Upper Manhattan Early
Childhood Connect
At Upper Manhattan Early Childhood Connect (UMECC), our mission is to support families with children 0-5 who live in Upper Manhattan neighborhoods. We provide the knowledge, resources, and self-agency needed to promote lifelong path of health and well-being.
UMECC is a multi-sector collective impact initiative guided by the voices of caregivers with lived experience and organizations with a long-standing history of serving our community. New York-Presbyterian Hospital, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, and Literacy in Community are the foundation of UMECC.
Our
Approach
The work of UMECC is guided through caregivers' perspectives and experiences, and agencies and organizations centered in early childhood.
In seeking to understand our communities’ needs and barriers, and identify solutions that improve community health, we held conversations with caregivers, service providers, and community-based organizations.
These efforts identified Early Intervention (EI) (30.4%), childcare (22.3%), and food insecurity (13.5%) as the top three areas in Upper Manhattan needing support. We shared survey findings with our CBO and Caregiver Advisory Groups, and these messages resonated with all stakeholders.