FALL 2015 · VOL. 08 · NO. 02
CAMBA Uses Data to Drive Down Homelessness
From the President and CEO “Technology is transforming the provision of social services,” Forbes Insights wrote in a recent report that highlighted CAMBA’s HomeBase program as a national model for our innovative use of “big data” to prevent homelessness. While our pioneering HomeBase staff uses data to identify and protect vulnerable families facing homelessness, our CAMBA Housing Ventures team uses public and private investment to preserve New York City’s rapidly disappearing stock of affordable housing, keeping even more New Yorkers housed.
CAMBA HomeBase staff conduct outreach at the You Can Van launch in Bedford-Stuyvesant
Ms. T. and her family were fast approaching a housing cliff. The mother of two lost work in recent cutbacks, was unable to make rent and became embroiled in Housing Court proceedings. Eviction was imminent. Little did Ms. T. know that her plight was already on the radar of CAMBA HomeBase. Back in a HomeBase office, Ms. T.’s address had popped up on a computer screen as the residence of a high-risk family. Soon after, a HomeBase outreach worker knocked on Ms. T.’s door and offered a lifeline. The HomeBase staffer enlisted the help of CAMBA Legal Services and they sprang into action, intervening in court, persuading the judge to lower Ms. T.’s rental arrears and negotiating a preferential rent with the landlord. HomeBase staff helped Ms. T. obtain emergency grants to cover her back rent, advocate successfully for more hours at her job and apply for more benefits to ensure that she could afford to stay in her home.
Ms. T.’s story illustrates the datadriven effectiveness of CAMBA’s new strategy to harness technology to prevent homelessness. Over the past year, CAMBA’s HomeBase program has been using real-time housing data and mapping technology to identify New Yorkers who are at high risk of becoming homeless. With these new tools, provided by a technology company and the NYC Department of Homeless Services, HomeBase now goes directly to the doorsteps of those facing evictions or other crises that may lead to homelessness — and provides crucial services to help keep them in their homes. “Because of the data mapping system, we found Ms. T. and reached out before she was forced out,” says Melissa Mowery, CONTINUED ON PAGE 3
You can read more here about these two new initiatives: HomeBase’s data-driven You Can Van and CHV’s new ownership of the Castleton Park affordable housing development in Staten Island. While we always value innovation, CAMBA remains committed to the tried-and-true programs and services that help our clients overcome obstacles to stability and self-sufficiency. Key among these is education. Every year at our Adult Literacy Center, more than 1,000 adults who lack high school diplomas or don’t speak English master skills that will unlock the doors to a better life. And we build education into all of our services, from cradle to college and beyond. At this year’s CAMBA Casino Night Out gala fundraiser on Thursday, Nov. 5, you’ll meet an extraordinary young man who benefited from CAMBA’s Leading to College program and see how access to education has transformed his life. We hope you’ll join us to celebrate a year of achievements. Find more details on the back cover and on our website at CAMBA.org/CasinoNight.
