Food insecurity during the COVID-19 pandemic has been an issue for 1 in 10 Americans – and women of color are disproportionately impacted. A recent article from Essence reports on non-profit organizations and programs that are working to close this gap, including our Staten Island Community Partnership. “Amid Covid, [The Foundling’s] been providing food pantry meals to dozens of families,” reporter Donna M. Owens writes.
| Make an impact – provide housing and support to young people like Gianni this holiday season. |
After aging out of foster care, Gianni found himself with no place to call home. Facing homelessness while balancing work and college was difficult – Gianni struggled to figure out where he would sleep and what he would eat each day. His challenges were compounded when the pandemic hit New York City in March. Gianni lost his job, and with no funds for a computer, was unable to keep up with remote classes.
The Foundling’s Supportive Housing program provided Gianni with the stability he needed to get back on track. The program, which is uniquely designed for those who find themselves in Gianni’s shoes, utilizes subsidized housing, skills coaching, and emotional support to help young adults work toward independence. Not only did the program provide Gianni with an apartment to call his own, but his case planner helped him apply for benefits and secure a laptop from his university. “The Foundling eased my concerns about surviving, so I could focus on thriving,” he says.
Now living in Brooklyn’s Crown Heights in a safe and friendly community, Gianni has the resources to excel in his college studies, and the ability to focus on his passion: music production. He credits music with saving him emotionally, and with The Foundling’s support, he has the space to grow creatively. “I try to learn as many instruments and skills as I can,” he says. “It’s all a process.”
“I would not be where I am now if it wasn’t for The Foundling,” Gianni says. “Now, I see myself going to a 4-year college, playing sports, doing music. I see life now.”
Watch Gianni share his experience in the video above!
| DID YOU KNOW: This year’s CARES Act makes a new charitable deduction available to taxpayers that do not itemize their deductions. Taxpayers who do not itemize their deductions may be able to deduct up to $300 for cash contributions.*
*Please consult your accountant or financial advisor to learn more about the CARES Act and your eligibility. |
Your support can help young adults like Gianni build a promising future. Join us in transforming the lives of our neighbors this holiday season.
Medpage Today recently spoke with The Foundling on a report detailing how the COVID-19 pandemic has stifled family visitation in the foster care system, stalling the reunification process.
“Each day that birth parents spend away from their children takes a toll on their well being, said Liyan Bao, vice president of Placement Permanency Support at New York Foundling. We have had some families who have just been completely discouraged by all of this, not being able to have their kids go home to them, and they were on the right track,” Bao told MedPage Today.
| Make an impact – donate to families like Jennifer’s this holiday season. |
Raising five children on her own, Jennifer was used to juggling responsibilities and being a constant source of stability for her family – but this year’s pandemic turned her life upside down. Jennifer struggled to maintain virtual school schedules and procure enough technology and supplies for her children to stay connected with their teachers. Additionally, she found it difficult to keep her home stocked with groceries, medications, and other essentials.
In this time of stress and uncertainty, The Foundling’s Mott Haven Academy Charter School became her source of stability. Our K-8 charter school, which combines a trauma-informed curriculum with wrap-around social services, is uniquely positioned to support its community in times of crisis. Social workers and teachers stepped in to provide Jennifer everything she needed – ongoing emotional support, childcare coverage, and assistance with supplies and essentials at home.
“The pandemic was rough, but they made it easier – with food, essentials, hand soap, paper towels, coloring books, crayons, everything,” Jennifer shares. “At Haven Academy, the teachers, social workers, and staff are not just there to help students—like my children—they also help parents and families too.”
With the help of The Foundling and our supporters, Jennifer is back to being a beacon of support for her family. “I’m ready to go. I just can’t wait to see what the future looks like,” she says.
Watch Jennifer and her family tell their story!
| DID YOU KNOW: This year’s CARES Act makes a new charitable deduction available to taxpayers that do not itemize their deductions. Taxpayers who do not itemize their deductions may be able to deduct up to $300 for cash contributions.*
*Please consult your accountant or financial advisor to learn more about the CARES Act and your eligibility. |
Your support can help mothers like Jennifer become heroes for their children. Join us in transforming the lives of our neighbors this holiday season.
Closing out National Adoption Month, News 12 in The Bronx recently featured Janina MacLean and her story of becoming a foster mother – and later adopting – two siblings with The Foundling.
Every year, The Foundling partners with 30,000 children, adults, and families as they strive to create transformational change in their own lives –this year, our neighbors need your help more than ever. Our New York and Puerto Rico communities were hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic. But through hardships and uncertainty, The Foundling has represented a source of strength and hope.
With help from our generous supporters we responded directly to new community needs, allowing those we serve to persevere and stand tall. But our work is not over. As new COVID-19 cases continue to rise in our community, we have a long road ahead. This Giving Tuesday, you can be a hero for our neighbors, and help them continue to move forward and work to keep themselves and their families safe. The time to act is now.
Rodney, a participant in Camp Felix and our Developmental Disabilities Community Habilitation program.
