SPRING 2013 · VOL. 07 · NO. 01
From the President and CEO This summer—with your help—CAMBA will embark on one of the most exciting new directions in our 35-year history.
CAMBA’s First Outpatient Mental Health Center to Serve Brooklyn Neighbors
We plan to open the doors of the CAMBA Mental Health Center, an outpatient mental health clinic and our first initiative to provide direct clinical mental health treatment. Moreover, this service will be open to the community and—in another unique role for CAMBA —will accept private insurance and offer a sliding scale to uninsured neighbors. The benefits will be enormous. Brooklyn suffers a severe shortage of accessible mental health services, coupled with many people who desperately need them. Whether it’s mild depression or crippling mental illnesses, our experts will provide treatment to help people become happier and more productive. And our neighborhoods will be safer and more secure.
Michael Erhard, above right, points to a ceiling that needs repair, part of the work that is required to transform 27 Winthrop Street (left) into a mental health center. Photos: Anthony Collins
Recent headlines make it clear: our nation urgently needs more and better mental health care. The shortage is even more acute in Central Brooklyn, where an estimated one in every 20 Flatbush adults suffers from serious psychological problems and where services are scarce. To address this critical need, CAMBA is opening the CAMBA Mental Health Center, an outpatient mental health clinic in Prospect Lefferts Gardens, which will be available to all adults in the community. The center will offer an array of treatment options, including assessment, individual and group psychotherapy, family therapy and counseling, medication treatment and more. Crisis intervention services will be available 24/7. CAMBA is authorized through the New York State Department of Health and Mental Hygiene to provide these services. By filling this crucial gap in services, CAMBA’s Mental Health Center will
help individuals lead happier, more productive lives and create a stronger, safer community for all. “Today, we are finding that more and more people need access to high-quality therapeutic mental health services,” said Michael Erhard, a CAMBA Senior Vice President. “CAMBA is excited about the opportunity to provide these services to Brooklyn communities.” A double “first” for CAMBA, the center marks our first clinical health care program and first program accepting private insurance and offering a sliding CONTINUED ON PAGE 2
CAMBA needs $200,000 to renovate our townhouse at 27 Winthrop Street into a fully-equipped clinic. We are halfway to our goal, and we need your help to finish the project and make our vision a reality. We are calling on you to join our capital campaign. Please help us raise the remaining $100,000 by June 30, so we can complete construction and open the center’s doors late this summer.
Help Us Build Mental Health Services CAMBA is asking our friends to help fund construction for the CAMBA Mental Health Center, an urgently needed new outpatient mental health clinic.
Goal: $200,000 by June 30 To learn more and to make a donation, go to CAMBA.org/ mentalhealth
For news and updates, visit CAMBA.org.
Thank You! We salute the following donors for your generous support (Oct. 1, 2012 - Jan. 31, 2013): CORPORATE AND FOUNDATION DONORS A. Larovere Consulting LLC
Center for Student Missions
Alexander Gorlin Architects
Chadbourne & Parke LLP
The Bank of New York Mellon BE Furniture Outlet Beardwood & Co. LLC Bell Urban LLC Benchmark Title Agency LLC Bethex Federal Credit Union The Briarwood Organization LLC Broadview Networks, Inc. Brown & Weinraub, PLLC Bruno Frustaci Contracting Company Budget Business Supply Co. Carver Federal Savings Bank Cauldwell Wingate Company
CHI Benefits by Corporate Health Innovations Chris McConnell Consulting, Inc CitiQuiet Windows Combined Coordinating Council, Inc. Curtis + Ginsberg Architects LLP Devito and Alvarado Pediatric Associates PLLC Dunn Development Co.
Foliot Furniture
Landscape Architecture, LLC
Saretsky Katz Dranoff & Glass LLP
Lutheran Family Health Center
Schmutter, Strull, Fleisch Inc.
Groupe Sanglier
Mega Contracting Inc.
Service Directions Inc.
Harden + Van Arnam Architects PLLC
Miller Cicero, LLC
Seyfarth Shaw LLP
Morgan Stanley
Sheldon Lobel. P.C.
