Willie McCartha, center, with State Senator Patrick M. Gallivan, left, and Patrick Paglen, Case Manager at 3rd Street on right.

Project Renewal joined HSC's statewide advocacy campaign "Who Cares? I Do." to spread awareness of the impact that funding cuts have on New Yorkers. Clients and staff travelled to Albany this month to meet legislators and share with them the importance of protecting funding for programs that provide healthcare and housing for Project Renewal clients. Specific concerns include: the implementation of Medicaid Reforms that threaten to reduce funds for human services and make access to services challenging for many vulnerable populations including homeless New Yorkers, and the suspension of the $15 million NYC shelter supplement that ended the Advantage rental subsidy for many shelter residents.

Client Willie McCartha has been directly affected by the loss of the Advantage rental subsidy. The program helped him move from our Third Street Shelter to a one-bedroom apartment in Washington Heights last year. Willie expressed his fears to NY1 News, "I don't know which way to turn or which way to go... How can you cancel a program that help so many people? It's sad."

Willie travelled to Albany to share his concerns with legislators. "It was amazing to talk to people regarding the problem at hand. Each meeting was a little different and we covered all the bases. We spoke to the Social Services council, the Ways and Means Committee, and a representative of Senator Patrick Gallivan.  I spoke of my concern not just for myself but for the disabled, elderly, and children who would be forced into the shelter system."

Watch the NY1 story with Willie McCartha.

Make your voice heard.  Sign the petition, share your story and spread the word.
March 2012

Culinary Arts Employment Coordinator Ron Johnson was sitting at his desk one day when the phone rang.   On the other end of the line was Dante Mena, Food Service Director at St. John's University. He spoke with Ron about offering internships to Culinary Arts students.   He knew the internships could be a valuable stepping stone to a new career and a new life for the students. He knew, because 16 years ago he was a Culinary Arts student himself...

"16 years ago I was a Seller.   I smoked marijuana and a lot of other things.   Once I started the Culinary Arts Program I saw what a person can become as long as they stay positive in life.  I did a huge 180. I eventually finished top of my class."  Dante graduated in 1999, and has been working in food service ever since. He moved through the management ranks and now oversees 100 employees as the Food Service Director at St. John's University's Montgoris Dining Hall with 5 managers reporting directly to him.

"One day I was talking with my colleagues about where we went to school. The memories came back and I thought, 'You know what, it's time to give back." I'm very privileged to have the life I have right now, compared to how I was years ago. I want to encourage everybody. Don't feel that where you come from is a barrier in your life...it's what you make out of your life."

It's move-in time at our newest residence in the Bronx! The two-wing 80-room eco-friendly building began welcoming tenants to their new home this past December.

The west wing, Fletcher Residence, is home to 55 mentally-ill men and women in their own studio apartments. Patricia (pictured left) was one of the first tenants to move in: "I love living here. I prayed for a place to live by Christmas and lo and behold on December 20th I moved in!"  

"They are thrilled," said Program Manager Peter Bazeley of the new tenants. "We have 13 admitted since December 20th and interviews are going on right now. We have stacks of applications, about ten applications for every opening."

Patricia is enjoying her apartment's many amenities, but more than anything, she is grateful for something that anyone else might take for granted..."It's such a blessing to own a key to my own home. Having a key means everything after you've been homeless."

The east wing, Renewal House, serves 50 men recovering from alcohol and/or substance abuse while gaining work experience at the Times Square Business Improvement District. 16 men have already moved in, including Luis and Paul, "We came on December 27th. The rooms are very good, comfortable. You have your own bathroom and everything is brand new."

The new men are already settling in says Dewett Wilson, the Program Director for Substance Abuse. (pictured from left with Paul and Luis.) "We have one who has taken on the role of the cook. He cooks for the men and they eat upstairs together. He asked some of the guys to help him so they rotate. They really help each other out. It's going well."

"I've been here three weeks," said Luis, "I'm learning more and saving money. It's good. I love it."
January 2012

See the faces of our 2011 Annual Report and read about their inspiring journeys! You'll also read about Patrick Lee. His inspirational journey was a feature on  NBC 4 News.  Click to watch the 3 minute segment on Patrick and how he overcame addiction and homelessness through Project Renewal.
December 2011

Almost 500 guests (our most ever) filled The Bowery Hotel on November 11th for a wonderful evening of music provided by DJ Kelle Calco, raffle prizes, dancing, and cocktails. The tremendous support helped raise over $43,000 to fund life-saving programs that help homeless men and women return to permanent homes in the community.   

Thank you to our Junior Board and Event Host Committee for their enthusiasm, hard work and networking.  A special thank you to our beverage sponsors: 3 Amigos Tequila, Mark Minter, Santa Teresa Rum, Stella Artois and Svedka. 

A picture album is posted on Project Renewal's facebook page.  We encourage guests to tag themselves and continue to spread the word about Project Renewal! 
November 2011

What does a client need to leave the shelter system for good? Motivation (including sobriety and good health), a job or means to live independently, and a place to live. The last item just got a little harder for some men and women who used to qualify for Advantage rental assistance, a benefit that helped pay rent for up to two years on leaving a shelter. The City ended the program when the State cut its share of the funding back in April. The Legal Aid Society filed a class action on behalf of homeless New Yorkers, but a Judge ruled last week that the City had the right to end this benefit program based on lack of available funding. 