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Thank You! We salute the following donors for your generous support (Jan. 1 – Aug. 31, 2015): CORPORATE AND FOUNDATION DONORS ($500 AND UP) Admiral Air Conditioning Admiral Insurance Brokerage Corp. Alexis Mera All Renovation Construction LLC Beardwood&Co. Broadview Networks, Inc. Brooklyn Cyclones Brooklyn Hearth Realty Ltd. Brown & Weinraub, PLLC
Bruno Frustaci Contracting Inc. Buchbinder Tunick & Company LLP Budget Business Supply Co. Capital One Bank Carver Federal Savings Bank Chadbourne & Parke LLP Chicago Title Insurance Company Clark Foundation
Combined Coordinating Council, Inc. Durst Family Foundation GB & M May Foundation Groupe Sanglier Hirschen Singer & Epstein LLP HSBC Bank USA Interior Resources USA JER HR Consulting LLC Jhet.life LLC
JP Morgan Chase & Co. Kohl’s – NY Design Office 908 Lamb Financial Group Maimonides Medical Center Mary Kay Gallagher Real Estate New York Community Trust The Right Connection Plumbing & Heating Inc. Schmutter, Strull, Fleisch Inc. Seyfarth Shaw LLP
Sheldon Lobel, P.C. TD Bank The Pinkerton Foundation TriState Apartment Furnishers VillageCare Wells Fargo Home Mortgage Whitsons Culinary Group WinnResidential
Mary Kay Gallagher Eddie Lewter Diane Louard-Michel
Kim Maleh Charles and Beverly Morris Rang Ngo
Charles and Katherine O’Neill Kaz and Joanne Oplustil Harvey and Helaine Rosen
INDIVIDUAL DONORS ($500 AND UP) William Avery Richard Revesz and Vicki Been Robert Berne
Pamela Booth Michael Carpenter Suzanne Frye
TO SEE A COMPLETE LIST OF DONORS, VISIT CAMBA.ORG
Board of Directors KATHERINE O’NEILL Chairwoman
JULIA BEARDWOOD
ALLAN F. KRAMER II
MATTHEW W. BOTWIN
BERNARDO MAS
CHRISTOPHER ZARRA Vice Chairman
NEIL FALCONE
MICHAEL ROSS
REV. DANIEL RAMM Secretary & Treasurer
PAUL GALLIGAN
DAVID H. SCHULTZ
TERENCE KELLEHER
CAMBA Housing Ventures and Stellar Management Acquire Staten Island Mitchell-Lama Development, Preserving Long-Term Affordability To help preserve New York City’s fast-eroding affordable housing stock, CAMBA Housing Ventures (CHV), in partnership with Stellar Management, recently purchased Castleton Park, a 454-unit MitchellLama development in Staten Island’s St. George neighborhood. CHV and Stellar committed to maintaining Castleton Park’s long-term affordability and are investing more than $30 million to renovate the aging, 40-yearold development. CHV, CAMBA and Stellar helped eligible tenants apply for Section 8 vouchers, and CAMBA will assess the needs of tenants and provide appropriate ongoing on-site social services. The acquisition, rehabilitation and preservation of affordable housing at Castleton Park marks an important initiative for CAMBA Housing Ventures. Preservation of affordable housing has become a critical part of CHV’s efforts to pair CAMBA’s life-changing social
services with affordable housing to provide healthy and affordable homes for New Yorkers. “The loss of affordable housing is one of the most critical issues facing the City today, and we’re are proud to be partners in keeping homes in the Castleton Park complex affordable to low- and middle-income Staten Island residents,” says Joanne M. Oplustil, President and CEO of CAMBA/CHV. The Mitchell-Lama program started in 1955 to provide affordable housing to middle-income New Yorkers. Landlords received tax abatements and other incentives to keep rents low for a minimum of 20 years. After that, owners could opt out of the program and charge market rents, threatening the stability of longtime residents. According to one study, 47% of the City’s Mitchell-Lama rental units left the program by the end of 2012. Financing from the NYC Housing Development Corporation (HDC), NYC
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Castleton Park photo by Vanni Archive Architectural Photography. Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) enabled CHV and Stellar to acquire Castleton Park. “Mitchell-Lama housing has long served as a resource of affordability for hardworking New York families, and the preservation of properties like Castleton are critical to promoting stable and diverse neighborhoods,” says HPD Commissioner Vicki Been.
With Castleton Park, CHV now has 2,057 units completed, under construction or in pre-development — more than double its original goal of 1,000 units by 2015.
Help feed hungry New Yorkers at CAMBA.org/fooddrive.
