S:US is excited to announce our new S:UStainers initiative. By making a donation of $1 a day, or a recurring gift of any amount, you can become a S:UStainer and join our work to right societal imbalances and build a city of opportunity for all.

It is a challenging time for many New Yorkers, with record-breaking housing costs and the high price of food and other essentials. Your gift to S:US will help us provide safe homes and essential services to address the growing needs of the most marginalized New Yorkers, including through our homelessness prevention and food distribution programs.

To learn more and how your support can make a difference, visit the S:UStainer page.

March is Women’s History Month. This month serves as a time to honor the achievements and contributions that women of all backgrounds have made throughout the history of our country, both by remembering those who paved the way in the struggle for gender equity and by recognizing the history-makers and barrier breakers of today.

With a staff that is over 60% women, we understand the universal value that gender equity brings to our staff, our organization, the people we serve, and our community. Bolstering a more diverse workplace is a key priority because more than half of the 37,000 people that we serve are BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) women.

By advancing a diversity, equity, inclusion, belonging, and accessibility initiative across the organization, we are nurturing the role models women and women of color need to advance in their careers. We also look to promote from within, then lean into our community to recruit talent. Staff with aspirations to transition into leadership roles are given access to programs designed to strengthen their capabilities.

Shout out to all the strong, compassionate women who work at S:US! They dedicate their careers to serving others, and we thank them and our entire workforce today and every day.

March is National Social Work Month. We need social workers now more than ever. Homelessness is on the rise. The opioid addiction crisis has hit our communities hard. The pandemic caused an increase in mental health challenges, food insecurity, and economic hardship. Social workers go through years of education, training, and supervision so they can do the delicate but important work of meeting people where they are and helping them achieve their goals. Social work is one of the fastest growing professions in the United States. However, social workers need support to meet the high demand for their vital work. That is why the Social Work Month theme for 2024 is Empowering Social Workers: Inspiring Action, Leading Change!

At S:US, our social work staff are compassionate and selfless individuals. Collectively, we transform the lives of people with disabilities, people in poverty, and people facing homelessness.

Social workers are trained to see presenting issues through the tapestry of race, culture, gender, religion, and socio-economic status. They pride themselves in using the intersectionality lens to understand and advocate for people served on an individual and systemic level. At S:US, we are therapists, wellness/family specialists, directors, supervisors, quality assurance specialists, trainers, grant writers, and more because we recognize the need to have a multifaceted approach to addressing people’s needs.

Join S:US in celebrating our social workers, this month, and every month! We are grateful for their essential work breaking barriers and serving New Yorkers in need.

Soon, Muslims around the globe will begin observing the holy month of Ramadan, a period of deep spiritual reflection and fasting that takes place every year.

The festival begins with the sighting of the crescent moon, which usually appears one night after a new moon. This year, Ramadan begins on Sunday, March 10, and ends on April 9, with the celebration of Eid al-Fitr (Festival of the breaking of the fast) likely on April 10. The Islamic calendar follows a lunar cycle, and while these are the calculated expected dates of Ramadan, they can differ from place to place based on moon-sightings or lack thereof.

The month of Ramadan will see Muslims all over the world fasting and praying, before breaking their fast at sundown alongside family and friends. Ramdan is a lot more than just not eating and drinking. Ramadan marks the ninth month in the Islamic calendar, when the Quran is believed to have been revealed to the Prophet Muhammed. It is a time for Muslims to re-evaluate their spirituality, seek deeper personal connection with God, reflect on their blessings, celebrate with loved ones, and commit to becoming better versions of themselves through fasting, charitable giving, and strengthening community. A common saying is, “Ramadan is a time to starve the stomach to feed the soul.”

Many of our S:US staff, people served, and community members observe Ramadan, and we can support their spiritual journey as they fast daily from dawn to sunset.