Heidell, Pittoni, Murphy & Bach, LLP
Neighborhood Opportunities Fund
Summit Ridge Group, LLC
Home Depot
New York Community Trust
SUNY Downstate Medical Center
New York Jitnasonics Medical, P.C.
The Parkside Group
New York Methodist Hospital
The Rogosin Institute
Galaxy General Contracting Corp. Garden Works
Hudson Housing Capital LLC Institutional Investor, Inc. Interior Resources USA
O’Connor Davies Munns & Dobbins LLP
James E. Rocco Associates, Inc.
Eileen Abraham Insurance KNS Building Agency LLC Restoration Inc. EmblemHealth Kord Consulting Enterprise Community Law Office Partners of Karen Sherman Extraordinary Ledgewood Wealth Building Advisors, LLC Consultants, LLC Lee Weintraub Feldman Lumber
Premier Ford Lincoln Mercury
The Right Connection United Neighborhood Houses of New York United Way of New York City Vertex Security
R&B Janitorial Supply
Wells Fargo Bank IRT
Radiation Therapists Associates, P.C.
Wells Fargo Home Mortgage
Ridgewood Savings Bank
WinnResidential York Group Associates
Claire Harding-Keefe & William Keefe
Margaret R. Mukherjee
Anjeli M. Sharma
Terence Kelleher
Deborah Murphy
Adam J Shatz
Nancy Owens Studio LLC
Kirsten Shaw
Justin Nardilla
Stanley Sherbell
INDIVIDUAL DONORS Vadim Abromove
Joy Elliott
Robert J. & Pamela Bass
Michael Erhard
Julia & Jonathan Willens Beardwood
Mert Erogul Steven Evans
Elise Koffler
Neil Falcone
Ellen D. Kolba
Pramod & Kelly Ann Narula
Leonard Shiller
Catherine & Gregory Farrell
Allan F Kramer, II Robin Landes
Christopher Neckles
Alan Fernandez
Lyle C.R. Landon
Rang Ngo
Marina Slepak
Paul E. Ford
Mary Ann Lanzetta
Robert Nobile
Alice F. Freed
Joan Leavitt
Ruth O’Brien
Katherine Gallagher
Sanford M. Lederman
Mary Kay Gallagher
Choichun Leung
Charlie & Katherine O’Neill
David & Ellen Winner Lewis
Kaz & Joanne Oplustil
Sally A. Brazil
William Cullen & Brenda Gannam
Francine Palazza
Caitlyn Brazill
Steven & Anne Garner
Kathleen Lewis
Darshan Patel
Neil Brazitis
Liziamma George
Shi Wen Li
Monty Peffley
Jefrey Brown
Benjamin K. Glaser
Alex Liberatore
John & Sharon Browne
Lee Goldfarb
Peter Bruno
Alexander Gorlin
Rocco & Lorelie Lombardo
Sameer Rafla Demetrious, M.D.
Robert T. & Nicole C. Buck
Paula Greenstein
Jeff Caltabiano
Prasad Gudavalli
Rita Bellevue Michael Hammond Berne Robert Berne Alan J. Bernstein Thayyullat Bharathan David Bixby Pam Booth Matthew W. Botwin
Jeanne M Campanelli Bernard Carr Paul Catalanotto Gregory Celestin Cecily Cohen Asher Colin Roger & Marina Cunningham Ana Cutter Christopher & Anita Czar Thomas Dambakly Lora Lynn Delarama Angeles Delgado Patricia Donelan Ted & Kathy Dros Valerie Barton Richardson & Dwayne Richardson Claudia Dymond
Joan Grillo Madhav Gudi Kenneth E. Gunning Alison Haberly Howard E. Hallengren James Heineman John Heitner Foster N. Henry Jamey & Leslie Hewitt Sara Hobel Christie Hodgkins Nancy Hofbauer Daniel & Mary Louise J. Hogarty Belle Horwitz Anna Isaac Richard Isaacson Charles Scibetta, Jr. & Jennifer Willig
Diane Louard-Michel Sarah Ludington Samantha C Magistro Asim R. Malik Nancy A Margro Bernardo Mas Kevin Coffey & Kathleen A. Masters Christy McAvoy Joan McFeely Marjorie McKenzie Mark McManus Parag Mehta Patricia Miller Janet Miller Ann Minogue Rabia N Mir Shervin Mirbaha Michelle Montgomery Charles & Beverly Morris Faraj Motahedeh Kevin Muir
Todd Simon David B Smith Tony Smolenski Ronald Soave Leonora Sokolova
fee scale for uninsured people. As usual, CAMBA will take Medicare and Medicaid clients. The new center at 27 Winthrop Street, a three-story residential building constructed in 1903, needs extensive renovations to convert from housing to a fully-equipped clinic. Work will include upgrading bathrooms, removing a kitchen, repairing floors and ceilings and building offices and waiting rooms. Total renovations will tally $201,200. CAMBA has raised more than half and is launching a capital campaign to raise the remaining $100,000 by June 30. Our goal is to complete renovations and open the clinic in late summer 2013. The capital campaign will seed the CAMBA Mental Health Builders Fund for the creation and expansion of mental health services.
