Providence House Heartline PROVIDENCE HOUSE, INC.
VOLUME XX. NO.2 September 2005
PROVIDENCE HOUSE RANKED #2 AMONG DEPARTMENT OF HOMELESS SERVICES SHELTER PROGRAMS !
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or the past two years, the New I, III, and VII, which also serve York City Department of homeless families, ranked in the upper Homeless Services (DHS) has third, or „Very Good‟ category. linked its payment for shelter services At a press conference held in July to to performance outcome. celebrate the top 16 agencies and their The goal of this performance staff who received the „Excellent‟ Investment Program (PIP) is to invest ratings, Commissioner Linda Gibbs, in DHS‟ best performers, namely those remarked that a record 7,078 families, organizations that engage residents in including an estimated 12,500 the housing process and are able to homeless children, were placed into successfully move families into permanent housing, an 11% increase permanent housing. In addition, the PIP over the previous year. provides payments to the organization (left) S. Constance Kennedy, PH Director of Congregate Programs, We congratulate the staff of and Mr. Roger Newman, DHS Deputy Commissioner based on their performance outcome. Providence House who worked hard to (center) S. Janet Kinney, PH Executive Director, In all, 134 programs were evaluated, achieve their housing targets and and Providence House I on Church helped these families successfully Avenue ranked #2 in New York City, with a 9.9 move into their own homes. Certainly this is an achievement „Excellent‟ rating! Three other Providence House programs worth celebrating!
UPDATE: NEW PROGRAM INITIATIVES HEALTHY PROGRESS By: Sister Marie Sorenson, Associate Director
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n our last issue we shared with you two new programs initiated through grants receive by United Way (Nutrition) and Fidelis Care (Health Services) to provide residents with an array of options for healthy living…and from all reports these programs are doing just that. Under the direction of Karen Russell, assisted by Sister Karen Keegan and the House Managers, the Nutrition Workshops were a great success. Residents who participated experienced a well prepared curriculum, hands on meal preparation and skills that can be taken with them when they obtain their own apartments. The “grand finale” workshop consisted of a healthy and delicious meal
followed by the distribution of certificates and a treasure trove of household items the residents will take with them to their new apartments. Sister Karen Keegan in her role as Nurse Case Manager has been very busy providing health assessments to all residents and their children. Residents are happy to see Sister Karen coming through the door as she is able to assist them with a number of health related issues regarding medication, childhood illnesses, preventive care, ongoing health problems and advocacy during a hospital stay. Providence House is making “Healthy Progress” for the women and children who come to stay with us and we hope these skills and knowledge move on with them as they transition to independence.
MORE PHOTOS ON PAGE 4
ANOTHER SUCCESSFUL WATER CLUB EVENT “PEOPLE OF HOPE CELEBRATION” JUNE 9, 2005
A Soledad O’Brien
The Mulhollands, S. Mary Ross and Janet D’Addario
Bob and Lucy Kinney and S. Janet Kinney
special evening was enjoyed by family, friends and supporters of Providence House at our annual “People of Hope Celebration” held on June 9th at the Water Club. , CNN Anchor and Host of American Morning, graced us with her presence as the Master of Ceremonies. This year‟s event honored two wonderful couples, Sterling and Stacey Ball, and Bob and Lucy Kinney, both who have been long time supporters of the Providence House mission and have demonstrated a deep commitment and concern for the women and families we serve. Providence House also honored the late Sister Kathleen Toner, IHM who dedicated many years of her ministerial life to the care of women and children at Samaritan House, the agency which she had founded in Park Slope, Brooklyn. Just prior to her death in 2003, Providence House moved one of its shelter programs into the original Samaritan House where Sister Kathy herself had lived. Sister Maureen Cryan, IHM and Sister Kathy‟s sister Maureen Toner Barry, shared with our guests their memories of Kathy and expressed their gratitude to Providence House for assuring her ministry would continue. This evening‟s celebration raised $157,000 which will be used for program services and facility improvements in Providence Houses. Thank you to all who made it such a success!
Sterling and Stacey Ball and The D’Addario’s
S. Maureen Cryan, Maureen T. Barry
Washington and Lee University’s Shepherd Poverty Program Students Share Their Experiences Working in the Providence House Child Care Center!
(l) Kristine Early, YaMinco Varner and Jessica Hussinger
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KRISTINE EARLY
oming from a city of 60,000 and going to school in a town of only 6,000, I truly don‟t know what to expect when I picked up my life to move to New York City for the summer. I had visited Manhattan before but I had never set foot in any of the five boroughs. I was more than a little nervous when I first set foot in Jamaica, Queens, loaded down with my suitcase and backpack, after my first solo ride on a subway train. Everyone, the house managers, the Sisters, and the Providence House residents worked very hard to make me feel welcomed and safe, right from the beginning of my stay. The people truly make Providence House what it is, the workers, the volunteers, and the residents. I will never forget the women at Providence House III where I stayed, or my coworkers and the children I worked with at the daycare where I interned for eight weeks. They taught me so much. Although I am excited about the other adventures that await me, I am hesitant to leave Providence House and will treasure this summer.
