Community Partnership Initiative

Lower East Side

The Lower East Side, one of the oldest neighborhoods of New York City, has a long history of community based organizations supporting its residents. This CPI’s goals include connecting local parents to child care and head Start services and foster care recruitment. Events have included a “Teen Meet and Greet” recruitment event at the famous Poet’s Café.

Throughout the neighborhood, a rich array of community organizations exists that is capable of supporting and enriching the lives of all the different individual and family residents. Many of these organizations have existed for over a century, and have changed along with the residents of the neighborhood to meet the needs of the L.E.S community.

The Lower East Side Community Partnership currently serves as the liaison between ACS and the Lower East Side/Chinatown community. Due to the changing face of the L.E.S, many of the low-income families are being ignored as gentrification in Alphabet City continues. Nevertheless, many different organizations that are members of the L.E.S. CPI, work hard to serve those families which have been overlooked.

Our Goals:

• Connecting Child Care/Head Start to Preventive Services

The L.E.S. CPI has developed a procedure that promotes cross-referrals between preventive service providers and early childhood programs. So far, we have:

• Surveyed parents in the community in order to plan workshop events.
• Created drop-in hours at preventive service providers available to parents.
• Reached out to grandparents who serve as main caregivers through the Department of Aging.

• Foster Care Recruitment

The L.E.S. CPI hosts many events to engage more families in foster care, while also emphasizing cultural sensitivity when producing resource materials. In collaboration with NYC Children’s Services, it also has a Circle of Support for foster parents. The L.E.S. CPI has held several events in the community, including a “Teen Meet and Greet” event at the famous Poet’s Café.

Currently, the four foster care agencies that serve Community Board 3 are:

• Catholic Guardian Society & Home Bureau
• Edwin Gould Services for Children and Families
• Ohel Children’s Home & Family Services
• Salvation Army of Greater New Yor

• Family Conferences

We are planning to explore various incentives that would be helpful in keeping community advocates active on a permanent basis for the support of families.

• Visitation

We are improving the quality of family visits by providing recreational activities that make visits fun, nurturing, and positive for the children and their families. For example: cooking with Family Cook Productions; gardening; fitness activities with YMCA; cultural activities in local libraries, local theaters, walking tours of the Lower East Side, and the Children’s Museum of the Arts.