Samson Dipson is a volunteer at the very same soup kitchen that used to serve him. He stands outside the soup kitchen cutting the chilly air with a puffy vest, striped sweater and warm hat. He has big brown eyes, a graying goatee and a kind smile. “Drugs were my first love,” admits Samson. “Drugs took me out of my character so I couldn’t pay my bills.” Eventually, Samson supported his drug addiction with any means necessary and ended up on the street. Hitting rock bottom, Samson went to rehab and found several soup kitchens around New York City to keep from going hungry. There were people at the soup kitchens with good hearts who helped him get his life back on track.

“To be served makes you feel like a giant. To have a stranger humbly, generously serve you food when you are hungry, it is just overwhelming. That hospitality is a beautiful thing.” Now that Samson is clean and stable, he has moved from being served to being the server. Not only do the kitchens provide much needed food, there are people at the kitchen who can listen, who can help. For people who want and are ready for help, finding an advocate at the soup kitchen is a great gift.

Samson believes in the power of soup kitchens both as the server and the served. When hungry people are welcomed in out of the cold to be fed, it fills the spirit up and helps people get well. Samson is now a published author with two books about his bout with homelessness available on Amazon. He attributes his success in part to the hospitality he received at the soup kitchen when he was at his lowest point. The food, the warmth, the welcome and the patient encouragement he found there changed his life for good.

By Ronald Williams

Prospect Park Brooklyn, New York

There had been great momentum at Community House; as the support system evolved from all contributions made from both breakfast and lunch transactions during the month of October, 2012.

Each patron was presented the option of a free Breast Cancer pin or bracelet at the point of sale.

From the said proceeds; we were successful in raising Four Hundred and Seventy Dollars ($470.00) and were indeed ecstatic of this accomplishment; as this was our first endeavor at Community House. The focus on this venture also demonstrated to our residents the true value of giving and by extension the ability to help others. Despite the fact that most our Clients are on a fixed income there were individuals who went above and beyond in providing fairly large financial contributions.

Our Staff, Residents and included Family Members were outfitted and equipped with T-Shirts, Bracelets and Banner respectively for the walk through the Agency’s munificence.

On the morning of October 21, 2012 our full complement of participants socialized over a healthy breakfast prior to the walk and was treated sufficiently to fulfill our charge.

There was thrill along with emotions and valid opportunities to celebrate life evident by signs, music and a stupendous menagerie.

It was an absolute privilege representing Lutheran Social Services of New York at the 2012 American Cancer Society Walk as our presence endorsed the importance and unstinting support for the cause; thereby achieving three (3) miles, seeing tens of thousands of others join, positive interaction with folks, comrades and most significantly the affirmation that our purpose that day had not been ineffective.

Lutheran Social Services of New York’s Home LIFE program consists of five residential facilities that have been offering stable housing to the homeless, substance-abusers, the marginalized, low-income families, and the mentally ill for decades. The agency owns and operates the Muhlenberg Residence and the Bergen Street Residence in Brooklyn and St. John’s House I and II in the Bronx. Additionally, case management services are provided at Community House in Brooklyn. Home LIFE partners housing with in-home or community-based supportive services such as vocational education and case management. With a safe place to call home coupled with life skills training, residents can begin to address other areas of their lives, becoming successful, empowered community members.

Diana Nieves is a client who personifies the hope that motivates the residential staff at Lutheran Social Services of New York every day. Diana was a Peace Officer in the Coast Guard for six years. During her time serving our country, she received medals for good conduct and was honorably discharged. She also earned an education at a graphic design school. Later, she put her skills to use at The Irish Echo Newspaper, El Diario and other major publishing companies.

Before arriving at Community House, Diana was living in very unstable housing. She found Community House in January of 2008 and over the course of the last few years, Diana has become a model citizen. She has learned not only to help herself, but to reach out and help her neighbors with everything from physical labor to effective advocacy. For example, she currently volunteers by working with elderly people and those struggling with mental health. After graduating from a sobriety program at the Fordham-Tremont clinic this summer, she is working toward starting a support group there for others. Diana even just donated eight inches of her hair to Locks of Love, which serves children who suffer from long-term medical hair loss.

