UNH News and Resources

United Neighborhood Houses Applauds Governor Cuomo’s Executive Order Banning Finger Imaging for Nutrition Programs

Thu, 17 May 2012 19:34:00 GMT

70 West 36th Street, 5th Floor, New York, NY 10018
Phone: (212) 967-0322 Fax: (212) 967-0792 www.unhny.org

For Immediate Release: May 17, 2012
Contact: Annetta Seecharran, Director of Policy and Advocacy (212) 967-0322 x329

United Neighborhood Houses Applauds Governor Cuomo's Executive Order Banning Fingerprinting for Nutrition Programs

Nancy Wackstein, Executive Director, United Neighborhood Houses, stated:

"United Neighborhood Houses (UNH) is pleased that the Governor has taken action to make sure hungry families with children have access to food. New York City's practice of fingerprinting applicants to the federally funded Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), was both demeaning to New Yorkers in their moment of greatest need, as well as out of touch with not only the rest of the state, but the entire nation. With the exception of Arizona, NYC was the only place where families had to take time off from work - a risky proposition for those in low-paying and unstable jobs - in order to submit for fingerprinting as if being booked for a crime.

At a time when one in three New York City children are living in poverty, the real crime has been the bureaucratic hurdle fingerprinting has created for hungry families seeking the federal food assistance they are entitled to. Not only has fingerprinting presented a burden for vulnerable groups include homebound older adults, it has also unfairly added stigma to the application process - causing thousands of eligible New Yorkers not to apply. In fact, the process has wrongfully denied assistance to hundreds of individuals across NYC. In the Empire Center's December report "Time to Leave Fingerprints Behind", it was revealed that over one recent 12-month period, in 97% of Fair Hearings involving fingerprinting, the City wrongfully denied or discontinued food assistance.

UNH recognizes the work of elected City and State leaders including Senator Daniel Squadron and Assembly Member Keith Wright in bringing this issue to the forefront of public consciousness. We strongly applaud Governor Cuomo's leadership to end, in his words, "fingerprinting for food."

United Neighborhood Houses (UNH) is the membership organization of New York City settlement houses and community centers. Rooted in the history and values of the settlement house movement, UNH promotes and strengthens the neighborhood-based, multi-service approach to improving the lives of New Yorkers in need and the communities in which they live. UNH's membership comprises one of the largest human service systems in New York City, with 37 agencies working at more than 400 sites to provide high quality services and activities to a half million New Yorkers each year. UNH supports its members through policy development, advocacy, and capacity building activites.

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Balanced Budget Means Cuts to FDNY, After-School

Mon, 14 May 2012 16:55:00 GMT

Children’s classrooms will remain unaffected in Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s 11th executive budget — but kids may have nowhere to go after the final bell rings.

The $68.7 million balanced budget includes no tax increases, but presents deep cuts to after-school programs, day care and fire companies while retaining more than 2,500 teacher positions the mayor proposed eliminating in his preliminary plan.

United Neighborhood Houses (UNH) called Bloomberg’s “lack of commitment” to children “nothing short of disgraceful.”

Read the full article>>

UNH Responds to Mayor Bloomberg's FY 2013 Executive Budget

Thu, 03 May 2012 18:46:00 GMT

70 West 36^th Street, 5^th Floor, New York, NY 10018-8007
Phone: (212) 967-0322 Fax: (212) 967-0792 www.unhny.org

For Immediate Release: May 3, 2012
Contact: Annetta Seecharran, Director of Policy and Advocacy, (212) 967-0322 x329

United Neighborhood Houses Responds to the Mayor’s Failure to Restore Funding for Child Care and After-School in his Executive Budget

“United Neighborhood Houses (UNH) is outraged by the lack of commitment to children, working families, and older adults that is revealed in the Mayor’s Executive Budget this year.

The Mayor’s complete failure to restore funds to child care and after-school programs, including Out-of-School Time (OST), is nothing short of disgraceful. It is a hit to not only the 47,000 children who will lose the critical educational and social support they are provided through these programs, but to their parents, who will be forced to quit their jobs to take care of their children or leave them alone after the school day ends. Thousands of jobs will be lost at non-profit agencies with the shuttering of these programs. In the UNH agency network alone, over 50% of OST programs, which service approximately 6,000 children, are already slated for closure.

This budget devastates the infrastructure that keeps hard-working parents in their jobs, provides children and youth with productive educational opportunities, and strengthens the current and future generations of New Yorkers. The fact that services supporting low-income communities including after-school and child care programs have failed to rise to the top of the Mayor’s priority list is shameful.”

United Neighborhood Houses (UNH) is the membership organization of New York City settlement houses and community centers. Rooted in the history and values of the settlement house movement, UNH promotes and strengthens the neighborhood-based, multi-service approach to improving the lives of New Yorkers in need and the communities in which they live. UNH’s membership comprises one of the largest human service systems in new York City, with 37 agencies working at more than 400 sites to provide high quality services and activities to a half million New Yorkers each year. UNH supports its members through policy development, advocacy, and capacity building activities.

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Download statement here.

As budget cuts loom, a tearful Staten Island child asks "What will people like us do?"

Thu, 03 May 2012 14:47:00 GMT

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- A 14-year-old’s world ought to revolve around school, friends and family, most would agree.

But Sara Cavasos had a pressing concern of a different sort, one she shared yesterday with 300-plus people at a rally at Temple Emanu-El in Port Richmond.

She spoke about how proposed cuts to the federal budget would shred the safety net for her and her mother, which includes quarters in a family shelter.

“It’s really hard,” she quavered through tears, as her mother stood beside her. “I don’t know what to do, one day to the next. And if you cut the programs, what will people like us do?”

The rally kicked off a campaign to fight the proposed cuts to the Community Service Block Grant Program that would cost the city $31 million. Staten Island services like immigrant assistance, healthy families, after-school programs and housing assistance would lose $750,000, said Suzanne Lynn, deputy commissioner for the Department of Youth and Community Development.

Kevin Douglas of United Neighborhood Houses, part of a coalition of citywide organizations leading the charge against the cuts, urged Islanders to fight back via petitions, letters, meetings and online efforts. The same cuts were proposed last year, Douglas noted, but an all-out community effort rolled them back. “This money is important to you,” Douglas said. “If it is eliminated, we are all going to suffer.”

Read the full article>>

Budget Threatens Programs for City Kids

Wed, 02 May 2012 14:18:00 GMT

"People are describing the OST awards as a bloodbath," said Wackstein. "When the EarlyLearn awards are announced, it's going to be just as serious."

