WASHINGTON — Two Western New York women were at the White House on Thursday for a series on creating opportunities for people in their communities.
Buffalo councilwoman-elect Zeneta Everhart and WNY Women's Foundation CEO Sheri Scavone are representing the Western New York area at the Communities in Action: Building a Better New York.
The event brings together local elected officials and community leaders who are trying to help their communities create opportunities. That includes East Buffalo.
Everhart joined 2 On Your Side's Claudine Ewing to talk more about the key issues she brought forward.
"There are East Sides of Buffalo all across America. We need a Black American plan," she said.
Child care was a focus for Scavone.
Scavone said she wants to see affordable, accessible child care that would be equal to universal child care. She says there isn't enough childcare for women to be able to work or for families to be able to provide, and that our economy can't afford not to do universal child care.
The White House event brought together leaders who are trying to help their communities create opportunities.
"We have billions of dollars on the table, from an economy standpoint, because we don't have enough childcare to allow women, in particular, to work and to allow that return on investment, which is estimated to be somewhere up around 18%," Scavone said.
"We have a tremendous number of families who need two incomes and yet, you know, they can't have a safe, affordable accessible place developmentally appropriate for their child to be while they work."
Her plan was to deliver a strong point on the impact of federal policy and stimulus dollars on childcare for working women.