Here are some direct ways you can be supportive:

  • Ask how you can be supportive before offering your support.
  • During the holy month, be flexible with scheduling and assignments to allow for prayer and fasting.
  • Use “Ramadan Mubarak” (Blessed Ramadan), “Ramadan Kareem” (Generous Ramadan) or “Blessed Ramadan” as greetings rather than “Happy Ramadan.”
  • Please don’t ask a Muslim whether they are observing fasting since it can vary for everyone.
  • The month-long fast during Ramadan is part of the Islamic faith, so don’t appear shocked that a Muslim is fasting without food or drink.
  • Please know that it is not offensive to eat in front of your fasting co-workers.

Salam to our Muslim Community and Ramadan Mubarak!

Image by NACDD.

In 1987, President Reagan recognized March as Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month to increase “public awareness of the needs and the potential of Americans with developmental disabilities” and to provide the “encouragement and opportunities they need to lead productive lives and to achieve their full potential.”

Every seventh person alive today–more than 1 billion people in total–lives with some form of disability. At S:US, we serve approximately 800 people with intellectual/developmental disabilities (I/DD), as well as neurologic and psychiatric disorders. Common developmental disabilities include autism spectrum disorder, cerebral palsy, down syndrome, hearing, or vision loss, learning disorders, and ADHD.

With the right set of supports, people with I/DD can live in, work in, contribute to and participate in the community. This happens over and over again, and every time it does, our society is made better and stronger.

This year’s theme for DD Awareness Month is A World of Opportunities. At S:US, we work towards a world with opportunities for all. We join our community in making a world where everyone has the chance to thrive. S:US is committed to creating inclusive communities where everyone is valued, can do well, and succeed.

The month reminds us to reflect on the fact that we are all part of a broad spectrum of intellectual and physical functioning and pushes us all to be more understanding, compassionate, and focused on the work we need to continue to do as we strive to help people reach their fullest potential by creating opportunities for meaningful relationships, full integration into the community, and personal growth.

Please join S:US in supporting our collective effort at improving the lives of people with I/DD, their families, and circles of support today, this month, and every month.

Rendering: Dattner Architects.

February 20, 2024
The Architect’s Newspaper
By Jack Murphy

If you take the 2, 3, or 4 train to the end of the line at New Lots Avenue in East New York, you’ll pass through a grid of industrial warehouses before Fountain Avenue bends along Betts Creek into Shirley Chisholm State Park. Previously a landfill, the park now tops a hill that offers views over Jamaica Bay. On this journey, just before reaching Seaview Avenue, you’ll pass a 27-acre parcel that used to be the Brooklyn Development Center, which housed individuals with mental health issues. Today, it’s a construction site for Alafia, a new wellness-oriented resilient development realized as the largest component of New York State’s Vital Brooklyn initiative.

In a city starved for housing, Alafia will deliver 2,400 affordable units in addition to medical services, retail, recreational spaces, bike lanes, walking paths, and an urban farm to an underserved Brooklyn neighborhood. (The name Alafia means something like peace or health in Yoruba, though the phrase likely came from Arabic.Dattner Architects completed the master plan with landscape architect SCAPE; their RFP response—created for clients L+M Development Partners, Apex Building Group, RiseBoro Community Partnership, and Services for the UnderServed—was awarded the project in 2018. The proposal, informed by the concept of the 15-minute neighborhood, was also inspired by the idea of the “blue zone”—a new label defining places where residents seem to live long, healthy lives thanks to diet and exercise.

Construction is underway on the first phase of Alafia, which will include a 575-unit apartment building designed by Dattner. (Courtesy Dattner)

 

Forty-eight apartments will be reserved for people with mental health challenges, and 88 supportive homes will be offered for individuals with intellectual or developmental disabilities, according to the state’s announcement of the project. Services for the UnderServed will support these 136 new homes. All units in the development will be for residents who make 80 percent of the city’s average median income or less, which still may be too expensive for many East New Yorkers, according to The New York Times.

