Programs: Senior centersour senior service division, consistent with the early mission of the agency, operates 5 multi-purpose senior centers and 1 innovative senior center. Over 1,350 seniors attend our centers each day. Each center provides nutritional hot meals including breakfast and lunch in a congregate setting and two centers serve an evening meal as well. In total the centers serve 1,200 meals on a daily basis. The centers offer a wide variety of educational, art, recreational and health promotion activities. These activities include but are not limited to painting, photography, thai chi, yoga and computer instruction. Centers offer workshops on a wide variety of health management topics, like diabetes and arthritis. Centers also provide trips to cultural destinations like museums and performance events. Centers provide case assistance and information and referral and assistance with medicare part d enrollment for any center member and walk in seniors requiring assistance. Transportation services are provided to the centers for seniors who have mobility impairments. Other senior services offered through rcp are home delivered meals, the program provides approximately 1,300 lunches to homebound seniors each daily and another 195 are delivered by subcontractors. Our case management program provides ongoing case management, case assistance, care coordination and crisis management to approximately 800 frail home bound seniors per day. Additionally, we have a respite program that provides overnight residential respite to assist care givers of the frail elderly and clients with alzheimer's disease services. Respite is offered in a one bedroom apartment that can accommodate up to 3 clients a night. This program also provides social adult day services five days per week at our roundtable senior center. The respite center is the only nonresidential overnight respite program in all of nyc. Case assistance and referral services are provided to elderly clients that might be victims of elder abuse. Educational and community workshops are provided to educate seniors on elder abuse and crime prevention. Our senior service department provides services primarily to minority seniors many of whom live at or below the poverty level. The continuum of services is made available in order to keep these seniors living as independently as possible in their homes and allowing them to maintain their health and prevent social isolation. To the extent possible we hope that the services add to the quality of life for our seniors and their families who reside in our community.
housingriseboro community partnership inc. (rcp) has played an integral role in the re-building of bushwick from the late 1970's when the neighborhood was plagued by owner disinvestment and a rash of arson fires. This was exacerbated by uncontrollable looting during the city-wide blackout in july 1977. With whole blocks destroyed and the loss of a third of habitable housing units, a feasible plan for housing and retail development was desperately needed in bushwick. Rcp first became involved in housing development as a community management program partner with the nyc department of housing preservation and development in the 1980's. Since that early entry into housing preservation and management rcp has grown into one of the largest not-for-profit developers of affordable housing in new york state. Over the past 20 years, rcp has developed over 2,000 units of affordable rental housing units using various local, state, and federal financing mechanisms available including low income housing tax credits, new york state tax-exempt bond financing, nyc plp loans, federal hud 202 construction grants and the new york state housing trust fund. In addition, rcp has participated in several rounds of the nyc neighborhood redevelopment program, third party transfer program, tenant interim lease program, and neighborhood homes program. Rcp has partnered with restore homes to rehabilitate 1-4 family homes for affordable home ownership and has sponsored and marketed over 1,200 units to first time home buyers through the new york city housing partnership affordable homes program. Our housing projects range from gut renovations of 1-6 family homes throughout bushwick to multi-family new construction projects. Over 500 units in seven separate buildings are dedicated to fixed and low income seniors, each of which provides a live-in superintendent, on site management, social services and around the clock security. One of our proudest accomplishments is the redevelopment of an abandoned and contaminated brownfield site, former home of the rheingold brewery, which now contains over 500 affordable home ownership and rental units in addition to community facility and retail opportunities. Recognized throughout the nation for excellence in design, the rheingold brewery development received the northeast region phoenix award for excellence in the brownfield redevelopment from the united states environmental protection agency. In addition, rcp received the 2009 big apple brownfield award for community outreach based on the innovative design charette and community input process that lead to the extensive development. Completed in december 2013, rcp's newest development project is the mennonite united revival apartments. This project is the first newly constructed affordable multi-family development in the country utilizing innovative passive house design. As such, the building is thoroughly air sealed, insulated, and compartmentalized with air barriers to reduce unmanaged air flow, heat loss, and heat gain, allowing for a much smaller boiler and therefore significantly reduced heating costs. This project promises to change how affordable housing is produced. As one of rcp's original service components, the housing department has earned a reputation in bushwick for its leadership role in community development and neighborhood improvement. Rcp's commitment to ensuring safe, decent and affordable housing is accomplished through the provision of landlord/tenant information and assistance programs and services including:homeowner services performing surveys of privately owned, distressed buildings in the bushwick area and providing information on new