In Her Own Words

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In September we celebrated the 10th anniversary of our St. Nicholas House supportive housing residence in Harlem.  Madeline Guzman was an administrative assistant at St. Nicholas House when it opened and she’s now the Property Management and Entitlements Coordinator.  Here she reflects on the past 10 years of helping St. Nicholas House’s formerly homeless residents rebuild their lives.

Madeline and Ramon

Madeline and Ramon

When St. Nicholas House first opened, it was an exciting time. The site had been a vacant lot for 40 years, but it was about to become a place of hope and renewal for formerly homeless New Yorkers.

Our first resident was Ramon. I met him at an open house we held at our Fort Washington Men’s Shelter. He felt hopeless and frustrated that he had been homeless for so long. He applied for a St. Nicholas House apartment, but he didn’t think we were going to pick him. When we called him back for his first interview, he was so excited he could barely talk. He moved in on June 23, 2004. I’m proud to say he is still a resident and an active part of the St. Nicholas House community.

Debbie is another resident who has been living with us for 10 years.  She came to St. Nicholas House from our New Providence Women’s Shelter. She was down on her luck and looking for a safe haven where she could turn her life around. I helped her get medical insurance and food stamps, and she went to school to learn a trade. She inspires me because she’s about my age, which showed me that it’s never too late to start anew.

Many of our residents are at the end of their rope when they come to St. Nicholas House. But when I show them their apartment and they sign their lease, they have tears of joy in their eyes. That’s why 25 of our residents have lived here since 2004, and the annual turnover rate is less than five percent. It’s also what makes my job special. I’m part of giving people a second chance. I hope to be working here for many more years.

Join Us in the Fight Against Breast Cancer

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October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. We’ve come far in the fight, but breast cancer still kills over 1,200 women each year in New York City.  Particularly vulnerable are uninsured women without a regular doctor, 60 of whom forgo their annual mammogram. 

That’s why Project Renewal’s ScanVan, the nation’s first mobile mammography clinic, is so crucial. Each year, throughout the five boroughs the ScanVan provides 5,000 potentially life-saving mammograms – for free – to women who are homeless, low-income, uninsured or face other healthcare barriers.

Not only that, our staff diligently follows up with patients to make sure they come back for their annual mammogram and, if necessary, get the additional healthcare services they need.

We can do this work thanks to the support of people like you. Click HERE to donate.

A few years ago, a woman named Christal came to the ScanVan at the recommendation of a friend. "I was amazed at the staff’s professionalism and persistence. They always made sure I came back for my appointments," she says.

Two years later, our radiologist spotted something on Christal's mammogram and sent her for a biopsy. She had cancer. "It was a scary time," Christal says. "My only thought was, 'I'm dead.'"

Our staff worked closely with Christal to ensure she had the best possible care. We recommended a breast surgeon who performed a double mastectomy and removed her cancerous lymph nodes. "I wouldn’t be here today if not for Project Renewal," she says.

Too many women aren’t as fortunate, which is why we’re committed to continuing to grow the ScanVan program. This year we installed digital mammography equipment, which produces fewer false positive results. And because our technicians can now see the images instantly, they know right away if additional images are needed. That means fewer patients need to come back for repeat exams.

We’re grateful to everyone who has supported our efforts, including Susan G. Komen for the Cure, which has provided over $590,000 for the ScanVan since 2007.

You can help too.  Click HERE to make a gift today and help women like Christal win the fight against breast cancer.

Agency of the Month

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The New York Nonprofit Press April 2014 edition featured Project Renewal as the Agency of the Month!

DHS Commissioner Gilbert Taylor commented: “Throughout its rich and venerable history, Project Renewal has demonstrated great innovation and ingenuity in the field of homeless services, and employs programs that enable more clients to transition back to self-sufficiency."

Click here to read more

My Letter to the Editor in Today's New York Times

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Mayor Bill de Blasio made two important announcements last week – his affordable housing plan and his executive homeless services budget.  Both are crucial steps toward closing the front door and opening the back door of homeless shelters.

Mayor de Blasio’s announcements are great news for Project Renewal’s clients.

Please see my letter to the editor in the New York Times below. We are excited to share it with you.

Sincerely,
Mitchell Netburn
President & CEO, Project Renewal

Click to read "Mayor Setting 10-Year Plan for Housing"

Come to the Game, Change Lives. Project Renewal Night at Citi Field.

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Hey baseball fans.  Now there’s a perfect alternative to the rubber chicken charity dinner. It’s happening on Friday, May 9th, at 7:10pm, as the Mets once again go up against their longtime nemesis, the Philadelphia Phillies. It’s simple.  May 9th is Project Renewal Night at Citi Field. Buy a ticket to this game (or, better still, buy a block of them, invite your friends and make it a party) and be part of helping thousands of New Yorkers renew their lives at the same time.

It’s all part of the New York Mets' “Fill the Park for Charity” nights initiative, launched last year, in which certain games will have a designated charity associated with them as a way to enable nonprofits to raise money through the sale of discounted tickets for that specific game, and to make their cause visible at Citi Field for a night.

Why not jump-start your summer fun at Citi Field for this game? Order your tickets using the link below and help us help the  New Yorkers we serve hit singles, doubles, triples, home runs, and even grand slams in turning their lives around.

 

Outcomes, Quality, and Evaluation, OH MY!

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The human services non-profit sector is in the midst of a management revolution, a revolution built on measurement.