Dattner’s master plan stages two rows of taller buildings along the east and west edges of the site, with the eastern blocks stepping up in height when moving away from Jamaica Bay. Shorter buildings enclose open areas and face out to an expanse of recreational green spaces. “The massing is designed so that each building is visible from the center of the site to help wayfinding and minimize shadows cast on each other,” Daniel Heuberger, principal at Dattner, told AN. “The buildings share a number of common characteristics: a communal identity built around a shared, defensible, and safe outdoor space; a lively, activated ground plane with residential, commercial, and community facility activities on all sides of the structure; a sense of place created by a mix of scales and unique massing to each building; and a healthy, comfortable environment based on sustainable, Passive House principles.”

The master plan creates a nested set of relationships for residents, from personal residences to a shared courtyard to the overall neighborhood. Two vehicular streets cross the site, but otherwise resident access will largely be via pedestrian promenades. A mix of unit types will be offered.

Heuberger said Dattner helped draft the general public plan—the legal document controlling the development, which translates the descriptive language of the master plan to the rules-based zoning text. The process “makes one appreciate the link between architectural form, planning intent, and the regulatory and legal structures underpinning it all,” he recalled. “The project is not just about design, but also the long-term operational and programming support that is necessary to sustain such a large and complex community.”

The massing is designed to help wayfinding and minimize shadows cast on each other. (Courtesy Dattner)

 

A significant part of the team’s proposal is its four acres of SCAPE-led landscape components, which include tenant gardens, a playground, a sports court, a dog park, a fitness loop, a lawn, and bioswales. An urban farm, a biodigester, and a waste facility will take up another acre. Given the site’s proximity to Jamaica Bay, it will be elevated to protect against rising sea levels, and open spaces will be designed to absorb water and control erosion.

Alafia’s first phase, now under construction, is scheduled to be completed in June 2025 at a cost of about $204 million. This scope includes Building C, designed by Dattner, with 575 units, a clinic operated by One Brooklyn Health, offices for Services for the Underserved, parking, and neighborhood retail spaces; Building I/J, the maintenance hub, with on-site trash handling and composting, which will eventually serve the full complex. Building C will be all-electric, utilize geothermal pumps, include rooftop solar, and rely on a wastewater heat-recovery system.

It will likely take six phases to fully build out Alafia’s master plan at an estimated cost of $1.2 billion. Not all the architecture will be completed by Dattner; Marvel is designing the buildings for the second phase, and subsequent commissions may be handled by other architects, who would work within Dattner’s master plan. A manufacturing building and a public school are anticipated in later phases.

Dattner’s housing portfolio includes a mix of typologies and scales, from mixed-income and mixed-use to affordable, supportive, and senior housing. Heuberger said Dattner’s role at Alafia is “reflective of the office’s interest in the most essential and relatable of architectural impulses: providing shelter. New York City has a particularly rich housing history. We are proud to play our part in it.”

A previous version of this article incorrectly stated that Alafia has the ambition of becoming a “blue zone.” While the development is inspired by the concept, its developers will not seek Blue Zones™ certification.

Read the original article here.

Photo credit: Nick Garber/Patch.

February 26, 2024
Patch
By Peter Senzamici

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — The long-awaited East 91st Street homeless shelter is moving forward with a new provider, over a year after the original non-profit ditched the site over a programmatic disconnect.

Services for the UnderServed, or S:US, will now run the site as a 92-bed “Welcome Center:” a “low-barrier” program focused on immediate need and pre-assessment site aimed at helping individual adult men and women without housing to get connected with services or a long-term shelter, according to a presentation given to the Community Board 8 Health, Seniors, Social Services committee on Thursday.

At the meeting, the 45-year-old non-profit, which serves over 37,000 families and individuals each year, employs nearly 1,800 staff and provides over $250 million in services, explained how the new welcome center shelter model would operate.