Read the full article>>

200 Board Members Sign Letter to Deputy Mayor Patricia Harris

Wed, 02 May 2012 16:25:00 GMT

The Campaign for Children sent a letter to Deputy Mayor Patricia Harris, signed by 200 Board members of non-profit organizations across the City, urging her attention toward the proposed cuts to child care and after-school. See the letter below:

May 1st, 2012

Hon. Patricia Harris, First Deputy Mayor
City of New York
City Hall
New York, N.Y. 10007

Dear Deputy Mayor Harris:

We are Board members of New York City nonprofit organizations that provide and advocate for social service and educational programs for thousands of children and youth throughout the five boroughs. We write to you, as philanthropists and concerned citizens, about the Mayor’s plan to dramatically reduce City funding for child care and afterschool programming.

As Board members, each of us supports organizations that either directly provide quality services to families and children or promote polices that allow these services to be delivered. We devote our time and our dollars to these organizations because we strongly believe in their mission of helping
people in need.

Our donations certainly are important in supplementing and enhancing the impact of City funding for essential services for families and children, but they CANNOT replace it. Public funding for child care and afterschool programs is core funding for nonprofit organizations, and without it many programs will be forced to close.

We are sure you want to see private charitable dollars used in the most efficient and innovative way. It is not feasible for private donors to replace core government support for essential services; nor does it represent a good use of our donations.

We urge you to consider the impact of these proposed cuts on the children, youth and families who will be hurt. Working families rely on these programs, and they provide children with the educational support that will lead to school success. In fact, without these programs, the quality of life for thousands of children will be diminished, therefore having a negative impact on the quality of life for all of us.

We also ask you to consider the impact on the ability of the City’s network of nonprofit organizations, on whose Boards we serve, to continue to help the most vulnerable New Yorkers.

Thank you for considering our views.

Download the letter to see all 200 Board member signatures.

Cuts to Child Care Programs Loom

Mon, 30 Apr 2012 14:24:00 GMT

City budgetary cuts may produce thousands of “latch key” Queens children if funds to day care and after-school programs remain slashed.

Allocations to the Administration for Children’s Services is down more than $30 million in the city’s preliminary budget for the 2013 Fiscal Year.

“Thousands of families won’t be able to have access to affordable child care,” said Gregory Brender, policy advisor for United Neighborhood Houses. “They’ll face a horrible choice of leaving their kids at home or not going to work. We can’t have these children become latch key kids.”

Read the full article>>

Jake Ballard At Citi Field Kids

Mon, 30 Apr 2012 14:27:00 GMT

Before the 2012 NFL Draft got underway and before the New York Mets defeated Jose Reyes and the Miami Marlins in a ninth-inning nail-biter yesterday, some modern-day heroes took over Citi Field to share their experience, strength and hope with children from TAPS (Tragedy Assistance Program For Survivors), theWheelchair Sports Federation(WSF) and the United Neighborhood Houses (UNH) in the first Citi Field Kids event of the 2012 season.

Jake Ballard, tight end for the New York Giants, Kari Miller, 2008 Paralympic Games silver medalist in Women's Sitting Volleyball and SNY Anchor and Master Of Ceremonies for Citi Field Kids, Michelle Yu, were on hand to lead by example.

Read the full article about the Citi Field Kids fourth season opening event!

WNYC: Poor in Wealthy Neighborhoods Miss Out on Services

Tue, 17 Apr 2012 14:06:00 GMT

As the city targets where to keep subsidized child care and after school programs, public housing developments in wealthy neighborhoods are getting overlooked, according to a report by United Neighborhood Houses.

The report estimates 77,000 public housing residents are living in what the city has deemed as low-need areas for subsidized child care and after school programs. The developments in wealthy districts include the Eliot Houses in Chelsea and the Amsterdam Houses near Lincoln Center.

“We're talking about subsidized childcare and subsidized after school [programs]. They cannot afford to pay market rate for these services even if they happen to be living in a wealthy area,” said Nancy Wackstein, executive director of United Neighborhood Houses. The group advocates for settlement houses which hold some city contracts for after school and child care programs.

Wackstein argues that someone living in public housing on Manhattan’s Upper West Side is just as needy as someone living in Brownsville, Brooklyn.

Read the full article>>

Budget cuts may ax childcare services in city's wealthy areas

Mon, 16 Apr 2012 14:18:00 GMT

For public housing resident Wanda Marte, losing city subsidized childcare at the Hudson Guild in Chelsea would mean parting with a service that gives her a fighting chance to get ahead.

“I don’t know what I would do,” Marte said recently at the nonprofit on W. 26th St. “It’s very good to have a place like this. It gives us parents an opportunity to go work and have a better life.”

Marte, 38, moved into the Elliott-Chelsea Houses next to the center — and a short walk from trendy cafes and galleries — in March after a year in a shelter.

Now, the program she depends on for childcare, and many others like it across the city, are imperiled by proposed cuts — simply because the providers are located in predominantly wealthy areas.

An analysis from United Neighborhood Houses released to the Daily News shows the Bloomberg administration is determining which nonprofits should get childcare funding based largely on a zip code’s affluence.

“In the absence of (budget) money, they are having to come up with these bizarre schemes,” said Nancy Wackstein, the advocacy group’s executive director.

Read the full article>>

Remarks of Federal Judge Jose Cabranes about Settlement Houses

Thu, 05 Apr 2012 17:42:00 GMT

At the annual fundraising event of UNH member agency Hudson Guild on April 3, Federal Judge Jose Cabranes, a distinguished member of the US Court of Appeals, Second Circuit in Connecticut, gave remarks concerning honoree Arthur Aufses and his service to Hudson Guild as Board President, as well as on the history and principles of settlement houses. Judge Cabranes introduced Mr. Aufses to Hudson Guild over 30 years ago because of his family involvement and strong belief in the settlement houses. We were pleased to see Judge Cabranes be such a wonderful spokesperson for the settlement house movement.

He says, "... work of the settlements is designed and organized and executed at the neighborhood level. The settlements are a model of decentralized social services operating on a human scale. They continue to be devoted to helping one person at a time."

Read his full remarks here.

151 Orgs Urge Bloomberg to Restore Child Care & After-School Funding

Tue, 03 Apr 2012 19:45:00 GMT

A total of 151 organizations claiming to represent more than 1 million New Yorkers have joined the Campaign for Children and signed a letter to Mayor Michael Bloomberg opposing proposed cuts to child care and after-school programs. The groups say that the Mayor’s Executive Budget proposals for FY2012-13, which begins July 1st, will eliminate funding for 47,000 child care and after-school slots.

“Enacting these cuts will deal a devastating blow to struggling children and families,” the letter states. “As a Mayor seeking to improve the education of our children, ensure college and career readiness for black and Latino youth, and stabilize the City’s economy, we believe you should reassess proposed budget cuts in the realm of child care and after-school.”

Read the full article.

Michael Bloomberg's Budget Proposal Elicits Protest From Campaign For Children

Mon, 02 Apr 2012 13:42:00 GMT

A coalition of more than 150 New York organizations, ranging from the Police Athletic League to the Children's Aid Society, have signed a letter urging Mayor Michael Bloomberg to restore $170 million for children's services to his proposed budget.

