GRANTS
r e m m u S y n r a e i M on Carr t f a r c r i A
August 2013 NEWSLETTER
A Trust grant strengthens the bridge between camp and careers at a summer program for girls | page 4
Questions about setting up a fund at The Trust? Contact: Jane Wilton, General Counsel, at (212) 686-2563; Gay Young, VP for Donor Services, at (212) 686-2234; or Bob Edgar, VP for Donor Relations, at (212) 686-2564.
Who Cares for the Caregiver?
What it takes to keep a 93-year-old with dementia at home Since her husband’s diagnosis of severe dementia three years ago, Doris Cox, 76, has devoted her days to helping Ira. She cooks for him, reads to him, and dresses him. She has developed anxiety and has little time to take care of her own arthritis and high blood pressure. The children, settled far away, can’t offer daily help. Last year, she reached out to Parker Jewish Institute for Health Care and Rehabilitation. Now, two volunteers in its Willing Hearts Helping Hands program pitch in with household chores while offering companionship and encouragement. “When I become stressed and feel hopeless, they tell me I can do it, and so I do,” says Doris. “It’s nice to have someone who is for you.” Continued on page 3
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Willing Hearts Helping Hands Volunteers Crystal Kalangis, Joyce Aronovici, and George Stanley
In her will, Leone Scott Wise left The Trust money “for care, companionship, and attention to homebound elderly.” Sherman Day left funds “to help needy, elderly couples remain together at home.” Elliot and Florence Westin set up a fund to, among other things, “help people with Alzheimer’s and their families.” Thanks to their combined generosity, we made this $45,000 grant to train caregivers. Other grants to improve care for the elderly • Council on Social Work Education, $290,000 to train social workers to help elders making health care decisions. | National • New York University College of Nursing, $110,000 to increase the involvement of chronically ill elders and family caregivers in their own care. | Citywide • San Diego State University, School of Social Work, $30,000 to improve the training of professionals who investigate abuse and neglect of elders and other disabled adults. | National
When Superfund Designation is Good News The toxic Gowanus Canal seems an unlikely place for a real estate boom, but it happens to run between Brooklyn’s increasingly popular Carroll Gardens and Park Slope neighborhoods. The land surrounding the canal was the “Wild West of real estate speculation” until the recession hit and the canal was declared a federal Superfund site, says Michelle de la Uz, executive director of the Fifth Avenue Committee. Working class and poor families, some of whom have been in the neighborhood for generations, worried about being displaced by luxury condos and escalating rents. “The Superfund status designation was a good thing because it, along with the recession, put the brakes on runaway development—and the Superfund mandates a place at the table for residents to provide their vision of what they would like in a revitalized Gowanus Canal,” de la Uz adds. A Trust grant of $50,000 will help the group organize and educate residents—involving them in rezoning discussions so they can participate in planning. “The clean-up unlocks the potential of many sites and therefore the Gowanus neighborhood as a whole,” says de la Uz. “We need to make sure that potential is equitably shared.”
“We need to make sure that potential is equitably shared.”
Continued from page 2
Ira Cox is one of a quarter of a million elders in New York City who have chronic health problems that make them dependent on others. Many aren’t poor enough to qualify for Medicaid or wealthy enough to afford home health aides. “Families do everything imaginable to keep loved ones at home, even if it means turning their lives upside down,” says Lorraine Breuer, vice president for research and grants at the Parker Institute. Even the most devoted relatives often burn out. “We see caregivers neglecting to take care of themselves, overeating, drinking, and getting depressed.” To give respite to more caregivers, a Trust grant of
$45,000 is expanding recruitment and training of volunteers. They teach computer skills, provide companionship, buy groceries, and even care for pets. They also keep an eye out for signs that caregivers need more help at home than they’re getting. Practicing school nurse and volunteer Joyce Aronovici, 72, takes her elderly clients out “to admire the flowers and get a little sun.” The men like to look at cars: “Some things,” she says, “never change.” She especially likes to work with veterans. “I am fulfilling a responsibility that I have—that we all have. I was never in a war, but I can provide our veterans with someone to talk to and depend on.”
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Other Grants The full list of grants approved in the June board meeting can be found in the Latest News section of our website, nycommunitytrust.org. Here are some highlights: Former gang members work with Man Up! in East New York to reach out to young people in or at risk of joining gangs, and to prevent violent flare-ups. To stem gang violence throughout the City, grants totaling $253,000 are funding neighborhood groups with “street cred”: King of Kings Foundation, Life Camp, New York City Mission Society, and Man Up!, in addition to the New York City Housing Authority, and Community Resource Exchange.
Chapters from a Broken Novel (2010) by Julia Burrer and Alex Springer. A $50,000 grant to Doug Varone and Dancers will help start a new institute for young choreographers. Photo by Phil Knott
With the closure of a Pathmark in Two Bridges, Manhattan, residents are scrambling to buy groceries. Chinatown vendors are close, but a dearth of English and Spanish signage, questions about food stamp acceptance, and unfamiliar produce keep many locals away. With a $50,000 grant, Two Bridges Neighborhood Council works with vendors and residents to strengthen the local economy and communication between ethnic groups to expand access to fresh food.