Make a donation today. Your gift will bring immediate support to people like Rodney, who has blossomed thanks to the partnership of his Community Habilitation therapist and his Camp Felix counselors, despite the immense challenges faced by children with developmental disabilities during the pandemic.
Your gift of:
| DID YOU KNOW: This year’s CARES Act makes a new charitable deduction available to taxpayers that do not itemize their deductions. Taxpayers who do not itemize their deductions may be able to deduct up to $300 for cash contributions.*
*Please consult your accountant or financial advisor to learn more about the CARES Act and your eligibility. |
P.S. Interested in other ways to support The Foundling? Visit AmazonSmile and choose The New York Foundling as your AmazonSmile charity. The Foundling will receive a portion of every dollar you spend – a simple way to give back as you shop online, at no cost to you!
The most recent installment of The New York Times’ Neediest Cases profiles Denisha, a participant in our Supportive Housing program. She had a turbulent home life growing up, and spent much of her adolescence in the foster care system. Her love of school, however, was always a constant. With The Foundling’s support, Denisha has been able to continue her academic journey and now, as a teacher, is inspiring others.
Each September, cities and states across the country recognize and pay tribute to Deaf and Hard of Hearing Awareness Month. It’s a time when there’s greater attention and focus on members of this community, a celebration of their cultural norms and traditions, and a deeper understanding of how they communicate with one another.
For nearly 40 years, The New York Foundling has been one of the only specialized providers of family support and prevention programs for New York City’s Deaf and Hard of Hearing community. Members of our staff who work with Deaf or Hard of Hearing children and adults are fluent in American Sign Language (ASL), and in many cases, are also Deaf or Hard of Hearing themselves. The services we provide at The Foundling improve family relationships and dynamics, empower each person to be more independent and expressive in what they need to grow stronger, and help families and individuals advocate for services and support.
There’s a strong sense of community and belonging among those who are Deaf and Hard of Hearing. A unique aspect of their culture is the tradition of giving someone a personal “name sign” instead of fingerspelling out the person’s name.
“A name sign can only be given by a Deaf person, or member of the Deaf community, and typically is meant to be representative of something specific about the individual,” says Anna Poiarkoff, Clinical Model Accessibility Coordinator for Deaf Services at The Foundling. In the video below, Anna shares the poignant story of how she received her name sign. We hope you’ll watch and be inspired to learn more about Deaf culture.
For more information on The Foundling’s Deaf Services, check out our program page and our recent blog post: Our Work Continues: Supporting Deaf and Hard of Hearing Families with Communication and Advocacy.
Our award-winning Child Abuse Prevention Program (CAPP) has reached nearly 600,000 elementary school students in New York City since 1986. The program teaches up to 20,000 children every year to recognize, resist, and report abuse and neglect using life-sized puppets during in-school workshops. Over the last 34 years, the program has shown its effectiveness in helping children escape abuse.
This school year will be very different in many ways, but one thing that won’t change is The Foundling’s work to protect some of our City’s most at-risk children. The CAPP program operates on the understanding that school staff are often the first to notice signs of neglect or abuse and report it. The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in children being out of school for months, and The Foundling and CAPP want to ensure that children are still safe, despite these challenging times.
Before the effects of COVID-19 came to New York City, the CAPP team performed their Child Safety Workshops all school year long in school libraries or gymnasiums for large groups of third and fourth graders. With the limitations on in-person gatherings and the drastic change to school operations, our team has pivoted to a virtual format for this coming school year, aiming to reach thousands of students even if our Workshops can’t be performed in person. As part of their annual curriculum, students whose parents have opted for in-person learning in New York City will watch a pre-recorded video of the CAPP workshop with their teacher and a school counselor. Staff from The Foundling will be “with” the students virtually on camera– watching alongside them. The team is also developing plans to work with students are attending school completely virtually.
“Stephen,” is one of the CAPP puppets who speaks with students about physical and sexual abuse, and provides children with the tools they need to decipher between safe and unsafe touch. Although he can’t meet with students this year, he did have this message to share as kids begin their remote learning:
“Before each virtual workshop, all participating schools will receive training on how to speak with children who disclose abuse and neglect,” said Marion White, Program Director of CAPP. “The workshop is incredibly important, especially today with many children not attending school in-person—not only does the work give children a prevention education—it also gives children who may have already experienced abuse the chance to get help.”
Click here to learn more about The Foundling’s Child Abuse Prevention Program.
Hypebae reports on the proliferation of accessible PPE that allows the Deaf and Hard of Hearing community to better communicate. “We jointly designed a clear face covering to ‘unmask’ masked communication with the deaf and hard of hearing community,” Goldstein said. Sprayground, another brand expanding into the clear face mask category, makes an entirely transparent version featuring two valves, one on each side of the face, that single-use filters can be inserted into. Founder David Ben David shared that the brand has partnered with The New York Foundling’s Family Services for Deaf Children program and will donate masks for distribution in the New York City area.