about implementing Ranked Choice Voting in Buffalo and Erie County.

To learn more about our work, visit our website at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ppgbuffalo.org⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Be sure to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠sign up for our newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and follow us on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Share your ideas for improving our community by emailing us at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Whether it's highlighting community organizations you admire, shedding light on deserving initiatives, or providing feedback on our current episode, we welcome your thoughts. Let us know how you envision positive change in our community!

The current instability and rapid changes in the United States federal government have raised unprecedented threats and concerns for nonprofits and community groups in Buffalo Niagara. Policy shifts, funding instability, and legal uncertainty place immense strain on organizations and government agencies that serve people most in need of protection and benefits—workers, BIPOC folks, LGBTQ+ individuals, immigrants, and low-income communities. Hard-won progress toward racial equity and justice is now under attack, with decades of progress being rolled back.

This April, Partnership for the Public Good is launching our 1st annual day-long summit, Advocacy in Action and a virtual workshop series Protecting Our People, Communities, and Organizations: Local Action in a Time of National Crisis. These opportunities offer local residents, aspiring community advocates and organizations a chance to take convene and learn how to fight back and protect necessary services and infrastructure for our communities.

Listen to learn about advocacy and how YOU can get activated in your own community to protect democracy and public services.

To learn more about our work, visit our website at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ppgbuffalo.org⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Be sure to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠sign up for our newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and follow us on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Share your ideas for improving our community by emailing us at ⁠⁠⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠⁠⁠. Whether it's highlighting community organizations you admire, shedding light on deserving initiatives, or providing feedback on our current episode, we welcome your thoughts. Let us know how you envision positive change in our community!