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YAMINCO VARNER
pending my summer at Providence House has been quite a memorable experience. Despite feeling afraid on my first day in the city that never sleeps, to feeling overwhelmed when the kids at my house would jump all over me begging me to wait on them to go to summer camp. If I had to do it all over again, I wouldn't change a thing. I especially enjoyed eating dinner (and breakfast when time permitted) with all the residents and the Sisters - like one big happy family. Sometimes I would get emotional when the women and their children transitioned out of the home, but at the end of it all I could smile because I realized that it was for their best interest. At the Child Care Center, I could not have asked for more helpful and fun-loving Providence House staff than Shanee, Ms. Emily, or a more understanding supervisor
than Pat. Even though I did everything from helping with addition and subtraction, tracing and practicing letters, designing crafts, to tying tennis shoes, cleaning noses, and changing dirty diapers, I feel that I learned twice as much from the children. They taught me what it means to share, how to play new games, and what it truly meant to let your hair down and be a kid (which included dancing and singing to the Disney movie soundtracks). Not only were all of the kids cute and unique in their own way, but there will always be a piece of them with me when I go home. If I had to say what I will miss the most about this experience, is definitely the Sisters and Nestloye the House Manager. The Sisters are the sweetest group of women I had ever met and in their own special way they all brought joy to my life. The most important lesson that I learned from the Sisters and the residents was that home is what you make it. After my first week at the residence, I felt Providence House II was really a place I could call home, and even though I was not with my biological family, I felt a sense of family with all those that surrounded me. I leave this experience hoping my presence was felt in a positive way and that I am missed as much as I will miss each person I met while at Providence House this summer. I will always be willing to come back to Providence House to share my gift of helping others as long as there is always room for me.
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JESSICA HUSSINGER
had never been to New York City when I decided that it would be a good idea to spend two months of my summer living in a shelter in Brooklyn, New York. My hometown, with less than two hundred people and all dirt roads certainly offered no preparation for life in the city, but my experiences at Providence House this summer provided invaluable lessons. My main work was at the Providence House Child Care Center where I spent most of my time as the six-foot tall jungle gym. All of my anxiety about being rejected as an outsider was alleviated after the first week of work with these amazingly resilient children. The theme of this year‟s summer program was “My First Garden” and as I taught the children about plants and growth, they helped me to grow as a person by showering me with their unprejudiced affection. I will miss the chorus of my name and many hugs when I walk in a room. They say that kids are the best teachers and I believe that this was especially true of the children at the center whose life experiences are so different from my own. I was also able to learn a lot from the women I lived with in the shelter. I learned that stereotyping is an awful injustice to the individuality of human beings. I admire the support services that the Providence House program offers these women and children who are much more than just “homeless people.” My volunteer experience this summer allowed me to live with women and work with children who helped me more than I ever helped them.
WOMEN SPEAK
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“HOUSE OF HOPE” By Lorrayne Patterson
rovidence House, House of Hope. After being incarcerated for three years, entering Providence House has been a warm and nurturing place to begin again. It begin October 14, 2004. I was fortunate to enter with a job. The case manager helped me to navigate through the social service agencies I had to deal with, as well as assist me in sorting out my plans for my future. Everyone from the case managers, house managers and the Sisters are always concerned and available to help in anyway they can. The holidays were joyful and very special. I‟ve received
assistance. I‟m now living in the Coney Island house which is independent living. This has really helped me in a lot of ways, where I am responsible for myself, and my comings and goings are not monitored. There is always a smile to greet you in the morning and wish you a pleasant day. When I decided to go to college in the fall, I will be receiving a Switzer scholarship provided through Providence House. Believe me, being on parole and beginning life again is not easy bit I can honestly say that Providence House is truly a House of God and a House of Hope.
GRANTS Carnegie Corporation of New York $25,000 Martha Mertz Foundation $13,000 Independence Community Foundation $10,000 CSJ Ministry Fund $10,000 Blanchard Family Foundation $6,000 Westchester Coalition $1,552 United Way/New Rochelle $1,315 North Fork Bank $1,000 Many thanks to the foundations corporations, donors, friends and families who continue to support Providence House in its mission to serve homeless women and children. To Learn More on How You Can Support Providence House, Please Visit our Website:
www.providencehouse.org
PROVIDENCE HOUSE, INC. 703 Lexington Avenue Brooklyn, NY 11221 Website: www.providencehouse.org Email: info@providencehouse.org (718) 455-0197 phone (718) 455-0692 fax
NONPROFIT ORG. U.S. POSTAGE PAID BROOKLYN, NY 11256 PERMIT NO. 84