Date: Friday, October 23, 2026 | Time: 12:00 – 1:00 p.m. (Doors Open at 11:45 a.m.)
Registration & Location: In-Person & Zoom. Registration: Free and Open to Everyone.
This FOCUS Forum was held in-person at One Group, with the option of virtual participation via Zoom.
Registration was required to attend in person. One Group Insurance: 706 N Clinton St, Syracuse, NY 13204
FOCUS Forums are always free and open to everyone, because we believe civic conversations shouldn’t come with a price tag! Forums like this are made possible by generous sponsors and community donors. If you’d like to be a part of that, a gift of $10 helps us keep the doors open! Make your optional $10 donation today!
Topic: The October FOCUS Forum was the first in a three-part fall series on Economic Instability in Onondaga County. Participants do not need to commit to all three. FOCUS Greater Syracuse, Inc. opened its Fall 2026 FOCUS Forum series on economic instability with a conversation about how Onondaga County arrived at where it is today, and where its opportunities are now. Robert Searing, Curator of History at the Onondaga Historical Association (OHA), walked attendees through the local story, from the manufacturing economy of the 1950s and 1960s to the civil rights work of CORE and its 1964 Project 101 study, which named housing, employment, and education as connected issues. He spoke about the impact of the 15th Ward, restrictive covenants, and redlining, and reminded the room that many of these policies were still in place within living memory. Frank Ridzi, Vice President of Community Investment at the Central New York Community Foundation, shared data and local insights on how geography, housing age, lead exposure, and job pathways shape families’ financial stability. He highlighted the opportunity created by the Micron project, workforce housing investment, Say Yes to Education, and $65 million in CHIPS Act funding directed toward local workforce preparation. Audience questions explored the role of tax agreements, how to encourage local ownership of housing, code enforcement, and how to make sure the people who live here benefit from new investment. Both speakers pointed to one clear lesson from history: the region makes its biggest strides when government, philanthropy, employers, universities, and labor work together.
Language Access: FOCUS Forums are presented in English. Zoom provides optional, automated live captions and translation features that participants may choose to enable. These tools are generated by Zoom and are not professionally interpreted.
How We Built This Conversation: The topic of “poverty” was requested by a community member. This forum was shaped and informed by data from the CNY Vitals Life Needs Assessment, which tracks the issues impacting Central New York most. Have a topic you’d like to see at a future FOCUS Forum? Suggest a topic or panelist here.
Agenda:
11:45 – Doors Open
12:00 – Welcome
12:05 – Panelist Presentations (#2 panelists, 12 minutes each)
12:30 – Moderated Q&A
12:55 – Closing Remarks
Panelists:
Frank M. Ridzi, PHD, Vice President of Community Investment, Central New York Community Foundation
Supporting Research: The research report below is from the CNY Community Foundation and examines why addressing financial hardship in our community requires looking beyond broad statistics. Using neighborhood-level data from across Syracuse, researchers Frank Ridzi and Jamison Crawford show that two blocks with the same poverty rate can have entirely different needs, and that real solutions have to match the reality on the ground. It’s a compelling case for the kind of holistic, community-centered thinking we’ll be exploring together this fall.
Robert J. Searing M.A, M.Phil., Curator of History, Onondaga Historical Association