The residential staff at Lutheran Social Services of New York joyfully lifts up the hard work that Diana Nieves has done to claim her right to stable housing and reach her full potential. It has been an inspiration to watch her maintain positive mental health and sobriety. She is an amazing woman who the staff at Community House love to work alongside. Diana is the true embodiment of service, and an inspirational model for what someone with support and stable housing can indeed accomplish.

The New LIFE School, established in 2006 and located on Eagle Avenue in the Bronx, works with children who have specialized learning and social/emotional needs. The New LIFE School is not only a school; it is a family. This was never more evident than at the school’s first graduation ceremony on August 14, 2012. The inspirational event took place in the chapel of 475 Riverside, home of Lutheran Social Services of New York. Proud parents dressed their best and little siblings used iPhones to snap pictures of the 15 pioneer graduates. The students were smiling and emotional from the time they walked down the aisle in their bright blue gowns to the very end of the ceremony when they turned to the crowd to receive their congratulatory ovation.

There was a sense of family at the graduation in the pride shared in the room. Ray Denny, Crisis Team Member and Master of Ceremonies of the event, spoke of growing with the graduates. Rachel Kornfeld, Principal, spoke of working with the graduates to create The New LIFE School. Kyle Harris, the Valedictorian, thanked his social worker, his guidance counselor, his family and his classmates who all helped along the journey. Together, everyone who had invested in The New LIFE School celebrated the milestone of this first graduation ceremony. The graduates are the representation of a dream that has become a reality.

On the cover of the graduation program was the aspen tree that Laura Puerta, Director of Admissions, made out of yarn and keeps in her office. The tree is a strong symbol for the 15 graduates of The New LIFE School; in an aspen tree colony, what is visible above ground are individual trees growing strong and beautiful, reaching up toward the sun. What is hidden underground is a root colony that is older and stronger than the individual seedlings. Aspen trees can survive forest fires because the root systems underground are protected from the heat and will produce new seedlings. Each individual graduate stood with his or her certificate, proud of what it took to stay in school and graduate. They could have given up. They could have dropped out, blaming the broken system that would not support them. But these young people held on, persevered, did what it took to enter into unchartered educational territory with The New LIFE School to claim the certificate they deserved. What was supporting these individuals was a colony of love, a root system that gave the graduates strength to withstand the fire. After receiving their certificates, the graduates looked out and saw Rachel Kornfeld, Laura Puerta, Christine Connell, Peter Anzalone and other staff at Lutheran Social Services of New York and The New LIFE School who supported them from the beginning. These are the people who stayed up late writing grants and putting desks together. Who moved the school from Watson to Brook to Eagle Avenue. Who created policy and curriculum to serve the specialized needs of these students. The graduates looked out and saw their parents, grandparents and siblings who kept them accountable to their studies and their dreams, willing them to commit, strive and succeed. They looked out and saw the other high school students at The New LIFE School who are dreaming of the day they will be in graduation robes of their own. They looked at each other, their classmates, who had become their family over the years. The graduates stood strong and tall, reaching toward the sun, conscious of the many people whose love and support nourished them toward achievement.

This was a victorious ceremony of pure celebration. When the educational system and society at large fell short, The New LIFE School was there to offer another chance. Every single young person deserves an opportunity to claim an educational degree. With the help and support, the vision and the dream, the sweat and the tears of people at Lutheran Social Services of New York and The New LIFE School, 15 bright and shining young women and men grabbed hold of their graduation certificates and walked into the world with dignity and hope. As the graduates left the chapel to take on the world, there was a sense that everyone in the family had grown and changed together for the better.

