How do Homeless Families survive without the Advantage Program?

The Advantage Program is a housing subsidy program for homeless families which began in 2007 and is operated by the NYC Department of Homeless Services (DHS).  Families who go through the shelter system receive a voucher which pays a substantial part of their new rent, making it affordable for people to move to permanent housing (providing a home to house a family is less costly than utilizing the shelter system for the homeless).  This arrangement lasted for two years, during which families were expected to become stabilized, find work and begin paying their own full rent.

Unfortunately, after the two year period, about 51% of the families were unable to pay their unsubsidized rent and subsequently returned to the City’s shelter system.  Because of its high recidivism rate, the Advantage Program has come under attack and the State has proposed eliminating the program completely.  The City responded by ceasing the signing of leases for current shelter families effective March 14, 2011 and will stop rent payments to landlords effective April 1, 2011 (more info on elimination of services).  The termination of the Advantage program will affect New York City families and, in turn, some of the families with disabled children served by the Tier II program and Housing Assistance Program at Sinergia.  We are already feeling the effects, and this is only the tip of the iceberg.

One of our consumers, a mother, along with her non-verbal son with intellectual and developmental disabilities, were living in severely overcrowded conditions. The young boy's behavior in school was affected by this, as was his relationship with everyone in the household. While living under these conditions he regressed substantially and became withdrawn and depressed. The family moved into one of Sinergia’s Tier II apartment, which is meant to be transitional housing until families find permanent, affordable housing. Nevertheless, it provided space for the son to move freely, and he did not have to wait in line to use the bathroom and was able to sleep in his own bed.  His teacher noted his behavior and functional progress had improved remarkably. Once her son was stable, Sinergia helped the Mom to secure a job. She then met the requirements for the Advantage voucher, and she identified an affordable apartment that accepted it. Now this dream is on hold.

Another couple with three children, one with developmental disabilities, came to Sinergia’s Housing offices this week with a letter from DHS informing them that beginning April 1, 2011 they would no longer subsidize their $1,600 rent. The couple is devastated.  A year and a half ago they entered the shelter system and with the help of Sinergia were able to get an Advantage voucher and rent a three bedroom apartment.  The husband works, but doesn’t earn enough to pay the total rent.  They are concerned about returning to the shelter system; they remembered how much their kids suffered because of the conditions and instability of being homeless.

Both families are in limbo, overwhelmed by the lack of affordable housing in the city and what the impact of facing an unknown future will have on their children. We hope the City and the State will find alternatives to the Advantage program because low income families have few options for securing affordable housing in the marketplace. Otherwise we will see the return of families living on the streets or forced into inhumane homeless shelters. Children, especially those with disabilities, will suffer the most from the instability of a family adrift without a home.

UPDATE (3/31/11) - Legal Aid believes these terminations are unlawful and filed a lawsuit on behalf of tenants whose benefits were terminated.  As a result of this filing, the City was ordered to pay Advantage rents for current Advantage tenants for the month of April pending a hearing later this month. (We don’t know if the lawsuit will resolve anything, but we’re hopeful.)


Related resources:
Legal Aid’s flyers with additional information in English and Spanish, from the New Destiny Housing website. 
NYC: 15,000 Ex-homeless Families Losing Rent Help (WSJ)
Updates from the Coalition For the Homeless

Choosing Healthy Foods

For Asuncion Muyalde, nutrition is an ongoing process. She oversees Sinergia's nursing department, and part of their job is to assist participants of the residential programs with their menu planning and food shopping. "Some of our consumers have problems because of their nutritional intake," explains Ms. Muyalde, "so for individuals with diabetes or other chronic conditions, proper foods are essential to their well being.  For example, for consumers with hyper tension we ensure they are on a low salt diet, although sometimes it's difficult to enforce. We educate consumers on food choices and what foods are loaded with vitamins and minerals so that they can maintain their health goals, whether it's low weight or low blood sugars."  The nursing staff teaches residents and other staff members about the wide variety of inexpensive food choices available in the market. "They don't have to buy organic products which are costlier. The most important thing is choosing foods wisely to promote health - that's a continuous process, a real nutritional challenge," she adds.

Ms. Muyalde came across this list on cspinet.org. "It's loaded with so much great information about foods that people that might not be aware of," she points out.

TEN Super Foods You Should Eat:

1.) Sweet potatoes= A nutritional all- star, loaded with carotenoids, Vitamin C, Potassium and fiber.

2.) Mangos= Just one cup supplies almost as much Vitamin A and C as most people need in an entire day.

3.) Plain Yogurt= Has more protein, potassium, calcium, zinc, and vitamins B-6 and B-12 than sweetened yogurt.

