News and Events Archives - Page 5 of 11

Toy drive hosted by Minnie's Bar in Sunset Park!

December: Holiday Giving!

January 4, 2023

While the holidays are meant to be a time of giving, joy and celebration amongst family and friends, they can also be a source of great stress. Many of our clients at Center for Family Life in Sunset Park do not have enough income to buy holiday gifts for their families. Instead, they must decide whether to celebrate the holidays or to be able to provide basic necessities for their families like rent or groceries.

In our third holiday season with the COVID-19 pandemic, our clients continue to deal with its lasting effects including long term financial hardship from job loss and extended illness. In addition, Sunset Park has seen the recent arrival of migrant families from Central and South America who are living in shelters and overcrowded apartments and do not have the financial means to obtain basic necessities, let alone purchase holiday gifts.

To combat these challenges, we have witnessed an outpouring of kindness and support by our community to help others to celebrate the holidays. We are so grateful for everyone that has contributed to making this a holiday season of celebration and happiness!

This holiday season, many individuals have reached out to us to offer their help to supply gifts to the clients we serve!

One of Sunset Park’s local establishments, Minnie’s Bar, hosted a weeklong toy drive to support clients in our Family Counseling Program. In collaboration with teachers from Sunset Park High School, this toy drive produced numerous bags of toys and allowed Sunset Park locals and visitors to come together in celebration of community and the holiday season! Our Co-Director of Family Counseling, Jen Wittlin, attended the drive to thank those that donated and to speak further about our Family Counseling Program and the clients we serve.

We also received nearly 100 items including socks, gloves, hats, toys and gift cards from a giving tree that was organized by employees of Webster Bank! These items were delivered to our clients before the holidays, allowing them to celebrate with their families without the financial burden of purchasing gifts.

CFLSP’s Family Counseling Program created an Amazon Wish List with gifts that people could purchase for our families. We received generous monetary donations to allow us to purchase these items as well as had many of our supporters purchase gifts directly. St. Michael’s Church also donated toys to our Family Counseling Program, which was organized by a former staff member of CFLSP. In addition, one of our Board members donated a generous supply of children’s books!

One of our case planners shared a personal anecdote about her client that received gifts from CFLSP as well as our holiday package, provided by our food pantry. This client shared how emotional and thankful she was to be able to provide a gift for her son to open on Christmas. This woman, who is a survivor of intimate partner violence and spent last Christmas at a shelter, celebrated the holiday at her own home with her son and mother this year. Our case planner described this mom as being “resilient and strong,” while expressing how grateful she is “that CFL can make this happen for many more families in similar situations” this holiday season!

Jen Wittlin also shared an experience she had when 3 mothers with 4 children came to the office asking for gifts for their children. These mothers had come to CFLSP in the past to receive assistance as newly arrived migrants. These mothers knew that they could seek help here at Center for Family Life, which is why they chose to return. We were able to provide the mothers with gifts for their children, who were so thankful to give them toys to play with. Jen said how this is an example of “what a grounding force CFL is in the community” and shows how people “feel supported here” knowing “we will be there for them.”

Thank you to those who made all of this possible and who allowed those in our community to celebrate with loved ones! We are grateful for everyone who contributed to our holiday appeal whether it be through monetary donations or through direct gift giving. With your support, our Adult Employment Program and Family Counseling Program were able to provide gifts to 105 families with 210 children for the holidays! We are proud and excited to continue to serve our community in the new year.

From all of us at Center for Family Life in Sunset Park, we wish you a Happy New Year!

Center for Family Life in Sunset Park Wishes You A Healthy and Happy Holiday Season!

December 2, 2022

by Kathleen Lion News and Events

For over 40 years, Center for Family Life has been committed to enriching the lives of individuals in Sunset Park through community partnerships and a dedication to service. Today, our comprehensive range of services engage more than 13,500 people at 10 community locations!

Thanks to your support, Center for Family Life achieved the following 2022 Highlights:

Our Benefits Access Program helped 851 clients obtain nearly $831,000 in benefits like SNAP and health insurance for their families!

Over 3,000 neighborhood residents were provided with meals from our food pantry. Between January and June of 2022, CFLSP was able to distribute over 14,000 pounds of food to our community members!

Our Child and Family Services provided child maltreatment preventive services and public benefits eligibility screenings to 265 families with 519 children!

Our ActionNYC team provided free immigration and legal services to 603 members, screening clients for immigration risks and all possible forms of relief.

We were able to assist in filing 3,127 returns for tax year 2021, generating a total refund of $4.4 million!

Our new 5-year NYS Education 21st Century Community Learning Center contract will allow us to serve 2,500+ youth at 10 school sites in the coming year!

Center for Family Life in Sunset Park is dedicated to promoting positive outcomes for youth and their families. Our services enrich the quality of life of individuals in our community and beyond, supporting families and increasing opportunities. We are honored to assist our community members in any way possible and are so thankful for all of your support. Our 2022 highlights are a testament to the generosity of each and every one of you. We hope to do even more in 2023!

Staff from PS 516 being highlighted before breaking out into our discussion groups!

