Point Community Development Corp.

sad to say this program is run by a woman who rather call the athorities on people with mental illness that work there, my son for years have worked there and the director who he confided in called the police because he suffers from mental illness and she tell me his father that thats how the deal with people . how is this organization helping de escalate problems with the community if they turn to the atthorities on children

The Point CDC is home for every artist, activist, community organizer, a safe space for students to come learn how to organize their ideas into arts or some other form of multimedia. As an adult volunteer, I've learned how to solve problems, conflict resolve, provide proper encouragement, praise, and empathically listen to others. I've learned how to youth develop and have been employed by some really great and prestigious non for profits throughout the Bronx and East Harlem area. They have talents such as TATS CRU, International Center for Photography, and a lot of art guru's constantly teaching kids how to express themselves in visual arts. I can't think of any other place that provides students with so many resources such as the Point CDC.

The Point is a place where I have felt the most comfortable to be myself. I have loved the way the staff and educators make you feel like you are someone. I hope to see The Point, CDC grow even further as it has alot of great services and education to offer. Thanks

I started going to the point in my late teens, I was 19 years old. I started going to their photography program and it was just amazing. The photo program there gave me confidence, gave me friends. I looked forward to attending class every week. There was always something new happening at the point, hip hop shows, rock shows, town hall meetings. They kept the neighborhood informed and actually cared. It is a place for all people young and old. I am still apart of the point family, I still attend many of their events because even though I'm 27 now they are still very relevent in my life.

the point has allowed for not only a creative space, for an arena of inspiration. The staff is warm and freindly and the children are extraordinary.

My experience at The Point has been one of the most rewarding and fulfilling experiences New York has offered me. I visit this place often because of their out reach to the community and to the children is one of those few pillars that beacons for opportunity. Many people who might otherwise not get those opportunities. I hope that this center rises above and continuos to inspire all of us many many years to come.

Question is where should I begin ??? I was a very immature 13 y/o little girl who thought I knew everything, when in reality I KNEW NOTHING. It all started when I became a freshman in High School, one of my classmates was walking around with this really cool camera, so I asked her where did she get it from?? She then responded and told me that there was an after school photography program in a community center called THE POINT. I was very curious and decided to check it out for myself, and as soon as I walked into the community center I was greeted and felt very comfortable with the staff that said hello to me. I actually found it weird that they greeted me because if your from the Bronx you know not just anyone greets you.I then wanted to do things my way and not follow directions or instructions from my photography instructor and that's when I met my role-model (who I didn't know would be yet) Ms. Emilia Wiles who put me in my place and I though was really mean. Emilia honestly had patients with me from my snottiness to my immaturity and all, one day she then sat me down and told me that the way I act towards people is never going to get me anyhere and I sat there wondering "what does she know?" And when she started telling stories of her childhood and guaranteeing she had my FULL attention. So I did Photography for about 5 years, then moved onto A.C.T.I.O.N(Action Coming To Inform Our Neighborhood). Where there I learned even more great new things, such as leadership skills, public speaking, computer technology, very efficient on Microsoft Word & other programs. I loved being at THE POINT, it was surely my 2nd home. I became interested & knowledgeable of all the programs they offered. I also became a student, a volunteer, and in general and through my life a very determined person. This I thank THE POINTS programs and the amazing staff they have. Anyway my comments & stories are all way too long to be told. I must say THE POINT has & will be a very important place in my life.

The POINT offers absolutely essential programming in a section of NYC that is most underserved and overpassed. The safety, creativity and community fostered within these walls support the children to simply be children.

I Love The Point with all my heart. I practically grew up in The Point. I started in The Point's after school program where I got assistance with my elementary and middle school homework. Not only was I getting my homework done in The Point but I was occupied with activities such as cirque, dance and literacy. After middle school, I returned to my second home to sign up for the teen program, A.C.T.I.O.N. Currently, I am in my last year of the A.C.T.I.O.N. teen program where our main goal is to bring about more environmental and social justice in the Hunts Point area. For example, The Point along with other organizations partnered up to form CIU (Community In Unity) to fight the proposed jail that the DOC (Department of Corrections) plans to build near the Fish Market. This is a grave social injustice to our community that consists of mainly colored and financially disadvantaged residents. Thus we try to oppose these types of problems. I feel that an organization such as The Point that takes their time to fight for people who otherwise would not get their voices heard. I believe in the goodness of The Point and how many lives like mine were positively affected by this program.