]]> http://www.lssny.org/site/2012/08/the-new-life-school-graduation-2012/feed/ 0 http://www.lssny.org/site/2012/07/october-2-2012-octoberfest/ http://www.lssny.org/site/2012/07/october-2-2012-octoberfest/#comments Wed, 11 Jul 2012 19:40:19 +0000 al25 http://www.lssny.org/site/?p=2817

Click below to purchase tickets

FIRST ANNUAL OKTOBERFEST FUNDRAISER TO HELP END HOMELESSNESS IN NEW YORK

Lutheran Social Services of New York is hosting our first annual Oktoberfest on Tuesday, October 2, at the Brooklyn Brewery. The purpose of the fund-raising event is to support agency programs that make housing available to homeless individuals. The event will be held from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. and will be hosted by Rev. Dr. David Benke, Lutheran Church Missouri Synod-Atlantic District Bishop. The Brooklyn Brewery is located at 79 North 11th Street in Williamsburg.

Tickets are $75 in advance and $100 at the door and will include beer for the evening and an authentic German meal provided by Nurnberger Bierhaus restaurant of Staten Island. There also will be a wine raffle for 100 bottles ranging up to $400 in value. All proceeds from the event will benefit the Home LIFE residential program run by Lutheran Social Services of New York. To register, visit www.lssny.org. Lutheran Social Services of New York encourages individuals to reach their full potential through its LIFE (Lutheran Initiatives for Enrichment) service programs.

The agency’s Home LIFE residential program offers safe, decent and affordable housing and services to individuals including substance-abusers, the marginalized, low-income families, and the mentally ill. Facilities we own and operate are the Muhlenberg Residence and Bergen Street Residence in Brooklyn and St. John’s Residence I and St. John’s Residence II in the Bronx. We also provide case management services at Community House in Brooklyn. In addition to a place to stay, residents receive help with securing public assistance and other benefits, obtaining employment, developing better social relationships, managing money, and attending to their medical and psychiatric health needs.

“With a safe place to call home, coupled with life skills training, our residents can begin to address other areas of their lives and work toward becoming successful, empowered community members,” said Ronald Drews, President and CEO of Lutheran Social Services of New York. “Our first annualOktoberfest will be a wonderful celebration that will help ensure our Home LIFE residential program continues to grow and strengthen.”

Founded in 1886, Lutheran Social Services of New York provides support to those who are most vulnerable and in need of assistance. These include children in need of a family, the homeless, immigrants and refugees, the hungry, troubled youth and older adults. A mission-driven and ever-changing organization, the agency recently was selected by the New York City Administration for Children’s Services to provide preschool education and child care services to children of lower-income families, its first foray into early childhood education.

Thanks to our Sponsors

]]> http://www.lssny.org/site/2012/07/october-2-2012-octoberfest/feed/ 0 http://www.lssny.org/site/2012/06/child-care-you-can-trust/ http://www.lssny.org/site/2012/06/child-care-you-can-trust/#comments Fri, 29 Jun 2012 21:17:58 +0000 al25 http://www.lssny.org/site/?p=2514

A year ago, Elizabeth did one of the hardest things a mom will ever have to do– she dropped her two four- year- old twin girls off at a Head Start Center in Harlem to return to work.  She cried as she walked away from Fernanda and Angelina.  Elizabeth was excited to return to work to help herself and her household, and it was essential to have a place she could trust, with an ACS license, where her girls would be safe and cared for.

One year later, Elizabeth has nothing but praise for her child care center.  Her girls, who used to be shy and only want their mommy, are independent and confident with other kids and adults.  They know their numbers and letters, and love reading street signs and learning the meaning and pronunciation of new words.  They come home raving about reading time and play time alike.  The center has also developed their individual skills and interests.  Fernanda loves art, and has grown as a painter and drawer.  Angelina loves music and dance, turning any table into a drum and inviting her sister to sing along.

Having a safe and nurturing place where Fernanda and Angelina can grow and learn is a huge support to Elizabeth.  Taking them to a stable, consistent center they love makes it more joyful for her to work to support her family.  Additionally, Elizabeth believes in and promotes licensed Childcare and Head Start programs as a way for parents to identify and support kids with special needs well before kindergarten.  These childcare centers are daily supporting families and strengthening communities by targeting the holistic needs of every child.

