center for family life Archives - Page 4 of 7

Teachers and CFL Artists-in-Residence worked with students to incorporate math and ELA in the designing of a quilt

At Center for Family Life in Sunset Park we emphasize the important role that the arts play in promoting skill development, creative expression, community-building and educational progress. We are proud to partner with MS 136/Charles O. Dewey and MS 821/Sunset Park Prep giving 6th grade students the opportunity to participate in the “Life Lines” Interdisciplinary Arts Projects which integrate the arts with social studies, science, math and/or ELA, fostering active participation and enthusiasm for learning.

During this program, which is funded in part by the New York State Council for the Arts (NYSCA), each 6th grade class participates in a 10-12 week-long project. Classes receive two Interdisciplinary Arts sessions per week facilitated by CFL teaching artists in partnership with MS teachers. Each class combines two academic subjects with two art forms (dance, theater, music and/or visual arts), resulting in unique projects that immerse students in an in-depth artistic process.

The primary objectives for the Interdisciplinary Arts Projects are for students to engage in group cooperation, develop communication and self-expression, try new activities and expand their art skills, create and perform a presentation and deepen their understanding of academic subjects through the arts.

Working in small groups, students develop skills as they create, compose and choreograph. They build a vocabulary to discuss, critique and communicate ideas and to learn to interpret art in a cultural and historical context. Students collaborate in designing and implementing each aspect of semester-long Interdisciplinary Arts Projects, in a process that promotes leadership and teamwork, engages students with diverse learning styles, reduces anxiety around learning and requires active participation.

To support students’ learning and their process, CFL artists and their teacher-partners meet weekly to map a framework of activities for each session that aligns with student-designed projects. In addition, programming, logistics and curriculum alignment are coordinated by MS principals and assistant principals in collaboration with CFL Interdisciplinary Project Partner coordinators.

Each project culminates in a presentation of students’ work exhibiting the broad scope of students’ learning to an invited audience of family members, school staff, artists, agency staff and community. Presentations are interactive and engage audience members in student-led demonstrations, gallery walks and through questions and answers. At the conclusion of each project, students, teachers and artists engage in self-assessment, peer feedback and program evaluation.

Jessica Mercado, a 6th grade math teacher at MS 821 and a former MS 136 student participated in the in-school program as a student. Of her experience as a child, Jessica said:

“I participated in CFL as a 6th grader. We learned about science through music and dance. MANY years later, I still remember the song/dance from that unit (it goes something like…”amoebas live in water and in soil”). As a kinesthetic learner, I benefited from movement. It was great! Now, I get to participate in the CFL as a 6th grade math teacher. My students get to learn about plotting coordinates through art and drama! CFL has been such a blessing to Sunset Park and I am thankful to play a small role in what they are doing.”

The “Life Lines” Interdisciplinary Arts Projects not only provide a hands-on approach to learning but are also an opportunity for students and teachers to get to know each other better and to work as a community. We are so grateful to our partners at MS 136 and MS 821 for collaborating with us to implement programming that is instrumental to youth development in Sunset Park.

Wellness Group Facilitators Mayra Restrepo and Diane Liu

March: Wellness Groups

April 3, 2023

by Kathleen Lion Family and Community Support News and Events

As we emerge from pandemic restrictions and losses, our community continues to face a number of significant systemic challenges that impact the wellbeing and stability of residents. Mounting challenges impacting our community are tied to the reversion of critical relief policies passed by the federal government at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. These include the reduction in supplemental food stamp benefits (SNAP) and nearly double-digit inflation on basic foodstuffs including eggs, milk and other previously affordable staples that have contributed to increased food insecurity in Sunset Park. In addition, Congress’s failure to recertify the pandemic-era Child Tax Credit means the loss of financial relief for many Sunset Park families. The lifting of the COVID eviction moratorium and the depletion of the emergency rent assistance program (ERAP) at the New York State level also means increased hardship related to rental debt and housing instability.

To support our community through times of economic stress and uncertainty, we offer individual and family counseling. We see the real and positive impact that our counseling programs have on the mental health of participants. To address the truly vast scope of systemic challenges and their toxic impact on the community as a whole, we also facilitate Wellness Groups that address stability and wellbeing at a population level. We offer our Spanish and Chinese language Wellness Groups through generous funding from the Mother Cabrini Health Foundation.

The primary focus of Wellness Groups is to promote self-care and self-advocacy, engaging group members through activities and guided discussions which promote the healing power of solidarity and community. These groups bond members as participants generate common feelings of understanding and empathy making members feel supported and heard as groups discuss ways for members to advocate for their shared needs. Groups serve to build community and solidarity as well as to create and maintain strong social networks. We have discovered that the peer-to-peer sharing and problem solving that takes place in the Wellness Groups is extremely powerful and has facilitated healing among those who have endured traumatic events or are currently facing hardships.

