February 2012 - Queens Spotlight
Where Can Teens Find a Safe Space in Jamaica?
When home is filled with anger, stress, and violence, young people look for an out. In Jamaica, Queens, where the number of single-parent households, unemployed youth, child abuse, and teens having kids top the charts, young people need all the help they can get. In order to help them overcome social, academic, and mental health obstacles,
Safe Space runs a drop-in center at its headquarters in downtown Jamaica as well as neighborhood sites and a residential center for youth.
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$120,000 grant will help the group hire a youth specialist to run two new, six-week leadership courses. A college-prep workshop will use college students to mentor younger teens through the college and financial-aid application process. A second financial literacy workshop will cover avoiding credit card debt, managing money, and starting savings accounts. The grant will also help hire a social worker to teach distressed teens how to date safely, deal with problems at home, improve self-confidence, and control anger. Teens with serious mental health problems will be referred to the agency’s on-site mental health clinic.
Other Grants Helping Queens Families
Public Health Solutions, $100,000 to transfer operations of reproductive and prenatal care clinics serving low-income young women to a federally qualified health center. Read more>>
Ocean Bay Community Development Corporation, $40,000 to help public housing residents in Far Rockaway find jobs and apply for tax credits and refunds.
Read NY Daily News article about this grant.>>Northwestern Queens Financial Education Network, $70,000 to coordinate financial education and counseling services for immigrants in Astoria, Long Island City, and Jackson Heights.
Center for Family Representation, $100,000 to keep immigrant families together by providing legal and social services to those involved in child protective proceedings in Queens.