State lawmakers from the Rochester area have announced a $750,000 investment for the Rochester-Monroe Anti-Poverty Initiative (RMAPI). They say the state funding will help the organization expand its operations and implement steps that will lift people out of poverty.

"Bringing those voices together to really ask the question and analyze 'how do we address poverty? What are the root causes of poverty here? And how do we make a dent in poverty?' " said Assemblyman Harry Bronson (D-138).

Bronson says RMAPI has long pushed for minimum wage increases and challenged the community to raise wages to $15 per hour in 2021. More than 110 employers made a commitment to wage increases through RMAPI's Level Up Champions initiative. According to Bronson's office, that led to more than 12,000 people being paid $15 per hour or more in the years before the state's minimum wage increase went into effect.

RMAPI also advocated for raising the state minimum wage to $15 per hour and brought support to the Clean Slate Act last year, which was signed into law, Bronson's office says. This year, RMAPI has focused on housing, mental health services, childcare and increasing opportunities for marginalized people to enter the workforce.

RMAPI was founded in 2015 as a coalition of people and organizations working together to address the root causes of poverty in Rochester.