A self-advocacy activity that is popular with participants is “naming your barriers,” which builds skills related to problem solving and strategies for overcoming challenges. In this activity, group members begin by identifying barriers that they encounter in their own lives, but soon recognize that these are more often than not shared by many members of the community. This allows us to introduce opportunities to engage in shared problem solving and to emphasize the importance of solidarity to make changes that benefit the entire community. The groups provide participants with a safe space to share with others while building their confidence to advocate for what they need and connect to resources and opportunities.

Diane Liu, co-facilitator of our Chinese Wellness Group shared that these groups are particularly important for mothers who use the group to identify and share personal needs, to develop bonds with others facing similar challenges and to do so while their children are cared for by CFL staff who engage children in safe and enriching activities. During the hour and a half that group members share and plan, mothers can focus on discovering what they need to secure their own personal wellness. She also mentioned that the groups create a great access point for other CFL services. For example, she said that several participants in last fall’s Wellness Group later signed up for ESOL classes or attended family counseling!

Participants receive a certificate at the last session and enjoy a graduation ceremony. This ceremony recognizes the work that participants have put in to improving their wellness and sharing in solidarity with their fellow group members, and gives them the chance to celebrate together.

We are so pleased to provide Spanish and Chinese Wellness Groups which further the group practice methodology that we promote at CFL, amplifying the ways in which group members contribute to each other’s growth and strengthen their community by strengthening each other. During difficult and stressful times, we see that our Wellness Groups bolster the enormous vitality that is inherent in our community and engender hope and determination in participants.

We encourage any Spanish or Mandarin speaker over 18 years of age to join our groups which are led by trained peer-advocates and include engaging activities that promote self-discovery and group solidarity. Childcare is provided for group participants. Anyone with interest in joining our Spanish or Chinese Wellness Groups, or who can share this opportunity with others, please scan the QR code on the above flyers or click the button below.

New York City tax team hold "free tax prep" sign.

February: Tax Season!

February 23, 2023

by Kathleen Lion Economic Well-being Programs News and Events

Center for Family Life in Sunset Park continues to assist eligible clients to file their taxes, alleviating the stress that so many of our clients experience when preparing tax filings and ensuring that millions of tax dollars are distributed back to our community! The returns and credits individuals receive after filing their taxes have a huge impact on the household resources available to the many low-income families who visit our tax site. We are proud that last year our team helped 2,688 people file their taxes, yielding close to $4.4 million in refunds. We hope to assist more clients this tax season and bring about a larger return to help stimulate our community economy!

Our free drop-off tax filing services are available to clients five days a week through April 18th. Those that qualify for our services include single filers with incomes of $56,000 or less in 2022 as well as families with incomes of $80,000 or less in 2022. Our services are made easy. Clients simply gather their documents, drop them off during their prescheduled appointment and pick up the completed return later! If they have questions at any point in the process, our staff is here to help!

CFLSP has received several letters in the mail from clients thanking our tax team for being friendly, helpful and available to support them through the filing process. We are grateful to receive such positive feedback and to hear how our services are personally impacting clients!

Completing taxes annually improves the lives of so many Sunset Park residents who receive refunds and who establish a valuable history of timly annual filing. Our CFLSP Tax Manager, Juan Obando, stresses the importance of these services explaining how they “are bringing money back to the community when [people] need it most.”

In addition to our regular tax filing services, Center for Family Life also began the Self-Employed Tax Prep Program (SETP). SETP seeks to help self-employed individuals who often struggle to understand their tax filing obligations and to keep proper tax filing records. This program is crucial to helping people learn about the basics of tax filing through education and workshops. SETP also provides tax filing assistance and recordkeeping guidance to make the filing experience smooth and worry free. This program is expected to expand by June of 2024 to provide additional services and to serve even more New Yorkers!

Whether for our regular tax filing services or SETP, our tax filing team works incredibly hard each day to ensure that our community members receive the best service possible. We value all of our clients and are grateful for the support that we receive allowing us to help them. If you have not already, be sure to visit our website to sign up for a tax filing appointment if you are eligible!

Toy drive hosted by Minnie's Bar in Sunset Park!

December: Holiday Giving!

January 4, 2023

by Kathleen Lion News and Events

While the holidays are meant to be a time of giving, joy and celebration amongst family and friends, they can also be a source of great stress. Many of our clients at Center for Family Life in Sunset Park do not have enough income to buy holiday gifts for their families. Instead, they must decide whether to celebrate the holidays or to be able to provide basic necessities for their families like rent or groceries.

