Farewell to Manny Ortiz

It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Manuel (Manny) Ortiz.  He was a former President of the Sinergia Board of Directors in our early years and  very committed to our  mission of enhancing the well being of individuals with disabilities and families, particularly special populations that traditionally experienced difficulties in accessing services. He was a longtime community organizer and activist for social justice. Richard Lash, Sinergia's founder, and I were very fortunate to count Manny as a friend and supporter of Sinergia and the people we serve.

Also the affordable housing and community development field has lost a great advocate and leader.  Manny was a long time Executive Director of the Carroll Gardens Development Corp. and for many years a board member of the Neighborhood Preservation Coalition of NYS. He passed away in Puerto Rico. Our condolences to his friends, family, and wife Isaura.

Workshop: Financial Assistance and Rental Subsidies // Taller: Asistencia Financiera Para Inquilinos

Monday, January 23rd, 10am-12pm
EMERGENCY FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE AND RENTAL SUBSIDIES
a presentation by
The Human Resources Administration Department (HRA) of Social Services of New York City
Are you falling behind with your rent payments? Are you facing a non-payment eviction? Want to know how you can obtain assistance with your rent?

Come and learn how you can apply for financial assistance to pay rent arrears. Learn who is eligible, the documentation required, charitable organizations, rental subsidy (FEPS) and other services offered by HRA
Presented by: Karina Cuevas, Manhattan Borough Coordinator, NYC Human Resources Administration

Place: Sinergia Inc., 2082 Lexington Avenue between 125th and 126th 4th Floor New York, NY
Directions: Take the 4, 5, or 6 train to the 125th station. Bus: X80, M35, M60, M100, M101, & Bx15 to 125th St.
Date: Monday, January 23rd, 2012
Time: 10:00am – 12:00pm

Contact: Yesenia Estrella or Maria Pabón, Housing Advocates
(212) 643-2840 ext. 249 & 350
Email: yestrella@sinergiany.org
Spanish Simultaneous Translation is available but you must call to request it.

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Lunes, 23 de enero, de 10:00am – 12:00pm
Sinergia cordialmente les invita a un taller sobre:
ASISTENCIA FINANCIERA DE EMERGENCIA Y SUBSIDIOS DE RENTA
presentado por
La Administración de Recursos Humanos (HRA), Departamento de Servicios Sociales de la Cuidad de Nueva York

¿Está atrasado(a) con los pagos de su renta?¿Está siendo desalojado(a) por falta de pago? ¿Quiere saber como obtener ayuda con su renta?

Venga y aprenda cómo aplicar para asistencia financiera para pagar sus rentas atrasadas. Aprenda quienes son elegibles, que documentos se requieren, organizaciones de caridad, subsidio de renta (FEPS) y otros servicios ofrecidos por HRA.
Presentado por: Karina Cuevas, Coordinadora del Condado de Manhattan de la Administración de Recursos Humanos de la Cuidad de Nueva York
Lugar: Sinergia Inc., 2082 Avenida Lexington entre las calles 125 y 126, 4to Piso, New York, NY
Dirección: Tome los trenes 4, 5, o 6 hasta la 125.
Buses: X80, M35, M60, M100, M101, & Bx15 hasta la calle 125.

Fecha: Lunes, 23 de enero, 2012
Hora: 10:00am – 12:00pm

Contactos: Yesenia Estrella y Maria Pabón, Defensoras de Viviendas
(212) 643-2840; correo electrónico: yestrella@sinergiany.org
Traducción al Español estará disponible pero debe llamar para pedirla.

Sinergia’s Healthy Families Collaborative: A Team Approach to Service Delivery

“IT TAKES A VILLAGE TO RAISE A CHILD”

Sinergia’s Healthy Families Collaborative has been moving towards a comprehensive team approach to assist parents with developmental disabilities, which involves bringing together many experts from a wide variety of areas. There is the Intake specialist, nurses, Family Support staff, Medicaid Service Coordination, home visitation by special educator and infant teacher, Program Coordinator and administrative staff. Parents with developmental disabilities need much support if they are to become the parents they hope to be and secure the myriad of services that will help them reach their goals. In this approach the nurses make an assessment of the medical needs, the educator and family support staff make home visits, and the entire team works in a person-centered manner to find individual solutions and services to help the consumer to become a more effective, nurturing parent as well as to meet their own individual needs. It really does take a village in the form of a very committed team to help parents with developmental disabilities to develop a circle of support and find the services they need.

Case in point is that of a 15 year old female with developmental disabilities and her infant. They reside with her mother, who found herself as their sole support system. As a result of the pregnancy, she dropped out of a special education high school. After various meetings and home visits, team members were able to convince her that it was important for her to return to the last school placement although she wished to attend a “regular” school.  Today is her first day of school and we are now helping her in the process of registering the infant in a NYC/DOE day care program in the neighborhood where they live. This will allow the grandmother to return to work or receive training to prepare her for alternative job opportunities. The team’s commitment and caring fostered a trusting relationship between its members and the family. This allowed for the development of a circle of services and supports that includes family members, the principal, the teacher, and the health and day care services in the neighborhood in which she lives. Without the trust, hard work and belief that this young mother could succeed, she would remain home without an education or the prospects of a better future for her and her daughter.  Her mother would be overwhelmed and frustrated without the time or outlets for her own betterment.