The coalition, called the Campaign for Children, is asking the mayor to make sure that his budget includes funding for some 47,000 child care and after-school slots currently bound for the trash bin. The letter notes that funding for child care and after-school programs has declined each year since 2009. As a result, the city's subsidized child care and after-school systems serve 43,000 fewer children than they did five years ago.

The coalition plans to send the letter on Thursday. Gregory Bender, a policy analyst at United Neighborhood Houses NY and a spokesperson for the coalition, said, "This massive display of support is a message loud and clear from New York City to Mayor Bloomberg: 'You must restore funding for child care and after-school programs that children and working families depend on.'"

Read the full article.

Board Leadership Meeting for UNH Member Agencies

Thu, 29 Mar 2012 13:44:00 GMT

On March 13th, UNH convened a meeting of the Board leadership of our 37 member settlement houses. UNH Board President Lew Kramer chaired this successful meeting, which brought together over 60 Board leaders and Executive Directors from member agencies for the first time in several years.

UNH Executive Director Nancy Wackstein opened the session with an overview of the UNH network of agencies as it exists today, as well as current and emerging challenges facing settlement houses in the current economic and political climate. She also highlighted for Board members some recent notable trends that have had an impact on UNH members. For example, that City government has in the last several years been focused on “economies of scale”, with procurement policies favoring larger citywide or borough-wide contracts rather than community-based ones; this trend obviously challenges the settlement house approach. Additionally, she discussed recent City requests for proposals (RFPs) that target specific zip codes as high need areas but will as a result exclude or limit certain communities of need, especially those that serve public housing residents, from City funding opportunities.

Board leaders expressed their commitment to getting personally involved in convincing elected and government officials to maintain services that keep services community-based and allow families to continue working and contributing to New York City’s economy. There was a consensus in the room that this influential group of business leaders will be important to strengthening the voice of UNH and its membership. Board leaders pledged to become more involved with UNH’s advocacy work. UNH will also be creating a private social network for Board leaders to share best practices and other information across the settlement house community.

UNH Board Leadership Meeting, Overview Remarks by Nancy Wackstein

Thu, 05 Apr 2012 20:49:00 GMT

UNITED NEIGHBORHOOD HOUSES BOARD LEADERSHIP MEETING, MARCH 13 2012

OVERVIEW REMARKS BY NANCY WACKSTEIN, UNH EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
A look at internal and external factors having an impact on settlement houses and particular NYC challenges.

What is UNH?

UNH is made up of traditional settlement houses founded in late l9th century as well as younger agencies, some with origins as community development organizations. All are multi-service and multi-generational.

The UNH membership today:

37 agencies in 5 boroughs
Serving 500,000 New Yorkers every year
400 program sites
l0,000 staff; 7500 volunteers
Aggregate agency budgets: one-half billion dollars (mix of public and private funding)
Average % public funding: 75%
2/3 of member agencies have budgets $10 million or above: largest agency has an almost $100 million budget, smallest about $1 million.

UNH provides value to its members in three distinct ways:

Leading advocacy and government relations efforts. UNH is not a direct service provider and does not contract with government to provide services.
Providing capacity-building assistance through such activities as professional development that most agencies can’t afford on their own; small grants thanks to funds UNH raises from foundations for this purpose, which allows UNH to support technical assistance as well as program enhancement.
Carrying and promoting settlement house values and vision. What differentiates our agencies from other nonprofit agencies is a commitment not just to being service providers, but also to being advocates for the social and economic policies that will benefit the clients our agencies serve -- mostly low-income people -- as well as the communities they live in. We focus not just on strengthening individuals and families, but on strengthening whole communities as well.
In the end, it is these visions that will help settlement houses distinguish themselves from the ever-growing number of NYC nonprofits that call themselves community-based… and to survive in a competitive and increasingly under-resourced environment.

I have been in the nonprofit and municipal government world for over 30 years, and I don’t remember such a challenging time for nonprofits. The landscape under us shifts continually: new trends in funding, new accountability demands, ever more complex reporting requirements, new types of government RFPs. Even before the recession hit in 2008 this was the reality; now, as economic pressures have intensified, so too have the challenges.

There are both external and internal factors that are having and will continue to have a deep impact on our business:

Externally:

A widespread questioning of the historic social contract and the role of government in supporting and maintaining a safety net for low income families and individuals
Government deficits at federal, state and municipal levels, which are forcing choices about priorities, with services for low income people often caught in the squeeze of deficit reduction
Federal and State health care reform and managed care initiatives, with particular emphasis by New York State on reducing Medicaid costs, which will dramatically impact core Medicaid-funded services like home care for the elderly and all mental health services
Increased competition among more nonprofits for reduced resources, both government and private
Foundation funding practices that continue the shift away from general support toward more restricted funds, and more focus on proving impact and showing outcomes. The days of agencies being supported to simply “do good” are over.
Funder emphasis on collaboration and partnerships, both programmatically and in business operations
Fast-changing communications and social media landscape, a particular challenge for those nonprofits that are understaffed and under resourced in technology and communications.

Particular NYC challenges:

Demographic trends. These suggest increased client need and increased demand for settlement house resources at a time of shrinking support.

A few stark examples:

1/3 of NYC children live in poverty
40% of NYC households are immigrants; 2/3 of public school students come from immigrant families
1 in 8 New Yorkers are 65 + older; by 2030 1 in 5 New York City residents will be older adults

Gentrification of many NYC neighborhoods, forcing agencies like ours, whose mission is to serve primarily low-income populations, to re-think target populations and service mixes.

City policies and practices:

economies of scale, with policies favoring larger citywide or borough-wide contracts rather than smaller community-based programs
targeted zip codes and prioritized high-need areas which exclude or limit certain communities from City funding opportunities
Private match requirements for public contracts: partial government funding built into service contracts creates “built-in insufficiency”
Emphasis on proving success through increasingly sophisticated outcome measurement, not created through consultation with providers. Compliance is particularly difficult for those agencies lacking technological infrastructure and internal quality assessment capacity.
More targeted and “categorical” contracts: specific population groups are designated for service in specific geographic areas

Internally:

Chronic nonprofit Infrastructure weakness in the areas of human resources, technology, fundraising, communications, administration, due to lack of general operating support from private sources and lack of adequate overhead from government contracts.
It actually costs agencies money to do business with government as the administrative reimbursement embedded in contracts does not equal real “overhead” expenses;
Individual and institutional donors almost always want to support program, rather than administrative expenses.
High transaction costs of raising money: foundation practices requiring multiple reports, government requests for proposals requiring redundant document submissions; corporate support requiring alignment with the company’s business objectives, not necessarily community priorities.
Over-reliance on government support is not sustainable as contracts do not support adequate management and infrastructure.
Difficulty of achieving diversified revenue mix if agency lacks a “fundraising Board” or is located in a community where access to wealthy individual donors is unlikely.
The baby boomers who now lead more than half of UNH member agencies are expected to retire in the next decade. How will agencies manage this leadership transition?