4.) Broccoli= Lots of vitamin C, carotenoids, and folic acid.

5.) Wild Salmon= The omega-3 fats in salmon can reduce the risk of sudden- death heart attacks.

6.) Crisp Breads= Loaded with fiber and and often fat-free.

7.) Beans= Inexpensive, low in fat, and rich in protein, iron, folic acid, and fiber. Choose garbanzo, pinto, black, navy, kidney or lentils.

8.) Watermelon= Excellent source of Vitamin C and carotenoids, and it tastes great.

9.) Butternut Squash= An easy way to get payloads of vitamins A and C and fiber.

10.) Leafy Greens= Loaded with Vitamin C, carotenoids, calcium & fiber.

March is National Nutrition Month so for more information on staying healthy visit eatright.org. Other articles of interest:
How Much Do Fruits and Vegetables Cost?
The Food Pyramid
Daily Food Planners & Interactive Tools 

Sinergia is offering 3 upcoming workshops on the topic of Alternative Nutrition for Children with Disabilities: Gluten Free Diets, on March 3rd, Reading Labels: Choosing Healthier Foods with Less Chemicals, on March 24th and Implementing a Dairy Free Diet for Kids, on April 14th. To register for these FREE events, please call Gina Peña-Campodonico at 212 643-2840, ext. 305 or by e-mail at gpena at sinergiany.org.

Day Hab's Black History Month Celebration

On February 17, 2011, the participants of Sinergia’s Day Habilitation program presented a Black History Celebration in the Activity Center of our headquarters at 2082 Lexington Ave. The festivities included presentations by individual groups of the Day Habilitation’s participants. One group presented information about Harriet Tubman and the intricacies surrounding the operation of the famous “Underground Railroad” (the hidden routes used by Ms. Tubman to secret runaway slaves from the South to freedom in the North). The presenters educated the audience about how the “conductors” of the “Underground Railroad” often used homemade signs and scraps of fabric or pieces of quilts to indicate various conditions along the route. Some of the signs indicated danger, direction, safe passage, that there had been a death along the route or that safe lodging and food was available to those making their way to the North and freedom. (Below: A Day Hab group presents a biography on Soul Music pioneer, Aretha Franklin – the first African American female artist to win a Grammy.)

Other groups presented information on African-American historical figures, celebrities and politicians.  The entire presentation was done very well and was entertaining as well as educational. Thanks to the Day Habilitation staff and participants for a very meaningful, thought-provoking and enjoyable presentation! (Below: Rosie shows the quilt square sample she made that indicates to “Underground Railroad” riders that they should follow the geese to the North.)

The Right to Translation of the IEP into Spanish

When interviewing a parent who is seeking assistance with their child's special education needs, Liz Pardo, who is an educational advocate for Sinergia's Metropolitan Parent Center, will always start by making reference to their child's Individualized Education Plan, or IEP. Time and time again she's been confronted with the same response: parents who do not know what she is referring to until she describes it to them in more detail. Most often, it is a parent whose first language is not English who will not know the IEP by name. Some parents will recognize the name and know that it constitutes the whole of child's special education services, however, because they cannot read English, they are unsure of its contents.

What's wrong with this picture?  Ms. Pardo says that studies have shown that parent involvement in their child's education is key to their child's academic success. But she adds that if a parent cannot cannot read their child's IEP, they will be unable to meaningfully participate in an IEP meeting or in their child's education. The Individuals with Disability Education Act (IDEA) recognizes the importance of parent involvement, hence provides for the right to translation services (such as the translation of an IEP) and interpretation services (such as at an IEP meeting). 

In New York City it is common for an IEP to be in English, despite the parent being an English Language Learner. You must ask for it, and as with all important requests, it should be made in writing!   

Sample letter

Date: 
Principal:
School:
Address:
City, State:

Requesting Translation of IEP for my child: _______________________________

Dear Mr./Ms.__________________________________,

I write seeking a translation of my child's IEP into Spanish, my primary language.  This translation will permit me to more fully understand and participate in the IEP meeting as well as to participate in my child's education throughout the school year. The request is made pursuant to federal, state and local laws.

I thank you for your time and assistance in this matter.  

Sincerely,


_________________________________________
Parent

Additional Resources
Language Services & Special Education - New York City
Servicios Linguisticos y de Educacion Especial - Cuidad de Nueva York

Metropolitan Parent Center January Highlights

Sinergia's Metropolitan Parent Center had a busy month in January! Here are some highlights.