I love the point its a great place for ever one ..i love working with the kids on fu friends .i work with Adam in A.C.T.I.O.N ..The point have chagen my way of thu kin about life i love the people that work there you will all ways have some one b ur say the Point in a big hunts point family ..i am happy to b part of it Love Samantha Serrano

I was first introduced to The Point through City Year New York, a national non-profit and service-learning organization that connects 17-24 year olds with under resourced, urban public schools and community centers. My call to service brought me across the country from Seattle, away from family, friends, and all traces of a support network. At this point, I would call it nothing short of a blessing that my transcontinental move landed me at The Point, a place that has become a second family. What I think is so unique about this place, and really how they are able to attract such amazing staff and teachers, has little to do with the actual services being provided - which are exhaustive, where else can a kid go afterschool to learn trapeeze and photography, and everything in between - and much more to do with the shared love, the sense of community that the place exudes, it doesn't matter what you do or who you are, you walk in, and you're home. It's that feeling that has kept me going back every week, even after my year with City Year, not just to teach a weekly Step Class to a group of 5th graders (which by the way, Team Electric is off the hook! Check them out next time you are in Hunts Point on a Tuesday), but because it feels good being there. One of the murals on the exterior wall reads, The Point - Where Creativity and Community Connect, and that's exactly what they do.

I've been volunteering at the point for over a year and half now. I've been family to over 200 some odd kids. I've been offered jobs and lofty salaries, but what keeps me going back to the point is how everyone here comes together to empower an entire of community of folks in a multi faceted way. From Cirque classes to music classes from salsa dancing to filmmaking, from photography to poetry, from environmental stewardship to community physical service, from organizing community members to raise up against a 5th jail cell to be built in the area to organizing afterschool students to advocate for afterschool funding. I've had a hand in almost every part of this, and i've grown in such a powerful way that i dont know how else to repay back the point. writing a review for them is not enough justice. places like the Point needs funding so that It can powerfully execute all of its ambitions. and These ambitions set ripples that go forth on to knocking down walls of oppression that plague one of the contries poorest congression district in the united states, and thats the hunts Point Section of the South Bronx.

I know The Point through another great Non-profit, City Year, which employs 17 to 24 year olds in a year of full time service. I was lucky enough to get to spend my year working very closely with the staff of The Point and helping to run their after-school program. I found that the committed and passionate staff at The Point never fail to amaze me with their excellence. Since one of the great things they do is run an after-school program, they have an incredible influence on the children of the South Bronx community. Their positivity is infectious: many staff members have been in the neighborhood for their entire lives, and truly believe that what they are doing is transformative in their community. This Community Development Corporation really is just that: they develop the community they are in and bring positive events, activities and energy to everyone involved.

so i had to stop by the point for a meeting last week. if you don't know the Bronx, you might think it's a little off the grid. in fact, even if you do know the Bronx, you'd think it was off the grid. it is across the Bruckner from the old Hunts Point Palace and the Southern Blvd shopping district. most people know that neighborhood as "the peninsula", "out in the back", or simply "the point". well, that is the point. this organization has become synonymous with the revival (and the challenges) of the community where it was born...when people think of Hunts Point now, they think of that funky positive place with all the art on the walls and these focussed kids with powerful stories to tell--the kind of kids who are never too shy to tell them. and when people in the Bx think of the Point, they also think of that neighborhood, with all its trucks, its asthma, its sadness and its talents and its scrambling ambition to do better. but back to my story. last week, I walk in the place--it's like a huge old steel mill with about 100' feet of small windows along the roofline on both sides of the building-- and i'm looking for my meeting. the first thing i see is a 12 year old kid in some sort of acrobats harness suspended from an I-beam 18 feet in the air. I'm thinking the kid better stop goofing off and then I see that he is tethered to a nylon rope supported by this instructor type standing next to professional-looking crash pad. behind me as i do 360 scan is a restaurant with crabcakes and mixed green salads on the menu and in front of me is the door to a theater. i walk in and about 25 teenagers are taking turns talking to a crowd of probably 75 parents and friends about black and white photos they have taken. the pictures are projected onto big screen behind them and each kid has something important to say. no mumbling, no hesitation, no sullen adolescent garbage. positive kids, even some jokes. I walk out still looking for my meeting, pass through a photo gallery, and an exhibit of huge paper mache beasts and circus type characters and then stop at a small shop that sells prints and clothes and Bronx postcards and some silk scarves that look like they are hand-painted. one more detour to a room full of local history memorabilia and i climb a set of stairs to sit in on a meeting about local transportation planning, with a soundtrack of congas and timbales playing in the background. this is 15 minutes at the Point. if you go, try the crabcakes and stay for the circus class.

The Point is a very special place for me. I took my first film photography classes at The Point which encouraged me to pursue a career as an artist. I used to commute from Queens, an hour and a half because I couldn't find a place like this: skilled staff, energetic volunteers, art classes, youth development activities, healthy food, etc. A place where you can find a real sense of community. Now, I'm giving back to this community by volunteering as a photography teacher assistant and I hope to give more...