york city programs to correct building violations. Information is also provided to property owners in the community on available low interest loans for building upgrades as well as technical assistance to owners to improve management and maintenance skills. Restore program: the restore program provides grants of up to $5,000 to low income homeowners, aged 60 and over to correct substandard housing conditions in emergency situations that pose a threat to the homeowner's life, safety or health. Typical repairs include: furnace, roof, electrical, plumbing, stairs, porches and foundations. Tenant services for walk-in clients including information and assistance with available entitlements, code enforcement complaints, rent rules and regulations, and referrals to in-house social service and legal programs a description of which follows. Community empowerment center: this center, with programs located at several sites throughout the community, offers homelessness prevention programs, education and job training programs, legal assistance and representation and offers intensive case management to individuals and families who are homeless or at risk of homelessness. Another community empowerment program is the supportive services for veteran families program which began in october 2011 and offers case management, homelessness prevention and re-housing for veteran families. The community empowerment center's career pathways and snap programs are education and training programs which offer career counseling, career development workshops, ged classes, as well as job training, placement, and retention services. Bushwick housing and legal assistance program: provides tenants in bushwick and williamsburg with legal representation and advocacy. Currently the largest and most comprehensive legal assistance office in bushwick, the program focuses much of its efforts on homelessness prevention. This is accomplished by working with landlords and tenants to ensure habitable living conditions and adherence to rent regulations and housing codes. Services include tenant organizing, landlord/tenant mediation, assistance with legal rent charges and scrie and drie applications and education on landlord/tenant rights and responsibilities. Legal representation is provided in court for eviction cases, holdover proceedings, and housing part (hp) actions intended to upgrade housing conditions. Each year this program successfully assists hundreds of residents in stabilizing their housing. Lead paint poisoning prevention program and interim lead safe house: this program focuses on education about the causes, symptoms and treatment of lead paint poisoning. Staff members perform workshops and seminars at day care centers, local schools, head start programs, hospitals and clinics in order to increase awareness and encourage testing and treatment. An important function of this program is to alleviate housing conditions that contribute to lead paint poisoning such as peeling paint and other unsafe housing conditions. Once a property owner begins abatement on an affected unit, rcp can provide interim housing for families whose children have been identified as lead paint poisoned at our interim lead safe house. Outreach and facilitated enrollment programs: as one of the premier outreach and enrollment community based organizations in brooklyn, rcp's food card access (fcap) and child health plus facilitated enrollment (fe) programs provide culturally and linguistically appropriate support, outreach and application assistance to more than 8,000 households annually. Fcap provides assistance to individuals and families applying for food stamps (snap) benefits taking them through the complete application process within a comfortable, community setting. Clients are walked through and assisted with the enrollment process until receipt of snap benefits. Advocacy and mediation are provided for individuals who are wrongfully denied these benefits. All of rcp's housing programs maintain a non-traditional work schedule that includes early mornings, evenings and weekends as necessary to assure accessibility and convenience to working families and individuals.
youth services & education rcp's department of youth and educational services' main objective is the improvement of community youth and adults' lives through the provision of educational, social, emotional, cultural and recreational activities. The component services an average of 1,500 individuals per day. Promotion of constructive use of young people's free time as well as their positive personal and academic growth are the foundation of our services. Our youth and education services are housed at the ridgewood bushwick youth center, i. S. 296/562, p. S. 86, i. S. 349 and i. S. 162. The bushwick community was one of the few neighborhoods in new york city that did not have a youth center, ymca, or other facility for youth to use after school or on weekends. The ridgewood bushwick youth center includes a full sized gymnasium with a regulation sized basketball court, a fitness room, a dance room, a technology room and an arts and crafts studio. Other features include seven classrooms that host a variety of educational programming for community youth and adults and a multipurpose room that is complete with a pool table, television and other games for youth. The center is open six days a week. 21st century community learning center program: this program provides a wide range of after school programming and support services to community youth in grades 5 to 12 and their families. Services include regents preparation, ap credit, city wide math exam preparation, homework assistance, subject specific tutoring, stem, youth development activities, including athletics, martial arts and creative arts programming. Through the provision of these services, ridgewood bushwick seeks to support the planning, implementation and expansion of academic enrichment opportunities of our youth. Council on the arts: this program allows us to introduce the young people of bushwick to the arts for the opportunity of "hands-on" experience in the fields of dance, theater, art and chorus. Classes and workshops are held at the youth center, our beacon program at i. S. 296/562 and at p. S. 86. Ost