Photo by Jeyhoun Allebaugh/IS Collective
Toby and other puppet friends star in the Safe Touches program to teach elementary school kids the differences between safe and unsafe touches while reinforcing the message that abuse is never the child’s fault. A grant of $50,000 to the New York Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children is evaluating whether children retain and act on what they learned in the program.
When the next storm hits, how will shore communities like Newtown Creek, on the border of Greenpoint, Brooklyn, fare? A $50,000 grant to the New York City Environmental Justice Alliance is bringing community groups, government, and businesses together to protect the City’s waterfront from storm contamination (not pictured).
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GRANTS Newsletter
A Way Out for Trafficking Victims Consider 16-year-old Ilana, lured to New York City with the promise of a restaurant job, who soon finds herself locked up, fearing for her life and forced into prostitution. Or consider 14-year-old Jackie, abused at home, then offered affection and shelter by a man she thinks is her boyfriend, but who coerces her into the sex trade. Law enforcement historically treated these young people as criminals. In New York, 16- and 17-year-olds are tried as adults. As a result, young sex-trafficking victims are more likely to have prostitution on their permanent record. Too often they end up in a downward spiral because a conviction decreases their chance of getting housing, a job, or legal immigration status. During the past five years, laws have increasingly recognized trafficking victims while penalizing those responsible. But officials have not fully enforced the laws: Last year there were more than 2,000 arrests for prostitution in the City, compared to 62 arrests for sex trafficking. The state agency charged with helping trafficking victims has served fewer than 200 people in five years. A $75,000 grant to Sanctuary for Families will help reduce the number of victims of sex trafficking in New York through advocacy to improve laws; education workshops about legal rights and spotting sex-traffickers; and representation for victims in legal matters, including immigration and vacating prostitution convictions. “Sanctuary’s advocacy and education is strongly influenced by the direct legal, housing, and immigration support they provide,” says Shawn Morehead, Trust program officer for human justice. The group’s legal center is staffed by 25 lawyers with expertise in family,
Sanctuary for Families is breaking the cycle of sex trafficking through: PREVENTION • Educate law enforcement, nonprofit, and criminal court staff about the emerging rights of victims • Steer vulnerable youth clear of traffickers; teach them how to find help DIRECT SERVICES • Help victims apply for special visas for undocumented sex-trafficked immigrants • Provide criminal defense and get prostitution charges vacated • Connect victims with public benefits, job training, and safe housing ADVOCACY • Change laws to stop charging trafficking victims with prostitution • More funding for state efforts to prosecute traffickers
immigration, asylum, and public benefits law. Morehead expects the lawyers will set important precedents. Sanctuary for Families and other advocates have successfully moved a bill forward that will assist, not criminalize, 16and 17-year-old trafficking victims. “We think this is a great first step, but for victims 18 and older, there is still work to be done,” says Sanctuary for Families staff attorney Emily Amick. “We also believe if you are victim of trafficking of any age, you should not be convicted of prostitution and then have your sentence vacated.” Sixteen- and seventeen-year-olds facing other charges should also be given a second chance and not a permanent record. In February, The Trust made a $200,000 grant to Public Interest Projects and M&R Strategies to manage a campaign to increase the age of criminal responsibility to 18 in New York State. In short: Young teens should not be tried as adults, and victims shouldn’t be treated as criminals.
At its most recent meeting, The Trust’s board approved 72 competitive grants totaling more than $7.1 million to organizations largely in the five boroughs. They ranged from a grant to AMERINDA to start an online marketplace for Native-American artists, to a program helping Staten Island youth to stop using drugs. Our divisions, Long Island Community Foundation and August 2013 7 Westchester Community Foundation, also make grants to improve life in the region. Details at nycommunitytrust.org
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GRANTS August 2013 NEWSLETTER
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The grants described in this issue were approved by The New York Community Trust’s governing body at its June 2013 meeting. This issue and past newsletters can be found at nycommunitytrust.org Most of these grants are made possible through the generosity of donors who established permanent, charitable funds with us during their lifetimes or through their wills. To learn more about setting up a fund, now or in the future, please contact: Jane Wilton, General Counsel, at (212) 686-2563; Gay Young, VP for Donor Services, at (212) 686-2234; or Bob Edgar, VP for Donor Relations, at (212) 686-2564.
INSIDE: Who Cares for the Caregiver? Postcard from Camp A Way Out for Sex Trafficking Victims and more . . .
Residents of Bedrock Park, an affordable apartment complex in Hunts Point, spruce up their park. MHANY Management bought the buildings out of foreclosure and renovated all 125 apartments. Grants of $65,000 to MHANY and Banana Kelly Community Improvement Association help stabilize low-income apartment buildings at risk of foreclosure in central Brooklyn and the South Bronx.