Rental assistance helped Third Street Shelter resident Patrick Lee move out last year. "I spent a year and three months in the Third Street Shelter and had counseling in the OPD (Outpatient Counseling Department). They saved my life. I spent a lot of time looking for a place and getting prepared for that day because I knew I'd have to leave here. I'm not getting any younger, and I don't want to die in a shelter. I don't want to die with alcohol and drugs in my system. I don't want that to be my legacy. Project Renewal had this rental assistance voucher. That helped me so much. Now I've signed a lease and my landlord is so sweet. In order for you to have this housing, you have to work for it.

The job came shortly after I moved out. When I was living here I worked the stipend program doing the breakfast cooking and prepping and stuff like that. There was an opening for washing the pots. Ms. Barbara Hughes (the Comfort Foods Director) asked me if I'd fill out an application. I was so happy to get the job because I didn't want to be idle. When I leave work, do you know what I'm going to do? I am going home. I love my place. I wake up in the morning and I sit up in my bed and I say, 'Wow, this is mine, this is life, this is wonderful.'" (Read more here about Patrick's journey from the streets to home.)

While Patrick was fortunate to have this help in the critical transition from shelter to home, some shelter residents will now have to wait longer to find an available apartment they can afford. The longer they wait in shelters, the fewer places are available for those needing shelter beds. And those in apartments already may be at risk of losing their apartments if they can't pay the rent - putting even more strain on the shelter system. And at a greater cost to taxpayers than rental assistance benefits. 

In the meantime, we're continuing to work with the City to find new solutions including a plan to use $15 million in available State funding to help shelter clients move out.
October 2011

Project Renewal received an exciting and critical grant to reach an additional 4,000 patients annually. The grant will meet the healthcare needs of homeless men and women through three new services: the CareVan, the LifeLine van, and an in-shelter medical clinic at the HELP USA Clarke Thomas Shelter on Ward's Island.

Medical Director Roslynn Glicksman believes that Project Renewal was awarded the grant due to three key strengths of our health care program:

1. An innovative model of bringing healthcare to clients through medical vans as well as shelter-based clinics reaches individuals who have very few other options for care.
2. A comprehensive and coordinated healthcare program including primary, psychiatric, specialty care, and help with entitlements so patients don't have to go outside the Project Renewal medical program and risk getting "lost."
3. A strong quality improvement program, using a state of the art electronic health record that allows participation in current federal initiatives including the Patient Centered Medical Home.

Two additional medical vans join the fleet this summer! Get ready to welcome two more medical vans - the CareVan and Lifeline join the MedVan, StreetSmart, and ScanVan  in delivering primary care and radiology services. With demand growing for medical services for homeless men and women, Medical Director Roslynn Glicksman identified mobile healthcare as the most effective way to meet that need. "Our vans travel directly to the clients - in shelters, on the streets, or at drop-in centers. With the recent closing of several hospitals and public clinics, our patients literally have nowhere else to go. Once the new vans are licensed and on the move, we will be able to expand our schedule to meet this need.

Laura was referred by VESID, a state employment services agency, to the Culinary Arts Training Program last fall.  After excelling in the classroom training, she began a 3 month internship at AIG's corporate dining room.  Many students are hired at the place where they intern, but Laura had a different job in mind: to be a chef in one of the city's top restaurants.  With her resume and her determination, Laura went from one restaurant to another, literally knocking on the door and asking if the chef was hiring.  Fifty restaurants later, Laura knocked on the door of Marc Forgione, owner & chef at Restaurant Marc Forgione on Reade Street and 2010 winner of the Food Network's Iron Chef.  Marc was impressed and hired Laura as a "garde manger" or salad person.  Laura invited her new boss to the Culinary Arts graduation in early May. (Marc Forgione pictured on the right with Culinary Arts Chef Instructor Anthony O'Connor.)

In a unified effort to preserve the safety net for our clients, Project Renewal joins the Human Services Council's Who Cares? I Do. Campaign to fight proposed budget cuts. The State budget did not contain much good news for low-income and homeless New Yorkers.  The State budget shifted $16 million in reimbursement for adult homeless shelters to New York City.  It also gave the State Department of Health authority to end the exemption for homeless individuals and families from Medicaid Managed care.

Despite some disappointments, our advocacy, which included Albany lobby days and letter writing campaigns, was successful in convincing the State to allow the establishment of behavioral health organizations and special needs managed care plans for individuals with mental illness. Our advocacy was also critical in convincing the State to invest $15 million in a new rental subsidy program to be developed jointly by the City and the State. 

Our attention turns now to New York City's budget. In enacting a City budget by the June 30 deadline, the Mayor and the City Council will have come to grips with the elimination of hundreds of millions of dollars in State aid.  To show that we care about human services for vulnerable New Yorkers, Project Renewal will fight for them to restore cuts to medical services in shelters, to restore cuts in supportive housing services to HASA clients, and to replace the Advantage program with a rental subsidy that takes into account the needs of homeless people with disabilities. Let your elected official know how you feel!