Council Budget Hearings Launch with Child Care Kickball

Thu, 08 Mar 2012 18:14:00 GMT

Low-income families are guaranteed child care assistance under federal law, and their care is paid for through block grants. But under the new city rules, households just above the poverty level would not be guaranteed assistance. The changeover is expected to remove at least 8,200 seats currently used by low-income working families.

Depending on how many contracts are approved, as many as 15,900 seats could be cut, predicted Greg Brender, a policy analyst at the United Neighborhood Houses. “The Mayor just hasn’t made the commitment he needs to to New York’s children,” said Brender. “There’s just not enough care available for those who need it.”

Read the full article.

Budget Cuts May Threaten City Programs for Children

Thu, 05 Apr 2012 16:06:00 GMT

Budget Cuts May Threaten City Programs for Children

By KATE TAYLOR

Published: March 4, 2012

It has become an annual New York drama: cutbacks in the mayor’s proposed budget loom, with threats of firehouses being shut down, arts programs slashed and senior centers closed, only to be followed by restorations in the City Council. Yet the drama does not have a happy ending for everyone, and some of the cutbacks are eventually enacted.

This year, many families are concerned that cuts to child care and after-school programs could result in 47,000 children losing access to those services, advocates for the programs said on Sunday.

Previous rounds of budget reductions have already eroded these programs, the advocates said. The number of children from low-income working families who attend city-subsidized child care has dropped by more than 9,000 since 2009, from 51,712 to 42,215. And the number of children attending after-school programs under the Department of Youth and Community Development’s Out-of-School Time program has declined even more sharply, from 85,513 in 2009 to 52,000 in 2012 — a drop of almost 40 percent.

Stephanie Gendell, the associate executive director for policy and public affairs for theCitizens’ Committee for Children of New York, said it was puzzling that Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg was cutting funds for child care and after-school programs when he had staked so much of his legacy on education and had described those very programs as critical to children’s academic success.

“It doesn’t match anything he’s said about the importance of education, the importance of closing the achievement gap, the importance of his Young Men’s Initiative, which is focused on closing the achievement gap and making kids college-ready,” Ms. Gendell said. “Now he’s cutting the same programs that do just that.”

A spokeswoman for Mr. Bloomberg insisted that the administration was trying to improve child care in harsh fiscal times. Indeed, the city is in the process of putting into effect a new model for early childhood education, called Early Learn NYC, which is intended to improve the quality of subsidized child care. Yet because of diminished financing, and because the new model would provide more money per child, there will be openings for 8,200 fewer children next year. Centers that have contracts with the city have had to reapply, and many worry that they will be dropped. They then would have to get by on private donations, charge more, or close.

One of the programs in this limbo is the Cypress Hills Child Care Center in Brooklyn, where Ruth Fernandez, a 42-year-old single mother of four children, sends her 4-year-old daughter, Amira, for $142 a week.nMs. Fernandez said that in the year that she had attended the program, Amira had become much more sociable and had learned basic skills: “She knows how to write her name and last name, she knows how to count to 20, and she knows the colors.”

Ms. Fernandez said her older daughter, now 16, did not go to a similar program and struggled in kindergarten — something she hopes that Amira can avoid. If the Cypress Hills center has to close, Ms. Fernandez, who is a driving instructor, said she could take Amira to less formal day care in someone’s home. But she worried that it would not be monitored by the city and would not benefit her daughter educationally. “They’re probably just watching TV,” she said.

The roughly 420 after-school programs currently under the umbrella of the Out-of-School Time program also face the budget ax. Due to the net loss of $18 million — the combination of cuts in next year’s budget and money that the City Council restored this year — the city will award new contracts to only 220 programs.

Jacqueline Bailey, 50, a single mother who lives in East Flatbush, Brooklyn, is worried about what will happen if the after-school program that her daughter attends at a public elementary school in Park Slope has to close. She said her daughter, Heaven, who is 9, would have to take the subway home by herself — a 45-minute ride, with a transfer.

“She would have to become a latchkey kid, and I don’t think nowadays being a latchkey kid is safe,” said Ms. Bailey, who does technology work through a temporary agency. “I wouldn’t be able to focus or concentrate on my job.”

The spokeswoman for the mayor, Samantha Levine, said in an e-mail: “Economic realities have required painful funding decisions, but we are working within our means to provide critical services. For example, Early Learn NYC enables us to realize our vision of preparing children for school success by providing quality classroom experiences and critical family supports, while investing our limited resources in expanding or sustaining capacity in neighborhoods where the largest number of eligible children reside.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/05/nyregion/mayors-budget-cutbacks-may-threaten-city-programs-for-children.html

The Settlement House Movement Resurgent

Wed, 29 Feb 2012 20:20:00 GMT

The New York Nonprofit Press published an op-ed co-written by UNH Executive Director Nancy Wackstein and Executive Director of UNH Member University Settlement Society, Michael Zisser. This piece was a response to the recent closing of the historical Hull House in Chicago, one of the premiere settlement houses in this country, and tells the positive story about the effectiveness of settlement houses in recent decades in NYC.

"...The right story to tell is not about the unique issues confronting Hull House, which may never be fully known to the public, but instead about the incredible inventiveness, creativity, innovation, efficiency and effectiveness that has characterized the settlement house movement in recent decades. In New York City, there are now more than 37 independent settlement houses and community centers, which make up the membership of United Neighborhood Houses of New York. These non-profit organizations serve more than 500,000 people each year across the five boroughs, operate from more than 400 sites, employ more than 10,000 staff, and have an aggregate budget from a combination of public and private sources that exceeds half a billion dollars each year. UNH members are major employers in their communities and in many cases are significant economic engines, as well, through their purchase of goods and services."

Read the full op-ed.

Age Well, Live Well: 5 Tips To Keep You Healthy

Thu, 23 Feb 2012 18:59:00 GMT

Chicago Cares, an organization focusing on community volunteering and service, recently picked up some information from our report, Aging in the Shadows: Social Isolation Among Seniors in New York City, for a blog post. Click here to download our report!

Read the Chicago Cares blog post here.

YOUTH ACTION DAY: We Want Summer Jobs!

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 16:32:00 GMT

"Employment! Want it!” echoed through the Well of the Legislative Office Building in Albany on January 30^th, as 250 New York City youth emphasized their need for summer jobs. This year marks the 13^th annual Albany lobby day for The Campaign for Summer Jobs, co-sponsored by United Neighborhood Houses and Neighborhood Family Services Coalition.