hs program:the ost hs program is designed to provide services for high school juniors and seniors by assisting them in defining and clarifying their educational and career goals. This program works to improve attitudes, expand career awareness, develop foundation skills, prevent school dropout and provide participants with the skills needed for long-term positive impact in their future learning and employment goals. This is achieved through the provision of services such as tutoring, individual/group counseling, support services, life skills workshops, higher education and career exploration, regents prep. , internships, community service and employment opportunities, incentives and guaranteed summer employment through our summer youth employment program. My voice theatre: founded in 1996, my voice theatre is designed as an after- school theatre company which allows participants to work through and express their feelings about some hard-hitting life issues. The overall goal is to break the codes of silence that too often surround such issues within our community and culture. The company, which consists of young people between the ages of 12 and 19, strives to effect positive change in the lives of its members as well as in the lives of others through its theatrical performances. Company participants learn to express their thoughts and ideas in verbal and written form and present monologues and scenes. Ost/ programs at youth center and p. S. 86: ost offers academic, social, cultural, recreational and emotional programming to young people attending elementary school. This program seeks to nurture children in a safe environment while motivating and encouraging them to improve their school performance. Program provides stem, homework assistance, literacy, sports, cultural arts, healthy living and social/emotional programming. During the summer months, ost operates as a summer day camp, providing educational, recreational and cultural enrichment. Project ex. I. T. O. : this program provides primary substance abuse prevention education and support to youth between the ages of 6 and 21 and their families. Endeavoring to provide the necessary tools for healthy and positive functioning, our trained counselors perform assessments, conduct individual and group counseling, provide support to families, and make referrals to other services. Project ex. I. T. O. Addresses truancy and other school attendance problems, academic performance problems, family and/or personal difficulties, and other maladaptive behaviors. Activities and information which facilitate and reinforce self-esteem, coping skills, decision-making skills, responsibility, and self-discipline and provided. Summer youth employment program: this program provides community youth, ages 16-24, with the opportunity for structured and supervised work experience while earning a paycheck. On-the-job learning is supplemented with counseling, work readiness, higher education, health education, career exploration and labor market orientation. In addition, educational and recreational services are available to program participants during non-work hours. Nycali/ teen network program (tnp): the tnp targets young people between the ages of 17 and 24 who are new york state residents for at least one month and have been discharged from high school. Its primary goal is to assist disconnected youth obtain their ged through the provison of basic education and ged courses, tutoring, workshops and counseling. Adult education program: basic education, general equivalency (ged), and english as a second language (esl) program: the basic education program targets adults who need assistance in increasing their reading and writing skills as well as those who are limited in their knowledge and understanding in other subject areas. Classes are offered in the areas of basic reading comprehension, writing, social studies, science, and mathematics. We offer general equivalency diploma (ged) classes to adults who wish to obtain the general equivalency diploma which is granted by the new york state education department. Classes are taught in spanish and english by certified instructors and are available in both the day and evening. Our english as a second language (esl) program conducts english language instruction from the beginner level (level i) to the advanced level (level vi) for the non-native english-speaking adults. Classes are taught by certi-fied instructors and are available in both the day and evening. Aidp program: this program is offered at two junior high schools throughout the bushwick community: i. S. 162 and i. S. 349. Targeting at-risk and truant youth, aidp provides attendance in-centives, counseling, and ancillary services to youth and their families in order to improve school attendance and academic performance. In addition, recreational activities are available to the students. This program operates from monday to friday from 8:00 a. M. To 4:00 p. M. Sister sage program: sister s. A. G. E. (strengthening advocacy for girls' empowerment) is specifically geared toward the needs of girls in bushwick. Through multicultural activities, s. A. G. E. Members are provided with knowledge that will help them successfully resist historical, social, and cultural assumptions made about girls and women of color. Our forums of mutual support provide an emotionally safe space for girls to experience intensive personal development. In addition, an understanding of collective responsibility is nurtured through character education and community service. Sister s. A. G. E. Is a community conscious, action-oriented group of girls and women who actively participate in changing the world in which they live. The beacon program, which opertates from i. S. 296/562 offers educational, recreational, cultural, social and emotional programming for community youth and their families. The afterschool program operates monday-friday from 2:45-6:00 and the evening/weekend program operates monday-friday 6:00-10:00 and saturday 9:00-5:00. Activities are varied and include homework assistance, martial arts, art, sports tournament, computer classes, dance, workshops, tutoring, and a summer camp during summer months.
low-income housing rental from disregarded entities.