November: Center for Family Life in Sunset Park’s Annual All Staff Retreat

December 2, 2022

by Kathleen Lion News and Events

On November 11th, Center for Family Life in Sunset Park held our Annual All Staff Retreat at Sunset Park High School. The retreat, attended by more than 250 CFLSP staff, included participants from each of our 10 neighborhood schools as well as our family serving programs in the food pantry, immigration law and tax programs, benefits access and adult employment programs, counseling and case management programs and our cooperative business development program. We were grateful to be joined by our Board Chair, Tim Sheehan and Board Vice Chair, Bonnie Greaves.

The annual retreat is a unique opportunity to refresh our staff’s commitment to our mission and their awareness and understanding of all of the many programs that we offer in our integrated services model. Most importantly, each staff member is given support to understand and share the way in which the work they do each day, whether at an afterschool program, a food pantry worker or as a legal navigator to name only a few staff roles, contributes to our ability to achieve our mission as an organization.

A tree was used as the metaphor for this year’s retreat, and the foundations of our work, which draw from the mission of the historic settlement houses, from our founders Sister Mary Paul Janchill and Sister Geraldine Tobia at the Sisters of the Good Shepherd, and social group work theory, were understood to be our “roots”.

The retreat began with a super-sized welcome circle in which the entire staff gathered and were celebrated in games and activities for the work that they do for the community. After recognizing each program site in the welcome circle, staff joined 14 different discussion groups each made up of a diverse group of staff from across our many programs and led by program leaders from across the agency.

The thematic focus of discussion groups in this year’s retreat was social group work. The discussion groups explored the ways in which this methodology is rooted in our practice at Center for Family Life in Sunset Park. Social group work is a methodology that facilitates social action and change as individuals practice both leadership and “followership,” each contributing to each other’s learning and growth. Within group work there are stages of development which consist of beginnings, middles, and ends. During these stages, different objectives are achieved within the group and the outcome can be both individual and community growth as well as advocacy and activism.

The conclusion of the all-staff retreat including a staff recognition ceremony and shared meal. During the recognition ceremony, any staff member with an educational milestone, including those currently in school and those who had recently graduated, were enthusiastically cheered and congratulated by all for their achievements. Staff were recognized for longevity milestones as well, including the truly remarkable 40th anniversary of service by our own Co-Executive Director Julie Brockway! Staff were deeply touched by the kind words said in the recognition ceremony and all were acknowledged for their dedication to service and community advocacy.

Migrant Families Being Given Clothing at P.S.1

October: Newly Arrived Migrant Families Initiative

November 2, 2022

by Kathleen Lion News and Events

With the arrival of tens of thousands of asylum seekers in New York City, Center for Family Life in Sunset Park began our Newly Arrived Migrant Families Initiative to offer assistance to those in need. With this initiative individuals and families are screened for immediate needs and services and provided with assistance either by CFLSP or referred to others in our community. Beginning in September, CFLSP has helped 250 adults as well as 235 children under the age of 18, and counting.

Last Friday, CFLSP attended a resource fair for asylum seekers at a local shelter, sponsored by Alexa Aviles. At this fair, CFLSP informed those attending about the resources and supports that we offer.

Center for Family Life is providing newly arrived migrant families with essential items including food and toiletries such as specially provided microwavable meals, soap, toilet tissue, and diapers. These families are also given clothing, including professional wear and winter items. Beginning October 8th, staff in our P.S. 1 school site began distributing clothing donations to migrant families. Each Saturday between 11AM and 1PM, families can select clothing and other donated items while children engage in crafts and activities. CFLSP staff at our Main Office have been referring migrant families, or anyone else in need, to P.S. 1 for clothing items.

CFLSP also provides legal assistance including consultations with attorneys and staff paralegals. As of October 24th, a dedicated CFLSP staff member has been going daily to the City’s main Navigation Welcome Center near the Port Authority in Manhattan to share legal information, such as details concerning ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement), with migrants and to make referrals to legal and other service providers. On day one of her visit, our dedicated staff member estimated she spoke with 100 people, providing translation services and passing along vital information.

Our Employment Program also offers migrants employment consultations, ESOL classes, and leads Know Your Rights workshops. With these resources, individuals are given a better chance of finding suitable employment to provide for themselves and their families.

Caseworkers in our Family Counseling Program are also offering newly arrived families assistance with our immigrant trauma counseling program and preventive services. Our preventive services coordinators screen individuals for public benefits, provide eligible clients with emergency cash assistance, offer youth supports, and assess other needs.

Newly arrived families with children enrolled in any of our neighborhood schools are also immediately enrolled in after school childcare, giving parents a greater opportunity to find work and fostering children’s development. In addition, CFLSP has been providing individuals with information on our school-based neighborhood center programs that offer free evening and weekend activities to people in the neighborhood.

In the beginning of October Phil Marriott, a CFLSP Board member, assisted CFLSP staff on a trip to Costco and generously donated food for migrant families. With Phil’s contribution, CFLSP was able to provide meals such as lasagna, chicken patties, and burritos to over 700 people!

Center for Family Life in Sunset Park is proud that we have been able to help newly arrived migrant families in New York City with our range of services. We encourage any donations that can aid in this effort to welcome and assist our new community members and thank all of those who have continuously supported our work!