The team will continue to offer parent training and visits to the home to assist and monitor the infant’s and the mother’s progress as well as connect them to needed services. A beautiful handmade quilt made by parents hangs in one of Sinergia’s offices and on it is embroidered, “It Takes a Village to Raise a Child”.  This particular case is a living example of that axiom.

Sinergia's Annual Christmas Celebration 2011

Sinergia's Annual Christmas celebration for children and families on December 22, 2011 was the high point of our holiday season.  Our Christmas angels, the NYC Department of Sanitation-M7 personnel, again blessed our holidays as the sponsors of the annual event at Lincoln Center's Julliard School. They have faithfully supported this celebration for over a quarter of a century. This year we had great weather and no snow so we had an overflow audience - the greatest attendance ever! We were pleased to have the Commissioner John J. Doherty join the men and women as they helped Santa Claus distribute wonderful gifts to the many children in the beautifully decorated space. Dinner included the traditional dishes: rice and gandules, pernil, hot dogs for the children and cookies, candies and refreshments galore. The accompanying pictures tell the story of the wonder and joy exhibited by so many children for whom this celebration has such significance. We took the opportunity to pay special tribute to Alexander McDonald, former member of the NYC Department of Sanitation-M7, who passed away this year. It was a touching moment when we stopped the festivities to honor his memory. Nancy McDonald, his widow, and his son Mathew were presented with a certificate of appreciation by Sinergia's Executive Director, Myrta Cuadra-Lash, which acknowledged Alex McDonald's contributions. The evening ended with the traditional entrance of Santa Claus and his elves. The staff of the Department of Sanitation and Sinergia felt joyful to be part of a legacy and tradition that brings so much happiness to so many children and families. Special thanks to all the entertainers, to Scott Lancelot and Maria Quintero and the staff of the Department of Sanitation, to Sinergia's own Doris Rodriguez and the rest of the staff for making this event possible.

(click here to view our Photo Album on Facebook)

Recap: 507 Plan & 1115 Waiver Presentation

On December 7, 2011 Sinergia was very pleased to welcome Katherine Bishop (above) from the Office of People with Developmental Disabilities (OPWDD), People First Waiver Unit.  Ms. Bishop made a comprehensive presentation to a standing room only audience on the 1115 Waiver at Sinergia's Metropolitan Parent Center. In collaboration with the Manhattan Neighborhood Network, the presentation was taped and it aired on January 1, 2012 on their cable channels. The forum was simultaneously translated into Spanish and power point presentations were available in both languages.

Ms. Bishop led the discussion of the major redesign of the OPWDD system to better support people’s health, life skills and personal outcomes through increased flexibility, person centered services, care coordination and modernization of the financial platform. The lynchpin of the transformation will include development of entities that will be called Developmental Disabilities Individual Support & Care Coordination Organizations (DISCO).  They will be not-for-profit fiscal intermediaries and providers of care coordination, which receive all payments and may be direct providers and/or subcontract all needed services, including health care.

There was an extensive question and answer period where parents and providers were able to ask key questions about this future waiver which will have a major impact on the way that services will be delivered.  To get more information on People First Waiver visit their webpage: www.opwdd.ny.gov/2011waiver. Our appreciation is extended especially to Katherine Bishop and to MNN, the interpreters and staff at Sinergia for making this event possible so that both English and Spanish speaking parents become aware of these significant changes in the OPWDD system and how they will affect their children and adults with developmental disabilities.

Spotlight on Sinergia's Up-Living Program

The UpLiving program is a subset of Sinergia's Day Habilitation program (DayHab). Technically it is called Supplemental Habilitation because it takes place mostly in the afternoon, in the hours after DayHab stops providing services. For admission to this program we canvassed 12 individuals with disabilities who were not enrolled in any type of day program, were not working a job and who had rarely ventured out into the community. We asked them what their interests were and how we might assist them in becoming more positively involved in those activities. We received responses such as getting a GED, becoming more involved in their church, enjoying more of the activities that NYC had to offer, becoming more computer literate, and getting healthier through exercise and diet. This program has had great success and we have seen individuals who rarely ventured out into the community increase their visibility tremendously and really increase their involvement in their stated interest.

Bonnie Gardner (above left, with Wilson in Governor's Island) is an UpLiving direct support professional who has been with the program since its inception in 2009. She has been part of the reason that we have seen so much success. Below she describes some of the participants she has worked with.