The two youth emcees, David Hope (age 25) and Gabriella Wilkinson (age 16), got the crowd motivated for the day ahead. Gabriella said, “Thanks to SYEP, I now have a job I love at a Beacon Center, leading activities for kids.” Other speeches by teens and a performance by the step team from the Child Center of NY in Ozone Park brought the energy of the rally through the roof.

Legislators and officals stopped by to show their support of the rally, which was held to urge State leaders for $35 million for SYEP. Among the speakers were Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and Senators Bill Perkins, John Sampson, Daniel Squadron, Marty Golden, Valmanette Montgomery, and Adriano Espaillat. “Courage is the word of the day,” said Senator Malcolm Smith, commending the youth for challenging their leaders. Speaker Silver echoed his sentiments, saying, “Make your voices heard. Help us to understand how we can help you.”

The youth met with legislative champions of the program following the event to share their summer job experiences, and to advocate for more funding. Last year, only 31,000 NYC youth of the 130,000 who applied were employed through SYEP - a drop from the 50,000 employed in 2009. It’s clear that when it comes to employment, youth want it.

View photos here!

In their own words…

"My summer job gave me something positive to do with my time. I also set an example for my friends, who want to get jobs this summer." Cindy, 14

"It's important for us to speak out for our rights; we need to let the legislators know that kids need money too, and no one wants to stay home and waste their summer on the couch." Damien, 13

"Summer jobs are important because what would happen to the businesses that we work at? Or the camps? We give a lot of extra help." Sherry, 15

Bloomberg Spares Education Department from Budget Cuts

Thu, 16 Feb 2012 19:11:00 GMT

The New York Times School Book mentions United Neighborhood Houses in its discussion of cuts in the Mayor's preliminary budget to funding for thousands of daycare and after-school programs.

"According to the public advocate, Bill de Blasio, roughly 16,000 daycare seats would be lost if the mayor does not increase financing to the Administration for Children’s Services. And though exact numbers have varied, groups like the Center for Children’s Initiatives and the United Neighborhood Houses have estimated 25,000 positions lost in the city’s Out-of-School Time program, an after-school program that opened under Mayor Bloomberg. "

Read the article>>

Nancy Wackstein addresses Hunter's Silberman School of Social Work 2012 Winter Graduates

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 20:30:00 GMT

On January 18, UNH Executive Director Nancy Wackstein, as commencement speaker, addressed the Winter 2012 graduates of Hunter's Silberman School of Social Work. In her remarks, Nancy urged the new graduates to carry on the legacy of social reform - the cornerstone of the social work profession today - and to take on leadership positions, mobilize voters, and most importantly, be a loud advocate for social services.Congratulations, graduates!

Read her full remarks here.

Corporate Volunteers Help Light Up the Holidays in December

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 15:34:00 GMT

ARAMARK at Lincoln Square Neighborhood Center

Four dedicated volunteers from ARAMARK put in a full afternoon of lunch service for the seniors of Lincoln Square Neighborhood Center. The event started off in the kitchen, where the volunteers helped LNSC staff prep the day’s meal – and even slicing potatoes for meals to come. With Christmas music filling the dining area and a disco ball hanging festively in the middle of the room, ARAMARK volunteers dished up lunch and brought it to each senior. Following lunch and clean-up, they helped LNSC fold calendars of January’s upcoming events and menus to distribute to the seniors. It was welcome help for sure. Reflecting on his experience, ARAMARK Sales Consultant Darin Milman said, “Serving lunch to the seniors at LSNC allowed me to reflect on the importance of giving. They were so grateful and they enjoyed the meal too!” Thank you ARAMARK volunteers for your service.

BlackRock at Sunnyside Community Services Center for Active Older Adults

If anyone knows how to throw a spirited holiday party, it’s Sunnyside Community Services. A great team of 10 BlackRock volunteers, led by UNH Board Member Tom Skrobe and SCS Board Member Earl Nelson, greeted seniors at the door, chatted with them at their tables, served lunch in the kitchen, and cleared tables after the meal. BlackRock gave an extremely generous donation of a 42” flat screen TV for the Center, and brought a special dessert for the seniors of macarons and pastry cookies. Following lunch service and even a visit from Councilmember Jimmy Van Bramer, a live band kicked up the music with salsa and merengue, and the seniors took over the dance floor. “It was fantastic to see how lively and engaged everyone at SCS was in the holiday celebration, and such a pleasure to be able to help add to their enjoyment of the festivities,” said Mike Oler of BlackRock. Thank you to the volunteers for making this holiday party one of a kind.

Rialto Capital Management at Hamilton-Madison House’s City Hall Senior Center

UNH Board Member Nelson Hioe and his team of 15 volunteers from Rialto Capital Management brought the holiday spirit to Hamilton-Madison House’s City Hall Senior Center. In addition to providing special lunch service to the packed room, Rialto Capital Management donated money for fresh fruit, which HMH used to purchase juicy Korean pears to go with each lunch served. During the meal, 50 gift cards to a local grocery store - additional gifts from Rialto Capital Management - were raffled off. Thank you for not only serving lunch but making sure this holiday season was one filled with fresh food for seniors.

UNH Statement on Mayor Bloomberg’s Testimony

Wed, 29 Feb 2012 21:12:00 GMT

Statement on Mayor Bloomberg’s Testimony for the State Assembly’s Ways
and Means Committee and the State Senate’s Finance Committee

UNH was pleased to learn of Mayor Bloomberg’s support of the Out-of-School Time afterschool
system in his testimony today before the State Assembly’s Ways and Means Committee
and the State Senate’s Finance Committee.

“Before leaving the subject of education let me add – what happens after the final school bell
of the day rings is as important to students as what goes on in the classrooms. That’s why this
year, we also urge increased State funding for New York City’s nationally recognized ‘Out of
School Time’ program. That additional support would be in keeping with the Governor’s new
‘New York Youth Works’ initiative,” stated Mayor Bloomberg.

We look forward to his leadership on this critical issue for New York City’s vulnerable children
and families. OST is currently facing a 50% loss of funding; if this occurs, 25,000 of our City’s
children will no longer have an after-school program to go to come September. We urge the
Mayor to remain true to his expressed commitment today to ensure that OST is a priority in the
upcoming budget.

City's Cuts to After-School Programs Will Affect 27,000 Kids

Tue, 06 Mar 2012 21:49:00 GMT

The city's plan to chop after-school programs in half will leave tens of thousands of children with nowhere to go after school, endangering working families and putting children at risk, youth advocates and members of the City Council said Thursday.

The after-school cuts could force hundreds of parents to quit their jobs in order to care for their children, jeopardizing already tenuous household incomes in the neediest parts of the city, said Nancy Wackstein, executive director of United Neighborhood Houses, an umbrella group that serves about 20,000 children in after-school programs.