Adult Literacy Center Is a Harbor for Immigrants Striving to Learn English A world map hanging on the wall of a classroom at CAMBA’s Adult Literacy Center is covered with a jumble of pins, flagging the countries of origin for some of the more than 1,000 immigrants who attend classes at the Center annually. They hail from the Caribbean, Mexico and Central America, Eastern Europe, Asia, Africa – nations across the globe. Many students don’t speak English, and some can’t even read or write in their native languages, making it challenging to gain the language skills they need to get an economic foothold in New York City. The Center is a lifeline for these immigrants, who are struggling to achieve the American Dream. According to New
skills, enabling them to take their first steps toward looking for employment or advancing in their jobs, getting more involved in their children’s education, getting proper health care and participating in the social and economic life of their communities,” says CAMBA Program Manager Jude Pierre, who runs the center. In addition to English and literacy, the Center’s all-free classes include math, civics, U.S. history and computer-assisted technology training. It also offers classes for both English learners and native English speakers to help them obtain a high school equivalency diploma in the future. For some, this program helps open the
“When you first come to the United States, particularly to Brooklyn, there is a place or a harbor for all immigrants. This place is CAMBA.” Former Student Beaty Ulysse York City statistics, a quarter of all New Yorkers age five or older – or 1.8 million people – have limited English skills and need help from programs like this. “Through intensive English classes, our students learn basic speaking survival “DRIVE DOWN HOMELESSNESS…” CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
Vice President of CAMBA HomeBase. “We successfully resolved the client’s housing crisis, and she was able to maintain her housing, stay stably in the community with her children and avoid shelter entry.” This access to data is also helping to drive HomeBase’s new mobile office, letting staff provide on-the-spot help to
doors to college or specialized training. For others, it can make them more competitive in the workforce. Mastering English is often only one of many challenges facing new immigrants or people who never finished high school. keep people out of the shelter system. Thanks to a grant from the Durst Family Foundation, HomeBase recently added the CAMBA You Can Van — a highly visible RV outfitted with computers and private offices — that goes directly to a potential client or to a building or block where many families are at risk. CAMBA Board Member Julia Beardwood of Beardwood&Co. and graphic designer Joe Marianek of Small Stuff created a vivid, eye-catching look for the van,
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Artist Tim Okamura, center, with students at the Adult Literacy Center. Through the arts nonprofit Art Connects New York, Okamura donated prints of his work to turn the Center’s lounge into a permanent gallery, featuring large-scale portraits that reflect the rich diversity of the City and of the Center’s students.
Case managers at the Adult Literacy Center help ensure that students receive additional services they may need to thrive in the U.S. – such as emergency access to food, clothing and housing, help finding childcare or jobs and legal assistance with immigration issues. “When you first come to the United States, particularly to Brooklyn, there is a place or a harbor for all immigrants. This place is CAMBA,” says former student Beaty Ulysse. designing its exterior to be friendly and hope-filled, so potential clients feel welcomed and comfortable asking for help. Taken together, these recent innovations for CAMBA HomeBase are proving efficient and cost-effective. Mowery says, “If we can keep people from becoming homeless in the first place, that’s not only better for that person or family — no one wants to have to go to a shelter — that’s less costly for everyone.”
Celebrate a Year of Achievements At CAMBA Casino Night Out on Nov. 5 WHEN: Thurs., Nov. 5, 2015, 6–10 pm WHERE: Tribeca Three Sixty° in Lower Manhattan Our gala brings together a dynamic group of leaders in business, politics, development, community, arts and service who are committed to empowering low-income New Yorkers through economic development, education and youth development, family support, health, housing and legal services. Join us in saluting honorees Carlo A. Scissura of the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce and The Hudson Companies. Tickets and info at CAMBA.org/CasinoNight.
1720 Church Avenue Brooklyn, New York 11226 CAMBA.org
CAMBA Gardens Tenants Find Joy in Growing Food The 10-foot sunflowers swaying over a vegetable garden at CAMBA Gardens I are enough to make anyone smile — and they are working magic on the tenants, many of whom were homeless before moving into these affordable, supportive homes. “Working in the garden makes me happy,” says tenant Muhammad (at left, with his wife). A native of Pakistan, Muhammad spent a recent sunny morning picking tomatoes, okra and eggplants for a healthy cooking demonstration later in the day. “This is therapy,” says Doris, another resident. “It takes your mind off your problems, watching things grow. You see your work and it takes away stress.” The urban farm was created collaboratively between CAMBA and Sustainable Flatbush, an environmental nonprofit, and it provides fresh vegetables for tenants and gives them the satisfaction of working in nature and growing some of their own food. Funded by TD Bank, the farm is part of CAMBA’s Living Healthy Initiative, which also includes nutrition and cooking classes for tenants.