Improving Spanish Translations for Special Ed 
It was selected to participate on a Spanish Glossary Project Review Team that met on January 24 & 25, in Washington, D.C. The intent of this project, which is funded by the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP), is for team participants to review Spanish translations of special education terms and phrases and come to a consensus of which of the words are the most appropriate that will then compiled and distributed to Parent Centers throughout the United States that work with diverse Spanish speaking communities. It was a demanding task that required that a panel of 16 individuals from diverse areas of the country, working in groups of four to review and revise glossary terms located in a 44-page document. Each group engaged in conversations, discussed their opinions and arrived at a consensus regarding the words assigned to the group. Afterward each group reported on their findings and sought the consensus of the other groups in order to determine which terms and phrases were the most appropriate one. 

Technology and Leadership Training 
A few days after that Godfrey Rivera and Cassandra Archie, the Co-Directors of the MPC, attended the National Parent Technical Assistance Center's ALLIANCE Technology and Leadership & Management Institutes, which took place in Washington, D.C. on January 26 & 27. Mr. Rivera attended a variety of sessions on website content management systems, webinars and collaborative online workgroups (i.e. Wikis, Big Tent and Ning) at the Technology Institute. Ms. Archie on the other hand learned about effective management leadership strategies, motivating staff, and compliance issues for implementing grants at the IBM Management Institute.

Using Technology to Help Parents
Finally, later in the month, the MPC was also selected to participate in a Technology Leadership Initiative which consisted of representatives from six Parent Training and Information Centers (PTICs) and two Community Parent Resource Centers (CPRCs). The chosen Parent Centers were from NYC, Tennessee, Louisiana, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, California, Pennsylvania and Colorado. This is a three-year project whose task is to develop a model on how to use technology to enhance Parent Center's ability to meet their missions of helping families of children with disabilities and to serve as mentors to training other parent centers. There was a training session on January 28 where participants met each other, the technology consultant, John Kenyon, and started to outline the project by articulating benchmarks and goals.

EIP - Getting Ready for the Annual Review

The IEP is a written statement of an Individualized Education Program that each school-aged child with disabilities receives, designed to meet their specific needs. The program must be reviewed annually, and this typically happens between March and May. These annual conferences are scheduled to review and revise the IEP for the upcoming school year. Cassandra Archie, Co-Director of Sinergia's Metropolitan parent Center, has some suggestions on how parents should prepare for their child's annual IEP conference:

• Thoroughly review your child's current IEP
• Know if your child has made progress, or if there has been a lack of progress. For example, if the child is to receive counseling, three times a week, did he receive it? How well is he responding to it?
• Think about what educational and functional goals you want to see your child achieve in the upcoming school year (2011-2012).
   
• Know your options for participation in the annual IEP conference. Participation can be in person or via conference call and you can request that it be in Spanish.

Here are two articles with more information:

Understanding Annual Reviews - What is an IDEA Annual Review?

How to Prepare for an IEP Annual Review

Photo credit

New Year, New Look for Sinergia

Sinergia is getting ready to unveil a new website and a new logo to go along with it, and here's a sneak peak. The graphic depicts three shapes coming together to create synergy, emphasizing unity through diversity. Stay tuned for updates on the relaunch!

Our new tag line is "Providing Multicultural, Lifespan Services for People With Disabilities." For the past 34 years Sinergia has served low income, minority families with children and members with disabilities, particularly those limited English language learners whose principal language is Spanish. It has been very important that the members of our organization reflect the diversity and life experiences of the people we serve. Consequently our staff and board of directors have consistently been multilingual and multicultural, many living in the same communities where our consumers reside, and many are parents of children with disabilities. 


In its early beginnings Sinergia started offering educational advocacy services for children with disabilities but then blossomed organically into more comprehensive services that extended into adulthood and beyond in order to meet the unique needs of consumers. Our Family Support services were developed so that the child or adult with disabilities would not have to leave their home because families did not have the resources they needed to care for them. We created the Parent Training and Information Center because our core belief is that parent involvement is integral to their children's educational and functional achievements and can lead them to more productive, high quality adult lives.


Finally, as children moved into the adult world, Sinergia met their transition needs head on. We developed residences and support services for adults with intellectual disabilities so they can live as independently as possible in their own safe and secure homes in our neighborhoods. Our Day Habilitation Program has helped persons with disabilities to learn skills that lead them to greater independence, employment, and recreational and artistic opportunities, and have increased their knowledge of community life and resources. Some of our Day Habilitation participants as well as those living in Sinergia-operated residences are now senior citizens.


In this way Sinergia serves people throughout their life span. Over the years we have heard your voices, heeded your needs and were driven to respond. We have truly earned our tag line!