"The Anti-Poverty Commission will provide recommendations on strategies to address poverty. The Commission will identify strategies consistent with making Richmond a Tier One City, and develop a report detailing its recommendations within twelve months of the establishment of the Commission."

~ (Former Mayor) Dwight C. Jones

Anti-Poverty Commission

On Friday, March 18, 2011, (Former Mayor) Dwight C. Jones signed Mayor's Order #2011-3 which created the Anti-Poverty Commission, the predecessor to the Maggie L. Walker Initiative for Expanding Opportunity and Fighting Poverty.

The Anti-Poverty Commission was charged with identifying effective strategies to address poverty capable of leading to demonstrable improvements in employment and educational attainment, transportation and mobility, and the strengthening of healthy communities for Richmond residents.

The Anti-Poverty Commission consisted of the following work groups; Job Creation, Workforce Development/Education, Policy/Legislation, Healthy Communities, Research/Evaluation, and Transportation. The Commission provided recommendations on strategies to address poverty and developed a report detailing its recommendations.

The Commission was comprised of community advocates, academics, community leaders, members of the business sector, and other stakeholders.

The Commission presented its final report on January 18, 2013. The report included five top tier recommendations for high-impact policy actions that have the potential to make a significant dent in poverty in the City and improve the quality of life of all residents.

• Investing in workforce development targeted towards low-skilled and long-term unemployed and underemployed residents, while integrating workforce development with economic development strategies.
• Developing an effective educational pipeline that prepares Richmond Public Schools graduates for either college or the work force.
• Recruiting or developing one or more major employers capable of creating hundreds of jobs accessible by underemployed Richmond residents.
• Creating a regional rapid transit system, so as to make thousands more jobs accessible to metropolitan Richmond residents by effective public transportation and better link the regional economy together.
• Achieving the redevelopment of much of the city's public housing stock without involuntarily displacing residents, with the aim of weakening the concentration of poverty and improving the physical and social environment of public housing residents.