"We're going to leave working families, who the mayor says he is committed to, out in the cold," Wackstein said. "If we want to support working families keeping their jobs, we need after-school. If we want to keep kids off the street, from doing bad things, we need to give them good things to do."

Read the full article>>

NY1: Funding For City's Head Start Programs In Jeopardy

Thu, 22 Dec 2011 20:50:00 GMT

Tens of thousands of the city's youngest and most at-risk children attend Head Start programs every year. The federally-funded prekindergarten is designed to boost learning and development before kids even get to school and provide free, high quality childcare for low-income families.

However, 250 of the city's Head Start programs may now be at risk.

The bulk of the city's Head Start money goes to the Administration for Children's Services, which then distributes it among 250 individual programs. But now ACS has landed on the federal government's first-ever list of substandard Head Start programs. That means ACS will have to re-apply for its $190 million grant.

“They have a whole vision and a model for how to deliver quality early childhood to low income kids. Without Head Start funds, that whole thing falls apart and thousands and thousands of kids would lose an opportunity to have quality care,” said Nancy Wackstein of United Neighborhood Houses.

Watch the news story here>>

Settlement Houses: The Original Community-based Family Resource Centers

Tue, 20 Dec 2011 20:52:00 GMT

The Institute for Children, Poverty, and Homelessness featured a story on the history of settlement houses in their Fall 2011 issue of Uncensored: American Family Experiences with Poverty and Homelessness.

From the article: "Nancy Wackstein, the head of United Neighborhood Houses, a coalition of New York City settlement houses, invokes this history to characterize the mission of contemporary settlements. 'Being a settlement house means you’re not just a service-delivery organization,' she asserts, 'you’re also a social-change organization.'"

Read the full story:

The New York Times SchoolBook: Out-of-School Time Programs Faces Deep Cuts

Tue, 13 Dec 2011 16:15:00 GMT

New York City plans to cut financing for an after-school program that opened under Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, a move that advocates say could cut the number of seats for children nearly in half next year.

Nancy Wackstein, executive director of United Neighborhood Houses — an association of New York settlement houses and community centers — estimated that because of budget cuts, 23,000 children of elementary and middle school age would lose access to the program next year.

“When the school dismissal bell rings and parents are still at work, many of their elementary and middle school children will have nowhere to go,” Ms. Wackstein said in a statement.

Read full article>>

The Epoch Times: After-School Programs Face Funding Cuts

Tue, 13 Dec 2011 15:57:00 GMT

A Nov. 28 Addendum proposed by the Bloomberg administration drops funding to just under $70 million for the 2013 year, a cut of $20 million from this fiscal year and $47 million cut from the start of the Out-of-School Time (OST) program two years ago, according to a news brief from The Center for New York City Affairs.

(Tara MacIsaac/The Epoch Times)

Approximately 46,000 slots for youth in after-school programs, or “Out of School Time” (OST), were lost over the past four years due to $8.5 million in budget cuts, according to Kevin Douglas, policy analyst for United Neighborhood Houses.

Read full article>>

The New School's Center for New York City Affairs: "Mayor's Axe to After-School?" featuring Policy Analyst, Norah Yahya

Mon, 12 Dec 2011 15:40:00 GMT

The Bloomberg administration is poised to make sharp cuts to the primary source of government funding for hundreds of free after-school programs that currently serve about 53,000 children across the city.

Just two years ago, the city's "Out-of-School Time" or OST program received more than $117 million in city funds and served more than 87,000 kids. This fiscal year, the program was reduced to $90 million in city dollars. And now, a recent contract proposal from the administration indicates that, in 2013, the program will be cut to just under $70 million. Advocates say the reduction will nearly halve the number of program slots available to city kids.

Norah Yahya, a policy analyst for United Neighborhood Houses of New York, maintained that the current situation is different from the usual back-and-forth that organizations engage in with the mayor at budget time. "It's dire," she said. "Cuts of this magnitude to services are not usual."

Read the full article>>

New York Nonprofit's "What a Year!"

Fri, 09 Dec 2011 19:46:00 GMT

UNH Executive Director Nancy Wackstein offered her comments on 2011 as it comes to a close for New York Nonprofit Press:

"The year 2011 will go down in the history of our sector as the year in which most of us woke up to the permanent nature of the new reality: government shifts away from support for people in need and the human services designed to help them. Many of us, including me, wanted to believe that once the recession ended and once the economy began to right itself we would see a return to the time when nonprofit services and help for the have-nots were again among our top priorities. Sadly, this is not what we saw. Despite some victories in the last budget season on the City and State levels – like City child care restorations that saved thousands of slots for low-income families and State withdrawal of a Title XX proposal that would have shuttered 100 senior centers in the City – the overall approach of both levels of government seems to have been to look at cuts to human services to solve deficit problems rather than looking to revenue solutions. I fear that this remains the approach as we enter 2012 and governments at all levels continue to grapple with rising deficits. This nation’s historical commitment to preserving a social safety net – particularly potent and effective in New York City and State over decades – seems to be dramatically shifting before our eyes."

Read the full article and what other NYC leaders had to say here>>

Wrapping up UNH's 4th Annual Advocacy Conference: Strengthening our Social Safety Net

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 18:31:00 GMT

UNH thanks all of those who attended our 4th Annual Advocacy Conference: Strengthening Our Social Safety Net on December 2nd. The conference took place at Goddard Riverside's beautiful Bernie Wohl Center and was a day filled with engaging conversation about advocacy. Michael Kink, Executive Director of the Strong Economy for All Coalition, delivered powerful opening remarks to set the tone for the day, which wrapped up with informative workshops on defining advocacy and understanding the City and State Budget processes. Below, view documents and photos from the conference.

Photos

Conference Agenda
Roundtable Discussion: Next Steps
Information on the Advocacy Workgroup

Keep an eye out for information on the next part of UNH's advocacy mini-series, coming up in the Spring of 2012: Voter Mobilization and Registration!

Executive Director Nancy Wackstein Honored as a Top Leader in the Social Work Profession in NYC

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 17:50:00 GMT

United Neighborhood Houses (UNH) is proud to announce that UNH’s Executive Director Nancy Wackstein received a Top Leader in the Profession award from the National Association of Social Workers (NASW), New York City Chapter for her exemplary work in the human services sector. Awardees of this top honor were selected for their reputation in the field as accomplished and experienced leaders and for their innovative role in addressing social justice issues.

“Nancy is a unanimous choice for this distinction,” said Bob Schachter, Executive Director of NASW’s New York City Chapter. “From her crucial role in homeless services for the City, to running the historical Lenox Hill Neighborhood House, to her current position heading United Neighborhood Houses and representing settlement houses throughout the City, Nancy is an example of outstanding leadership in the field. Being a social worker in her position,” said Schachter, “puts her in a preeminent position in the field.”