Intake will be handled by the city’s Department of Homeless Services and the site won’t operate as a walk-in center, city officials said, but DHS crisis coordinators would be on hand for people who show up looking for help.

According to Sharon Dorr, the vice president of homeless services at S:US, the welcome center serves as a place where their staff helps people in need “assess where do you want to go next in your life and how can we help you get there.”

But this isn’t a shelter for long-term stays, S:US said.

The average stay at the welcome center at 419 East 91st St., located between York and First avenues, would be under 30 days, according to the presentation.

“You got two to three weeks, you got 30 days — let’s get this ball rolling,” said Dorr. “We want to engage them and bring them back to understanding: you are a valuable person, and you can move forward and be a valuable member of society.”

Off the street — and into housing

The shelter site, which was warmly received by local community leaders as a facility to help the neighborhood’s homeless find more permanent housing, was initially proposed to open in January 2022 as an 88-bed facility run by Goddard Riverside.

That deadline went by — as did Goddard, who left the project in mid-2022.

And what came were a series of struggles, from a failed lawsuit filed by neighbor Eli Zabar to a zoning challenge from a neighborhood group.

But now, city officials and representatives from the new non-profit, the shelter — which is largely built — will be open in December 2024.

The welcome center will be staffed with specialists and a strong security presence 24/7, S:US said, and ensure there will be a proactive approach to security to prevent quality of life issues like loitering and smoking in front of the building.

Inside the six-story building would be a maximum of eight beds per room.

The welcome center would also have its own outdoor space so that residents could have space to congregate that is away from the street — and from the children’s gymnastics studio and a popular toddler play zone just next door.

A bike room will also be available for residents, but no e-bikes will be permitted inside — per DHS policy.

Marricka Scott-McFadden, the deputy commissioner of intergovernmental and legislative affairs at the city’s Department of Social Services, said the program offered by S:US differs from the one previously offered by Goddard Riverside by aiming to avoid the strict formalities that keep many people away from traditional shelters, which should help build trust and ultimately result in more productive outcomes.

The low-barrier shelter, Scott-McFadden said, isn’t a program offered by Goddard Riverside, who dropped out of the project in August 2022.

“We want to meet them where they are,” said Scott-McFadden, “we want to be able to put few barriers in for them to come in, because we want them to do better for themselves, and also building trust, and then maybe even moving into the ultimate goal of permanent housing, which is our goal.”

Currently DHS operates two other welcome centers in New York City: a 90-bed facility in Brooklyn and an 80-bed facility in the Bronx — both of which are in residential neighborhoods.

“Glad this is happening”

Community members at the meeting welcomed the news, but they came ready with questions.

Faith Fraser said that she was “glad this is happening,” and noted that she has been trying for a long time to help a woman who has been living on the street on Second Avenue and East 72nd Street.

“I think this is a fantastic program,” said Community Board 8 board member Wilma Johnson. “It’s very needed in our, in our area, or disseminated. And we have a lot of homeless people, a lot of people that need services on the street as of today, yesterday, tonight, tomorrow.”

“This service is definitely a service that should be welcomed into the neighborhood to get some of these people that need to be off the streets and into that place, and get them the services that they need,” said Johnson.

Committee member Rebecca Dangoor asked Scott-McFadden if DHS could commit to housing people on the Upper East Side and Roosevelt Island experiencing homelessness — a component of the previous model that drew many in the community to support the proposal years ago.

Scott-McFadden said that DHS always tries to keep people near a community where they have connections.

Dangoor also asked about outdoor space specifics (a 1,000-square-foot roof deck) and if the space is pet friendly (yes, if registered as an emotional support animal, which DHS assists with).

One Upper East Side mother named Jamie asked how S:US was interacting with the Covenant of the Sacred Heart, the all-girls school which has its gym across the street which her daughter attends.