For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in. (Matthew 25:35)

Six years ago, a family of five fled Iraq, seeking safety in Jordan.  In Jordan, the family could not gain legal status, and they were not allowed to stay.  Eventually, they were accepted as refugees in the United States, and they made a daunting trek across the world to build a new life in a foreign land.  Lutheran Social Services of New York’s LIFE Shield Program for immigrants and refugees was there to put Jesus’ words into action by welcoming them into our community.

The most challenging aspect of helping this family get settled was finding an apartment big enough for the five of them that they could afford. With significant effort and a little bit of luck, LIFE Shield found the family a temporary apartment while searching for more permanent options. LIFE Shield was then able to find and furnish a suitable apartment in the Bronx for this family to live in, with the help of a local church.  But housing alone does not make a home, and this family needed many more resources to make them feel secure in their new environment.  The father enrolled in LIFE Shield’s employment program, which offered him interview practice, job orientation, and most importantly, found him a job.  He is thrilled and grateful to be working in the maintenance department at a large law firm in the area.  LIFE Shield also assisted the family in obtaining food stamps and Medicaid, and enrolled the children, ages ten, thirteen, and seventeen, in school.  Additionally, they helped enroll the mother in English classes at a local church.  Through the generosity of LSSNY donors and volunteers, the family was gifted clothes and furniture, and was visited by people who speak Arabic to help them feel more welcome during this difficult time of transition.

Being admitted into the United States legally does not ensure that families will be welcomed or supported.  Thanks to the work of LIFE Shield, this year, fifty immigrants and refugees will be supported in a way that empowers them to become healthy and productive members of our community.  We encourage and help them to find what all families want- a safe place to work and raise a family, and maybe eventually, in their new land, find a sense of home.

THE NEW LIFE SCHOOL OPEN HOUSE
June 7^th 2012 @ 831 Eagle Avenue Bronx NY 10456

We’d like to extend an invitation to parents, legal guardians and educational advocates of students between the ages of 10-21, in grades 5-12 who are seeking non public school placement. The open house will include an information session about our program, as well as a tour of our school.

Please spread the word about this event to your clients, colleagues and families.  The enrollment is ongoing, as students are accepted throughout the school year.  You may accompany your client to the open house as well!

If you would like more information please visit our website at  www.thenewlifeschool.org,
and please contact  Director for Admissions Laura Puerta at (718) 665-2760, ext 108.

Ms. Q, a long time foster care mom, called Lutheran Social Services of New York to thank us for opening The LIFE Care Clinic.  For five years, Ms. Q had sent her foster daughter to a slew of therapists to no avail.  The young woman would run away, get high, sleep with her clothes on and refuse to get out of bed.  It was as if she had given up completely.  She did not feel anything, and had given her life over to drugs.  Ms. Q, too, was ready to give up hope.  She was in need of the good news of Easter renewal.

Lutheran Social Services of New York believes there is no such thing as a bad kid, just hard circumstances.  Ms. Q’s foster daughter is a victim of her circumstances. There are kids who have serious hurdles to overcome, and there are kids who need a lot of individualized support and medical attention.  We believe that every child deserves to feel healthy and safe.  The LIFE Care Clinic does just that.  By opening up our own clinic, we are able to ensure holistic mental and physical health care to every foster care child in our program, to help them reach their full potential.  The Clinic offers young people Easter hope, the chance for rebirth and new life.

The moment that The LIFE Care Clinic opened, Ms. Q sent her foster daughter there for treatment.  She called to express her gratitude to us.  “This young lady has made a complete 360 degree turn around.  She doesn’t run away.  She takes her medication.  She doesn’t get high.  I would recommend The LIFE Care Clinic to anyone.  They make me feel like I am part of a team, that I am not raising her alone.”  Ms. Q said that her foster daughter used to go to counseling just because it was required, but did not get anything out of it.  Because of the staff and treatment at The LIFE Care Clinic, this young woman is accepting treatment, facing her issues, and has turned her life around.  When asked how this Clinic is different, she said, “They listen to me.  They make me feel important.”  And that has made all the difference.  This young woman, like so many others, has been given a new opportunity at The LIFE Care Clinic.