In addition to being appointed by Mayor Bloomberg to various human services task forces, Nancy also serves on the Board of Directors of several non-profit organizations, including United Neighborhood Centers of America and United Way of NYC, and is the immediate past Board Chair of the Human Services Council of New York.

“I am gratified to have been selected for this honor,” said Wackstein of her award. “My social work education taught me about values as well as ideas, specifically the importance of viewing those in need of assistance with respect and honoring their dignity. I have attempted to keep these principles in view throughout my professional career.”

NASW NYC Chapter’s Fifth Annual Leadership Awards recognizes social workers of all career levels who demonstrate leadership and commitment to the improvement of social and human conditions. Also honored from the UNH network: Geniria Armstrong from UNH member agency Henry Street Settlement was awarded a Mid-Career Leadership Award; Yesenia Zuniga from UNH member agency Hartley House was honored as an Emerging Leader.

The award ceremony took place on December 1, 2011. View a full list of NASW honorees here. Pictured above: Susan Nayowith, President of NASW NYC Chapter; Nancy Wackstein; and Bob Schacter, Executive Director of NASW NYC Chapter.

UNH's Nancy Wackstein Speaks on Settlement Houses on CUNY TV

Mon, 14 Nov 2011 19:39:00 GMT

Watch UNH's Executive Director Nancy Wackstein speak to Ronnie Eldridge from Eldridge & Co. about settlement houses and the current state of nonprofit work and poverty today.

UNH's 4th Annual Advocacy Conference

Tue, 22 Nov 2011 19:24:00 GMT

This event is for settlement house staff only. If you work with one of our member agencies, please REGISTER here.

UNH 2011 Benefit a Success

Fri, 04 Nov 2011 15:58:00 GMT

Honorees from The Clark Foundation: Douglas Bauer, Yancy Garrido, and Bharathi Sethumadhavan

UNH would like to thank all the wonderful supporters who made the UNH Benefit on October 26th a great success, raising $600,000 to help UNH support settlement houses and New Yorkers in need throughout our great city. Special thanks to this year's New Yorkers Who Make a Difference: Alain Kodsi and Rachel Foster and The Clark Foundation, our emcee Michelle Yu (SNY), and our Golden Benefactors including Paul Balser and Paula Del Nunzio, EmblemHealth, Judy and Lew Kramer, Ruth and Sid Lapidus, and
Lois and Arthur Stainman and all those who supported and attended our special event. We welcomed 400 people to Tribeca Three Sixty on a beautiful NYC night.

Many supporters and friends took part in the UNH video project which was filmed by our wonderful volunteers Hector Cardenas, Vic Sorvino, and Jay Yorke from VIACOM. We look forward to sharing the edited event video with you soon. In the meantime, please view pictures from the benefit. Have photos or stories you want to share? Post them on our Facebook page.

Again, we thank you for your partnership as we work to strengthen New York City's neighborhoods at a very challenging time for those struggling to succeed.

More photos>>

View Photos from UNH's 2011 New Yorkers Who Make a Difference Benefit!

Fri, 04 Nov 2011 15:21:00 GMT

Honoree Rachel Foster, UNH Executive Director Nancy Wackstein, Board Member and Honoree Alain Kodsi, and UNH Board President Lew Kramer

View the 2011 Benefit photos here!
Read more from our October 2011 E-news.

UNH Testimony on the Young Men's Initiative

Fri, 04 Nov 2011 14:08:00 GMT

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HSBC Bank Volunteers at Hamilton-Madison House City Hall Senior Center

Tue, 18 Oct 2011 13:52:00 GMT

On Wednesday, October 5^th, volunteers from HSBC Bank served lunch to almost 300 seniors at UNH member Hamilton-Madison House’s City Hall Senior Center.

After a full morning of tai chi and ping pong, the seniors settled into the main dining room for lunch. UNH Board member Mark Hershey (Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Credit Officer of HSBC Bank USA) led his volunteer team of 15, serving hearty lunches of curry chicken and rice to the lively seniors.

The seniors who utilize the center only pay about $1.25 for a nutritious lunch, keeping them healthy and allowing them an opportunity to socialize with friends. On a busy day, City Hall Senior Center can serve up to 325 meals. Attendance can vary with holidays on the Chinese Lunar calendar –they serve a largely Asian population – and sometimes the attendance at lunch can “depend what’s on the menu,” joked Isabel Ching, Assistant Executive Director for Senior Services for Hamilton-Madison House. And lunch wasn’t the only game in town. Seniors played ping pong, read Chinese language newspapers in the reading room, and played Mahjong in other parts of the center while lunch went on. After lunch cleared out of the cafeteria, karaoke moved in.

As the volunteers filed out, the seniors expressed their gratitude for lunch service with a loud round of applause. Thank you to all the HSBC volunteers for spending time with the Hamilton-Madison House seniors, and to the staff at the City Hall Senior Center for coordinating with UNH to put on this volunteer event.

To see more photos, view our Facebook album.

NY1: Bloomberg Pulls Budget Belt Tighter; Calls For Hiring Freeze

Wed, 05 Oct 2011 18:11:00 GMT

On October 4, Mayor Michael Bloomberg asked city agencies to cut 2 percent from their 2012 fiscal year budget, and up to 6 percent in the 2013 fiscal year, meaning a hiring freeze for most groups.

Quoted in the NY1 article, UNH Executive Director Nancy Wackstein says, "This is really going to decimate the community network of services. Things that people rely on, child care, after-school, senior care, English classes."

Read the full article here>>

Queen's Community House Executive Director, Irma Rodriguez: "Nonprofits Are Businesses, Too"

Fri, 30 Sep 2011 17:17:00 GMT

In response to this article posted by Crain's New York Business regarding New York's diversified economy, Irma Rodriguez, Executive Director of UNH member agency Queen's Community House, wrote a Letter to the Editor making the case that nonprofits are businesses too, and should be acknowledged as such. Read her published letter here:

"NONPROFITS ARE BUSINESSES, TOO"

I heartily agree with Greg David's assertion that the city needs a diversified economy (Aug. 15). We already have one. It's just that some sectors get treated better than others.

Not-for-profits are businesses like any other. Our missions may be a bit more complicated than making money, but our programs—like after-school child care—help others to do just that. We train the future corporate and city workforce. And we secure the safety net for those who can't work, keeping all sorts of government costs down.

The green stuff I pay my staff looks just like the green stuff paid on Wall Street. Granted, it's much less, but my staffers are much more likely to circulate that money in the neighborhood.

—Irma E. Rodriguez
Executive director
Queens Community House

"Inside City Hall" Discussion On Summer Jobs with UNH's Anthony Ng

Tue, 04 Oct 2011 15:18:00 GMT

NY1 VIDEO: Errol Louis of “Inside City Hall” discusses the drop in summer jobs for city teenagers with Jonathan Bowles, the executive director of the Center for an Urban Future, Suzanne Lynn, the deputy commissioner for community development at the city's Department of Youth and Community Development, Anthony Ng, the director of policy and advocacy for United Neighborhood Houses of New York, and 16-year-old Avion Cummings from Manhattan, who was unsuccessful in her attempts to get into the summer jobs program the past two years but found her own summer internship this year.