Susan K Solomon Daniel A. Sterling Kesha Sylvester Margaret Taddy Jeffrey Tancil Joan M Tedeschi
Suhail Raoof
Walker Tisdale
Jorin & Alexandra Reddish
Hazel Tishcoff Richard & Mary Torpey
Eileen Reilly
Wilma Torres
Sandye Renz
Anthony J. Tortolani
Luz Rivera
Nancy Tumposky
Robyn Roller
Josine Veca
Aimee Rosen
Jonathan Velazquez
Vern Bergelin & Mary Ellen Ross
Dino J. Veronese
David Rowe
John Ward
CAMBA is a non-profit agency that provides services that connect people with opportunities to enhance their quality of life.
Peter & Deborah Vietze
Osei Rubie
Aisha Weathers
Thomas J. Russi
Barry Wechsler
Mary P. Saladino
Simon Weifenbach
Salama Salama Anthony & Adrienne Santola Estelle Schaffer
Charles D. & Elizabeth Erin Whelan Patricia Willens Sheree Williams
Joshua Schiller
Sharon Zane
Ronald W. Schwartz, DMD
Shahriar Zehtabchi
Karen Segraves-Pender Thomas & Dayna Sessa Rubina Shafi
Mark Zimet Matthew & Myra Zuckerbraun
Mark Your Calendar Run or walk for CAMBA on May 5 at CAMBA’s Healthy Way 5k. Details at CAMBA.org/5kRace
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Annual Spring Shona Sale, May 17 & 18, 1-6 pm. Benefit Reception, May 16. CAMBA.org/Shona2013
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Board of Directors KATHERINE O’NEILL Chairwoman CHRISTOPHER ZARRA Vice President
MATTHEW W. BOTWIN GREGORY CELESTIN PAUL GALLIGAN
REV. DANIEL RAMM Secretary/ Treasurer
TERENCE KELLEHER
SAL BACARELLA
BERNARDO MAS
JULIA BEARDWOOD
RUTH O’BRIEN
ALLAN F. KRAMER II
DAVID H. SCHULTZ
Join us on May 5 for CAMBA’s Healthy Way 5k. Details at CAMBA.org/5kRace
CAMBA Helps Sandy Victims Find Housing Cruz (last name withheld) remembers Oct. 29, 2012, as the most terrifying night in his 42 years of life. He was living in a two-story home in Beach Channel when Superstorm Sandy sent waves crashing up to the second floor. Cruz lost his housing. With no documentation, his unemployment benefits were swept away as well. Destitute, he spent several frigid nights sleeping on benches, finally turning to the city’s Restoration Center in Coney Island for help. There, he was directed to CAMBA’s Zenelle Simon and Camille Hamilton. Within an hour of meeting them, Cruz was on his way to an emergency shelter and armed with information to help him regain his benefits—and his independence. “Now, I’ve got somewhere to go. I won’t be out on the street,” he said with relief. Immediately after the storm, CAMBA’s HomeBase staff swung into action, working with the city and FEMA to provide emergency housing services in Coney Island and Staten Island. The HomeBase workers’ official role was to find housing for people displaced by Sandy, including FEMA-funded hotel rooms, shelter beds and referrals for permanent housing. Unofficially, our staff also served as frontline counselors to people in emotional crisis.