In our third holiday season with the COVID-19 pandemic, our clients continue to deal with its lasting effects including long term financial hardship from job loss and extended illness. In addition, Sunset Park has seen the recent arrival of migrant families from Central and South America who are living in shelters and overcrowded apartments and do not have the financial means to obtain basic necessities, let alone purchase holiday gifts.

To combat these challenges, we have witnessed an outpouring of kindness and support by our community to help others to celebrate the holidays. We are so grateful for everyone that has contributed to making this a holiday season of celebration and happiness!

This holiday season, many individuals have reached out to us to offer their help to supply gifts to the clients we serve!

One of Sunset Park’s local establishments, Minnie’s Bar, hosted a weeklong toy drive to support clients in our Family Counseling Program. In collaboration with teachers from Sunset Park High School, this toy drive produced numerous bags of toys and allowed Sunset Park locals and visitors to come together in celebration of community and the holiday season! Our Co-Director of Family Counseling, Jen Wittlin, attended the drive to thank those that donated and to speak further about our Family Counseling Program and the clients we serve.

We also received nearly 100 items including socks, gloves, hats, toys and gift cards from a giving tree that was organized by employees of Webster Bank! These items were delivered to our clients before the holidays, allowing them to celebrate with their families without the financial burden of purchasing gifts.

CFLSP’s Family Counseling Program created an Amazon Wish List with gifts that people could purchase for our families. We received generous monetary donations to allow us to purchase these items as well as had many of our supporters purchase gifts directly. St. Michael’s Church also donated toys to our Family Counseling Program, which was organized by a former staff member of CFLSP. In addition, one of our Board members donated a generous supply of children’s books!

One of our case planners shared a personal anecdote about her client that received gifts from CFLSP as well as our holiday package, provided by our food pantry. This client shared how emotional and thankful she was to be able to provide a gift for her son to open on Christmas. This woman, who is a survivor of intimate partner violence and spent last Christmas at a shelter, celebrated the holiday at her own home with her son and mother this year. Our case planner described this mom as being “resilient and strong,” while expressing how grateful she is “that CFL can make this happen for many more families in similar situations” this holiday season!

Jen Wittlin also shared an experience she had when 3 mothers with 4 children came to the office asking for gifts for their children. These mothers had come to CFLSP in the past to receive assistance as newly arrived migrants. These mothers knew that they could seek help here at Center for Family Life, which is why they chose to return. We were able to provide the mothers with gifts for their children, who were so thankful to give them toys to play with. Jen said how this is an example of “what a grounding force CFL is in the community” and shows how people “feel supported here” knowing “we will be there for them.”

Thank you to those who made all of this possible and who allowed those in our community to celebrate with loved ones! We are grateful for everyone who contributed to our holiday appeal whether it be through monetary donations or through direct gift giving. With your support, our Adult Employment Program and Family Counseling Program were able to provide gifts to 105 families with 210 children for the holidays! We are proud and excited to continue to serve our community in the new year.

From all of us at Center for Family Life in Sunset Park, we wish you a Happy New Year!

Center for Family Life in Sunset Park Wishes You A Healthy and Happy Holiday Season!

December 2, 2022

by Kathleen Lion News and Events

For over 40 years, Center for Family Life has been committed to enriching the lives of individuals in Sunset Park through community partnerships and a dedication to service. Today, our comprehensive range of services engage more than 13,500 people at 10 community locations!

Thanks to your support, Center for Family Life achieved the following 2022 Highlights:

Our Benefits Access Program helped 851 clients obtain nearly $831,000 in benefits like SNAP and health insurance for their families!

Over 3,000 neighborhood residents were provided with meals from our food pantry. Between January and June of 2022, CFLSP was able to distribute over 14,000 pounds of food to our community members!

Our Child and Family Services provided child maltreatment preventive services and public benefits eligibility screenings to 265 families with 519 children!

Our ActionNYC team provided free immigration and legal services to 603 members, screening clients for immigration risks and all possible forms of relief.

We were able to assist in filing 3,127 returns for tax year 2021, generating a total refund of $4.4 million!

Our new 5-year NYS Education 21st Century Community Learning Center contract will allow us to serve 2,500+ youth at 10 school sites in the coming year!

Center for Family Life in Sunset Park is dedicated to promoting positive outcomes for youth and their families. Our services enrich the quality of life of individuals in our community and beyond, supporting families and increasing opportunities. We are honored to assist our community members in any way possible and are so thankful for all of your support. Our 2022 highlights are a testament to the generosity of each and every one of you. We hope to do even more in 2023!