“I just want to clarify [if] there’s no guard outside — meaning it’s up to the girls to be very aware,” Jamie said. “She’s 14, and I am very concerned.”

Scott-McFadden said that no guard is permanently stationed outside, but the security strategy involves patrols around the site and multiple cameras will surveil the exterior.

Longtime Community Board 8 member Judy Schneider said that she couldn’t support the program unless there was security placed outside.

“I will not support anything that does not have some kind of security outside,” Schneider said, “with these people having a certain amount of freedom and people on the street.”

“People are not being brought over and dropped out of vans,” said Scott-McFadden. “The operation is part of a warm handoff.”

Newly elected Community Board 8 chair Valerie Mason, who at the close of the meeting called S:US “very competent, very skilled and … very enthusiastic and dedicated to what they want to do here,” said that the board would take the next steps to create a community advisory board to further the neighborhood’s relationship with the new provider.

Read the original article here.

People served by S:US with intellectual/developmental disabilities are the food stewards, assisting with the collection, management, and distribution of food to the S:US community fridges.

February 20, 2024
Bronx Times
By Emily Swanson

Thanks to a new partnership, more excess food from retailers, wholesalers and farmers will make its way to community fridges in the Bronx.

Services for the UnderServed (S:US) announced last week a partnership with Sharing Excess, a nonprofit that “rescues” extra food and redistributes it throughout communities. The partnership will help keep the current S:US fridge at 2894 Valentine Ave. nicely stocked, using perfectly good food that would have otherwise been destined for the dumpster.

Food waste is a nationwide problem — and ironically, so is food insecurity. According to Sharing Excess, an estimated 900 million meals are wasted each year, and yet 34 million people do not regularly have enough to eat.

Locally, a recent state report found that 39% of Bronx County adults experience food insecurity — the highest among the five boroughs.

“Sharing Excess has an excellent track record in Philadelphia, and we could not be more pleased that they have expanded their critical work into New York City,” said Perry Perlmutter, president and CEO of S:US in a statement announcing the partnership. 

Founded five years ago, Sharing Excess began with then-Drexel University student Evan Ehlers giving away his extra dining hall passes and seeing just how many people in his community were going hungry. The organization has since rescued nearly 32 million pounds of food that would have otherwise gone to waste.

S:US has served New Yorkers since the late 1970s and has several residential buildings throughout the Bronx, as well as care programs for people with disabilities and those with high medical needs and treatment for substance abuse. About 4,000 Bronxites receive services from S:US.

According to S:US, people with disabilities in the Lydig Day Habilitation Program will help to maintain the Bronx fridges and distribute food in the community. The organization is looking to expand fridge locations beyond the Valentine Avenue site in the year ahead.

This new partnership between Services for the UnderServed and Sharing Excess joins similar efforts at combating food insecurity in the Bronx, such as the Friendly Fridge Foundation, run by Selma Raven and Sara Allen. They started the program in 2020 and told the Bronx Times that they are both heartened and dismayed to be busier now than ever before.

The program has no funding, Raven said, but still manages to provide healthy produce and prepared meals to Bronxites on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays.

“The demand, unfortunately, is really high,” Raven said.

For a map of community fridges throughout the city, see nycfridge.com.

Read the original article here.

Read our press release here.

People served by S:US with Monica Santos, S:US’ Chief Program Officer (center, wearing sunglasses).

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Thursday, February 15, 2024

MEDIA CONTACT:
Matthew Costantini
[email protected] |609-647-1765


The partnership aims to address food insecurity in the South Bronx by providing healthy food directly to local communities

The Bronx, New YorkServices for the UnderServed (S:US), a leading provider of social services, hunger relief programs and supportive housing in New York City, today announced a partnership with Sharing Excess, a nonprofit that works directly with grocery stores, restaurants, wholesalers, and farmers to distribute excess food and groceries. Founded in Philadelphia, Sharing Excess has delivered more than 20 million meals to a network of nonprofits, food banks, and community organizations in its five-year history.