Camille Hamilton
Hyergene Henry was one of the first CAMBA staffers to work at the Staten Island Restoration Center. With transportation disrupted, it took her
Tanisha Edwards, left, and Hyergene Henry
several hours just to reach the center in the early post-storm days. “It was very heart-rending for me… People would come in yelling or crying. I would listen to them, let them express their feelings, and try to help them as best I could.” “We had to let people know they had someone on their side,” added Tanisha Edwards, who also worked in Staten Island. “We let them know they are not going to be left in the street.” Among their clients were people in shock —including those who had lost loved ones or been left destitute by the storm. Kamina Louis said her experience in Staten Island showed her that “the information I can give to a client can change their life. And by listening to their stories, it gives them hope.”
CAMBA’s ‘Hurricane Heroes’ Stood Up to Superstorm Dedicated HomeBase staff members who aided displaced Sandy victims were only a few of our many “hurricane heroes” who braved the storm and its tragic aftermath to help others. CAMBA’s 24-hour facilities—our homeless shelters and supportive housing residences—were staffed and operating
smoothly during the storm. Immediately after, our HIV/AIDS team was on the ground, checking on frail people living in scattered site apartments in the flood zones, to make sure they were safe and had food, heat and other necessities. Our van drivers sat through long gas lines so they could drive clients
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to services. Staffers at Liberation Diploma Plus High School, Coney Island, cleaned out the school. And legal staff addressed insurance claims. for foreclosure clients (see page 4). Even staffers who lost homes returned immediately to work to help others.
From Foreclosure to Flood, CAMBA Proves a Lifeline Winifred Alexander’s Coney Island home was awash in red ink and in foreclosure the night Sandy struck, destroying the first floor. Mrs. Alexander, who has cancer, was in the hospital that night, recovering from a leg amputation. Her son and his children narrowly escaped the flood. Could things get any worse for the Alexander family? Indeed they did, when their insurance company refused to cover the flood damage. With nowhere else to go, the family camped out on the second floor. Mrs. Alexander joined them in this precarious situation when she left the hospital.
CAMBA Legal Services, which was helping Mrs. Alexander fight foreclosure, stepped in to deal with her insurance claim. With CAMBA’s help, the company finally agreed to cover more than $95,000 for damages to the home. The Alexanders are looking forward to rebuilding and to working with CAMBA and the bank to resolve the foreclosure. “I’m glad CAMBA is able to help hardworking families such as the Alexanders stand up for their legal rights against egregious bank abuse,” said CAMBA attorney Natalie Webb.
CAMBA’s Party Pipeline Party for a Pantry, April 23: An evening of food, drinks and a raffle to benefit our Beyond Hunger Emergency Food Pantry, hosted by the CAMBA Young Leaders Committee. More info at CAMBA.org/FoodDrive. Healthy Way 5k, May 5: Our first-ever run/walk, through the rolling hills of Prospect Park. Sponsored by EmblemHealth. More info at CAMBA.org/5kRace. Annual Shona Benefit Sale, May 16-18: Preview our collection of stone sculptures at the Opening Night Cocktail Reception (May 16) or come for the public sale on May 17 and 18. More info at CAMBA.org/Shona2013. CAMBA Night Out, October 24: Save the date for our signature annual event. More info coming soon at CAMBA.org.
CAMBA to Build New Brownsville Housing In 1970, Joni Mitchell sang, “They paved paradise and put up a parking lot.” Today, CAMBA Housing Ventures is transforming a parking lot into a paradise of sustainable and affordable housing and social services—where families will flourish. The parking lot that will be transformed is part of the Van Dyke Houses, a 22-building public housing complex in Brownsville, Brooklyn, which is home to more than 4,300 people. The New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) recently named CAMBA Housing
Ventures as developer of the new 12-story building that will rise on a former parking area within the complex. The development will include approximately 100 units of sustainable, affordable and supportive housing for families earning less than 60% of the area median income (determined annually by HUD). Leasing information will be finalized upon construction closing, expected to occur in Fall 2015. CAMBA will provide on-site supportive services and job training opportunities to residents.
Rendering of Van Dyke Building