Watch the discussion here>>

UNH Executive Director Nancy Wackstein Quoted in City Hall News

Mon, 19 Sep 2011 17:51:00 GMT

The stooped woman hustling through the Sunnyside senior center’s main hall at lunchtime is Gertrude McDonald, age 95. She’s spent most of her adult life in politics, as an aide to former state Sen. George Onorato, and as the first woman from Queens to run for the state Assembly in a Democratic primary, back in 1968.

“That was a time when women were still just licking the backs of stamps,” she said.

Read full article>>

Save the Date for the 2011 Annual Benefit!

Tue, 16 Aug 2011 18:22:00 GMT

The Queens Courier: Farmer's Market Opens in Pomonok

Mon, 25 Jul 2011 20:32:00 GMT

The Queens Community House (QCH) Pomonok Farmers' Market debuted on July 7 at 10 a.m. in the parking lot of the Pomonok Community Center, at 67-09 Kissena Boulevard in Flushing.

It will return every Thursday through mid-November and run from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The market aims to increase access to affordable, healthy, locally-grown food for the residents of the Pomonok Houses and the surrounding community, where fresh produce is hard to come by.

UNH News and Resources

United Neighborhood Houses Applauds Governor Cuomo’s Executive Order Banning Finger Imaging for Nutrition Programs

Balanced Budget Means Cuts to FDNY, After-School

UNH Responds to Mayor Bloomberg's FY 2013 Executive Budget

As budget cuts loom, a tearful Staten Island child asks "What will people like us do?"

Budget Threatens Programs for City Kids

200 Board Members Sign Letter to Deputy Mayor Patricia Harris

Cuts to Child Care Programs Loom

Jake Ballard At Citi Field Kids

WNYC: Poor in Wealthy Neighborhoods Miss Out on Services

Budget cuts may ax childcare services in city's wealthy areas

Remarks of Federal Judge Jose Cabranes about Settlement Houses

151 Orgs Urge Bloomberg to Restore Child Care & After-School Funding

Michael Bloomberg's Budget Proposal Elicits Protest From Campaign For Children

Board Leadership Meeting for UNH Member Agencies

UNH Board Leadership Meeting, Overview Remarks by Nancy Wackstein

Council Budget Hearings Launch with Child Care Kickball

Budget Cuts May Threaten City Programs for Children

Budget Cuts May Threaten City Programs for Children

By KATE TAYLOR

Published: March 4, 2012

The Settlement House Movement Resurgent

Age Well, Live Well: 5 Tips To Keep You Healthy

YOUTH ACTION DAY: We Want Summer Jobs!

View photos here!

In their own words…

Bloomberg Spares Education Department from Budget Cuts

Nancy Wackstein addresses Hunter's Silberman School of Social Work 2012 Winter Graduates

Corporate Volunteers Help Light Up the Holidays in December

UNH Statement on Mayor Bloomberg’s Testimony

City's Cuts to After-School Programs Will Affect 27,000 Kids

NY1: Funding For City's Head Start Programs In Jeopardy

Settlement Houses: The Original Community-based Family Resource Centers

The New York Times SchoolBook: Out-of-School Time Programs Faces Deep Cuts

The Epoch Times: After-School Programs Face Funding Cuts

The New School's Center for New York City Affairs: "Mayor's Axe to After-School?" featuring Policy Analyst, Norah Yahya

New York Nonprofit's "What a Year!"

Wrapping up UNH's 4th Annual Advocacy Conference: Strengthening our Social Safety Net

Executive Director Nancy Wackstein Honored as a Top Leader in the Social Work Profession in NYC

UNH's Nancy Wackstein Speaks on Settlement Houses on CUNY TV

UNH's 4th Annual Advocacy Conference

UNH 2011 Benefit a Success

View Photos from UNH's 2011 New Yorkers Who Make a Difference Benefit!

UNH Testimony on the Young Men's Initiative

HSBC Bank Volunteers at Hamilton-Madison House City Hall Senior Center

NY1: Bloomberg Pulls Budget Belt Tighter; Calls For Hiring Freeze

Queen's Community House Executive Director, Irma Rodriguez: "Nonprofits Are Businesses, Too"

"Inside City Hall" Discussion On Summer Jobs with UNH's Anthony Ng

UNH Executive Director Nancy Wackstein Quoted in City Hall News

Save the Date for the 2011 Annual Benefit!

The Queens Courier: Farmer's Market Opens in Pomonok

Season Three for Citi Field Kids

NY1: Budget Cuts To Hit Adult Literacy Program

NYNP: City Budget Deal Mixed Bag for Human Services

New York Nonprofit Press Highlights Seniors' Rally Against Budget Cuts featuring Nancy Wackstein, Executive Director of UNH

Downtown Magazine Covers the Yes for Youth Rally featuring, Director of Policy and Advocacy, Anthony Ng

Gotham Gazette: Cuts to City Day Care Still Worry Parents

Citi Supports UNH College Access Initiative

City Advocacy Day: "Don't Cut the Core"

The Brooklyn Spectator: How Losing Child Care Will Impact Brooklyn, featuring UNH POlicy Analyst, Gregory Brender

CUNY TV Exposes the Real Cost of Child Care Cuts, featuring Policy Analyst, Gregory Brender

Viacom Partners with UNH for Viacommunity Day 2011

UNH Statement on Mayor's Executive Budget, FY 2012

Downtown Express: Mayor’s budget cuts threaten day care services

Downtown Express: 3 Vessels to Call Pier 25 Home

Modern Family's Ty Burrell visits Citi Field Kids

Executive Director Nancy Wackstein on NY1 Fighting for Children

WBAI Radio: City Watch

Queens Chronicle: Gregory Brender writes a Letter to the Editor

NY1 Highlights the NYC Summer Youth Employment Program and the Decrease in Jobs, featuring Director of Policy & Advocacy, Anthony Ng

WBAI Radio: Desi Robinson Hour

Executive Director, Nancy Wackstein, Advocates with Councilmember Palma for Child Care on NY1-Inside City Hall

City Limits: Cuts Will Cost Children's Learning, Parents' Work

UNH Staff Around Town, March 2011

UNH and Members Receive Renewed Support from The New York Community Trust

UNH Members to Participate in IBM Technology Services Partnership Pilot

NYNP: State Budget Agreement Leaves Advocates Dismayed & Disappointed

NY Daily News: Teens Struggle to Find Summer Jobs

NYNP: Advocates Urge Personal Income Tax Surcharge as Alternative to Cuts

Honoring Senator Dan Squadron