In this new partnership, Sharing Excess will collaborate with S:US to provide mixed pallets of rescued food to be distributed to two of S:US’ Bronx Community Fridges on a weekly basis. Stewards from S:US’ South Bronx/Lydig Day Habilitation Program for people with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities will assist in the collection, management, and distribution of food to the refrigerators.

“Far too many of the New Yorkers we serve struggle to put food on the table each day. This partnership with Sharing Excess is an important step to expand our work in addressing New York’s food insecurity crisis and help more New Yorkers access the nutritious food they need,” said Perry Perlmutter, President & CEO, Services for the UnderServed. “Sharing Excess has an excellent track record in Philadelphia, and we could not be more pleased that they have expanded their critical work into New York City. This partnership will go a long way in ensuring that our South Bronx Community Fridges will continue to be stocked with healthy, nutritious food that is deeply needed in the community.”

This partnership aligns with both organizations’ commitment to addressing the immediate needs of communities and fostering long-term solutions to combat hunger. S:US and Sharing Excess aim to create a sustainable and impactful response to food insecurity in the South Bronx.

“Services for the UnderServed’s community fridge program is a crucial piece of the work that we do for the people that we serve,” said Jajaida Gonzalez, Vice President of Day Services and Employment, Services for the UnderServed. “Collaborating with Sharing Excess allows us to expand on our existing programming and helps us reach vulnerable New Yorkers where they live, while also providing an opportunity for day habilitation stewards to experience the pride and value of community service.”

“We are excited to work alongside Services for the UnderServed to expand our efforts in the South Bronx,” said Miranda Potmesil, New York City Program Manager, Sharing Excess. “Together, we can make a significant difference in the lives of those who need it the most. Our shared values of community support and empowerment drive this collaboration, and we look forward to the positive impact it will have.”

All S:US Community Fridges are managed by people served with intellectual or developmental disabilities who attend day habilitation programs. In addition to the locations in the Bronx, S:US operates three fridges in Brooklyn at 421 Chester Street, 1109 Bushwick Avenue and, most recently at 457 Saint Marks Avenue.

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About Services for the UnderServed

S:US envisions a city where everyone has a roof over their head, is healthy, productive, and can enjoy the social connections that create a life of purpose. S:US has a staff of 1,800 that provides $273 million in services. Their efforts are supported by various local, state, and federal government entities, foundations, corporations, and individual donors. Most importantly, S:US’ vision allows the organization to deliver the same quality of services to one individual or to thousands.

About Sharing Excess

With a mission built on the principle that food should be shared and not wasted, Sharing Excess is a non-profit organization dedicated to rescuing food and feeding communities. The organization works with grocery stores, wholesalers, and farmers, to take any unsold or surplus food and distribute it to food banks and community organizations. Discover more at www.sharingexcess.com/.

The S:US leadership team, staff, and people served with intellectual/developmental disabilities (I/DD) joined I/DD agencies in Albany on Monday, February 12, to advocate for fair wages for the Direct Support Professional (DSP) workforce.

“Disability advocates and their caretakers from across the state are fighting for a 3.2% Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) increase for staff, up from Hochul’s proposed 1.5%. COLA funding helps nonprofits with food, supplies, transportation, maintenance, employee benefits, insurance costs and more,” according to an article written by Spectrum 1. The agencies are also advocating for a Direct Support Wage Enhancement to give employees who make under $125,000 annually a $4,000 benefit — increasing pay by $2.19 per hour. Click here to read the article.

DSPs are a lifeline to people I/DD. With compassion and dedication, they provide vital assistance with everything from meeting daily needs, such as medication administration, to companionship and a variety of other supports to help people contribute to their communities and enjoy all that life has to offer. DSPs also help people learn how to do things for themselves. It is because of their care and compassion that people who receive our services continue to have enriching and rewarding lives.


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