Video, Audio, Photos & Rush Transcript: Governor Hochul Announces More Than $6 Million Investment to Improve Health Equity Through Choose Healthy Life

VIDEO: The event is available to stream on YouTube here and TV quality video is available here (h.264, mp4).

AUDIO: The Governor's remarks are available in audio form here.

PHOTOS: The Governor's Flickr page will have photos of the event here.

A rush transcript of the Governor's remarks is available below:

I've been called a lot of things, but never mighty, tidy — tiny, or whatever. Tiny — tiny mighty might appear on a t-shirt someday. But boy, what a treasure to be introduced by someone like Deborah. I mean, she is a powerhouse. She's a legend in our time, and I'm so grateful for her voice and her encouragement of me and what I do. And I take inspiration from gatherings like this when I look out and see a room full of people who are so committed to one cause and that as lifting up people, they may never meet themselves, but they're doing God's work here on earth. And each of us is called to do that in our own way.

And I was raised as a social justice Catholic. Now I'm going to have a confession here. We go to confession a lot in the Catholic church. It is not quite the same energy as when I go to Baptist churches. Okay? Because I'm ready to say, let's preach. Hey, church, are you with me? But it's a little different in that respect. But we follow the same gospel that tells us that we must take care of the hungry, the homeless, the incarcerated, the lonely. And so I learned that as a child from parents, who didn't have much themselves. My parents lived in a trailer park next to the steel plant where daddy worked and grandpa worked and his brothers worked, it is what everybody did in Buffalo. Right, Crystal? Yes. Crystal, know this.

And it wasn't a glamorous life. We got our clothes at used clothing stores and would always be taking food to people that needed more because my parents said, “No matter how little we have, there's somebody else who needs more than we have.” Okay, so we were always going into the city of Buffalo and the Jefferson and Fillmore area and the East Side of Buffalo. My mom helped start a center there—

I didn’t know you were here, Bishop. How are you? Stand up, my spiritual pastor here. Bishop Darius Pridgen.

So, I knew what it was like on those streets, not that I had to live it because I didn't have the same racial dynamics here – clearly, I was not being discriminated against because of the color of my skin. But I also saw people struggling in poverty, who are hungry, who needed not just the word of God, but also needed real nourishment. And so, I look at what this organization has done and the leaders of this, and I'll never forget the day. It was June 3, 2022, not long after the mass shooting in Buffalo, a month after the mass shooting, weeks after the mass shooting in Buffalo. And we met in First Corinthian [Baptist] Church in Harlem, and I was called up to talk about this extraordinary idea of creating a synergy between elected officials and their money, as well as faith leaders, who are the most trusted people in a community, your clergy — full stop — more than their politicians. I'll admit that right now. But you are the ones that they listen to. The ones that could say after this pandemic, when people were mistrusting what was going on, there was incredible fear to even go get healthcare because you didn't know if you'd catch a life-threatening disease, that we needed the churches to be the face of an effort to bring healthy lives to others in many ways, whether it's vaccinations or taking care of new moms and their babies and bringing them food and nourishment, countless ways you saw to take care of God's children.

So, I was really proud to announce on that day $3.38 million and everybody went crazy. Oh my God, that's so much money for this program. Then they came back, in the next year and the next year, and so I'm going to tell you that when you have Hazel Dukes — Mama Dukes commend a room with Debra Fraser-Howze and Reverend Al, Reverend Kimberly Williams, Reverend DeGraf, Reverend Lawrence, Grace Bonilla, when they walk into your room, just say, “Yes,” at the beginning. Just say, “Yes.” It's just not worth arguing, right? And you say, how many zeroes do you need? So, last year they asked us for support of $5.9 million to help spread the word, not just from New York City. But knowing there's places like Buffalo and Syracuse and Rochester that have some of the highest poverty rates in the nation.

So, we had our meeting this year, a couple weeks ago, and I was lamenting the loss of Hazel not being in this room, this time, and it brought back a memory of when I last saw her right before she passed last March. She wasn't seeing a lot of visitors, but I snuck into her little apartment and went in and held her hand and her, it was her second last day on Earth and she sat up, she looked me in the eyes, those intense eyes, and she grabbed my arm and said, she goes, “You must keep fighting. You must keep fighting. You have work to do, keep fighting on.” And so whenever I need a little inspiration, I listen to my mom up in heaven sitting next to my other mom in heaven too who wants me to keep fighting on. So, when they walked in the door this time. I walked past my Budget Director in the hall. He said, “They're going to ask for 5.9 again. I'm giving them 6.5 and sending them—”

Thank you. But I also want to honor some other people here as well. Crystal People-Stokes is an extraordinary leader. I've watched her career since she was back in the county legislature, and we work closely together to try to lift up people from Buffalo who just felt they had not been getting a fair deal in life. And I understood this deeply. So I want to thank her for her leadership. Cordell, the Senator, Cordell Cleare, I am so honored that they honored you in this way. And to give you the credit that you deserve over a lifetime of service to others and not just what I've seen you do as an extraordinary senator fighting for your district with tooth and nail. I always try to be on your side, sister. It's just better to be with her right? But also people like Latrice Walker is here, as well. I want to thank her, and Senator Sanders and all of our elected leaders..

So, I'll close with this because you're going to, those of you are staying around for caucus weekend — I think I've got about. Nine more speeches to give you, but I will just say this and I reflect on Deborah's words early on. Deborah. I agree. There's nothing wrong with cussing when the moment calls for it, right? If I can ask for forgiveness now, it's going to happen and I got to deal with Donald Trump, okay?

You got to forgive me, you got to give me some grace here. But I am so humbled to know that someone who grew up started off life in Lackawanna, New York is here today. And I sometimes go back to that trailer park. There's a diner there — I go back to, I was there a few weeks ago and I reminded the people who never got out of the trailer park, they're still there, the families and their children. And it's a rundown place. And I got out of there because my dad was able to get a college degree when he was working at the steel plant. And when I think about what we can do to help lift people up, is that foundation of an education that lifts them up, and that is why I need all of you, all of our clergy in particular, to talk about the fact that our Legislature, we work together to say that any adult 25 or older who wants to get a college degree, can get free community college for two years to launch a new career. It changed my family, it'll change families all across the State of New York. So, help us get the word out about that.

But I will be there with you. I already know there's going to be a bigger number next year. Tell my Budget Director to get ready for the ask next year. But I so believe in your mission. I so believe in all of you, and you have inspired me to continue in my work as your partner to give everyone a healthy life. Thank you very much.