"Rowan Cahill (above) loves being in the Up-Living Program. His primary area of concentration is studying for his GED. He works very hard on this goal and it shows as he is improving at an impressive rate, particularly in the areas of reading and comprehension. Rowan is also becoming more adept at handling his finances online, learning the ins and outs of Facebook and navigating other forms of electronic communication. Rowan loves trains and collects them as a hobby. His breadth of knowledge in this area is rather impressive. Whether he is in the library learning about trains or visiting places like the Transit Museum, it is all very inspiring to Rowan. It is also Rowan's wish to start creating his own trains as a hobby in order to exhibit and sell in future Sinergia art shows. Rowan is also making terrific strides in the area of socialization and communication, showing more faith in many areas of his life."

"Frank (above) on the other hand, enjoys creating art on the computer and will work diligently on a piece for hours. He is a prolific artist and has created an impressive body of work. In addition, Frank sold many of his art pieces and is hoping to expand to t-shirt and coffee mug design. Frank also loves learning about other artists -- from urban street artists to old masters like Leonardo DaVinci, which he is adept at interpreting. Frank is flourishing in the area of socialization and communication as well. He thoroughly enjoys his forays out in the community, particularly if they are art related."

"Life is full of beginnings and endings" my mother once said. So it is with some sadness that Wilson Sanchez (above) has left the Up-Living Program. However, he successfully acheived one of his goals and has found employment. Congratulations Wilson, well done!"

"A special nod goes out to Anton McIntyre (above). Still relatively new to the Up-Living program, he is flourishing and doing great!"

See more photos in our Facebook Photo Album.

Preventing Homelessness in New York

The Advantage Program, which was set up to assist families living in shelters by providing rental subsidies for temporary housing, sadly ended earlier this year (read our post: "How do Homeless Families survive without the Advantage Program?"). Since then many people were left with unanswered questions, as was evidenced on a recent morning, when men and women worried about losing their homes attended a lecture entitled “Life After Advantage.” It was held at the Harlem storefront office of HomeBase Palladia, one of 13 HomeBase offices managed by different non-profit groups scattered around the five boroughs of NYC (for a complete list, see below). Their main mission is to prevent homelessness.

The speaker, Romy Martin, posed the question that was bothering every person in that audience: “What are my options when my subsidy ends?” First, she gave them some hard facts: landlords that take the Advantage subsidy will receive their October payments and tenants will be required to pay their share.

Then, she told them, “Depending on court actions, this may be your last month of subsidy. Regardless, the subsidy is coming to an end sooner rather than later. DHS has NO intention of restoring it or replacing it. This does not mean that your lease will terminate. If you have a lease, you will be responsible for paying the whole rent.”

Having established there’s no rescue in sight, Ms. Martin gave her audience good advice about taking steps to protect their own homes.

I CANT AFFORD THE RENT – WHAT DO I DO NOW?
If it is possible to increase your income this is a good time to do it. You could:
• Request additional hours at work
• Change jobs
• Make sure everyone in the household contributes to the rent
• Make sure all household members are receiving all benefits they are eligible to get
• Do budgeting; separate needs from wants
• Find a roommate

Other options:
• Consider moving to a more affordable space
• Explore other boroughs
• Apply for low income, affordable housing in lotteries every week at www.nyc.gov
• Follow up on NYCHA applications
• Check with DHCR to find out your legally registered rent in case the landlord wants to raise it

Meantime, the Legal Aid Society assures you the landlord cannot evict you without taking you to Housing
Court. You should not leave your apartment to reapply at PATH just because your Advantage rent has not been paid. You should know that landlords sometimes look at a person's history in Housing Court before deciding to rent them an apartment. So, if you have never been sued before in Housing Court, you might consider whether to leave your apartment before being sued.

You may be eligible for rent arrears under a rent program called FEPS (“Family Eviction Prevention
Supplement”). The FEPS program is available only to households with minor children with active cash public
assistance cases who have been sued by their landlord in a court case that can result, or did result, in their eviction and one of the elements in the case is/was that excess rent is/was owed.

In addition to facing a nonpayment or holdover case in housing court, you may also meet these requirements if:
• you were evicted within the past 6 months and are in the shelter system,
• you were evicted in the past year and are doubled up,
• you left your apartment due to a government vacate order, or
• you left your apartment because of a foreclosure proceeding.

Your rent must fall within the rent caps for your household size. The rules of FEPS are extremely complicated.

Legal Aid suggests you call HomeBase to talk about your options (see list below). Or walk in to the Crisis Intervention Program of the Coalition for the Homeless at 129 Fulton Street, lower Manhattan. Arrive by 8 am Monday through Friday to be sure you will be seen the day you come in.

If you are being evicted, call the Legal Aid office in your borough.
Bronx (718) 9991-4600
Brooklyn (718) 722-3100
Manhattan (212) 426-3000
Queens (718) 286-2450
Staten Island (347) 422-5333

Excerpted from How...When...Where: Information for homeless and relocated families in New York City
(November 2011)
Photo