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Words like evaluation, performance management, outcomes measurement, and performance based contracts are now joining the ranks of quality assurance, compliance reviews, and performance audits in the minds of nonprofit leaders.  With all of these concepts flying around, many non-profit leaders don’t know the difference between them; they just want to be running effective programs!    So let’s say you want to get in on all of this ‘outcomes’ stuff – where do you begin?  What does this all even mean?

This post is my attempt to cut through the confusion, and define some of the main differences among the different ways of measuring nonprofits.

Compliance vs. Excellence

One the most important distinctions to make is between measurement for compliance and measurement for excellence.  My work at Project Renewal has four main components, which I will use as examples to differentiate those two approaches.  Those components are (1) regulatory compliance, (2) quality assurance, (3) performance measurement, and (4) evaluation. 

The first two items are about making sure that we are doing the minimum necessary for our nonprofit to be considered doing ‘good’ work.  These are more traditional models of measuring the work of a nonprofit, and ones that most leaders should be familiar with.

  •  Regulatory compliance is about following the rules – if we didn’t meet these criteria, we could be facing some serious penalties.  We measure this through activities like doing compliance audits, monitoring activities, and investigating issues as they arise.
  •  Quality Assurance, in the human services world at least, means making sure that the services that we are providing meet certain quality standards.  We measure this through activities like reviewing service documentation and getting feedback from clients and staff.

The last two items on my list aren’t about doing the least that we can do, but about being as excellent as we can be.  Instead of just trying to clear the low bar, we strive for the gold metal and setting new world records for how amazing programs can be.

  • Performance Measurement and Management is perhaps the most useful measurement solution to nonprofit leaders, and if your organization is not currently doing this, it’s time to fix that.  Performance Measurement work involves identifying important performance measures, regular data collection, and using tools like reports and dashboards to monitor performance.  Performance Management is then using that data to manage your staff and programs.
  • Evaluation is a much more rigorous and well defined set of activities – in fact, there is even a professional association dedicated to this field.  Evaluations are generally conducted by professional evaluators to answer specific questions about the effectiveness of various programs, although there are lots of types of evaluations done in lots of different ways.  Generally, nonprofit capacity to conduct evaluations comes after capacity to do performance measurement.

The difference between performance measurement, evaluation, and research is often hard to understand, but hopefully the chart below outlines it a little clearer.

Hopefully this table makes it all a little easier to understand.

Hopefully this table makes it all a little easier to understand.

Your priorities and resources are will determine which way you want to approach measurement, as will the type of program that you run.  You may use one or more of the above types of measurement in your organization, and you might be doing things that I don’t talk about here.  There are lots of other ways to think about measurement in nonprofit organizations, but I hope this provided a framework for you to think about measurement in your nonprofit workplace.

Patrick Germain

As Director of Strategy and Evaluation at Project Renewal, Patrick lGermain leads a team of internal evaluators, conducts a wide range of evaluative activities, and manages any external evaluator relationships.  Patrick also runs a professional networking group on issues of performance measurement and management in the non-profit and public sectors which currently has over 120 members and has had ongoing bimonthly events since its inception. Patrick has an MA  in Public Administration from NYU Wagner.

Expert View: What did you miss today at #Data4Humans ?

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Many thanks to everyone who attended the event this morning organized by Patrick Germain, Project Renewal's Director of Strategy & Evaluation and also President of NYCE.

Below find the event info, the Storify feed from the Twitter conversation, and (soon!) the transcript of the event.

 

 

Event Info:

Information and Technology in Human Services: 
Who's at the Table and How We Can Work Together More Effectively

Cosponsored by the New York Consortium of Evaluators (NYCE) 
& NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service

Panelists:
Ivy Pool – Executive Director, HHS Connect at the NYC Mayor’s Office of Operations
Marlowe Greenberg - Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Foothold Technology
Brad Dudding – Chief Operating Officer, Center for Employment Opportunity
Derek Coursen, Director of Planning & Informatics at Public Health Solutions

Moderator:
Patrick Germain, Director of Strategy & Evaluation, Project Renewal and President of the New York Consortium of Evaluators

Overview: Different groups of stakeholders in the human service sector (nonprofit leaders, policy makers, government funders, philanthropic funders, evaluators, service delivery staff, clients, etc.) understand the role of information, data, and technology in the human services sector in different ways. Lack of coordination among these various players leads to very concrete challenges in the development of information systems. Nonprofits have a lot of potential in using data and technology in new and innovative ways, but they often struggle with the most mundane challenges of data management, basic technology support, and meeting the requirements of government and philanthropic funders.  Government agencies have their own set of complicating factors as well.  How can the human services sector push past these basic challenges to benefit from the great potential that data and modern technology hold? The panelists will discuss these challenges with an eye towards solutions that are relevant for both individual organizations/projects as well as the human services sector as a whole.

Transcript of the event will be posted shortly.

After 12 great years, “the face” of Project Renewal’s Recovery Center retires.

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By: Lee Stringer

When she first arrived as a new counselor at the Outpatient Department (OPD) of our East 3rd Street Recovery Center, Madeline Pedraza came equipped with the kind of extra bona fides that Project Renewal has long recognized as primary in successfully reaching and treating people with long-term alcoholism and addiction issues: she’d been there herself.  Once a successful paralegal, Madeline--like so many others during the go-go ‘80s and ‘90s-- got caught up in the partying lifestyle. Drugs soon entered the picture. Addiction eventually followed, and from there things spiraled downhill.             

Madeline Pedraza (center) with Denise Townes (left) and Thomas Ciriolia (right).

Madeline Pedraza (center) with Denise Townes (left) and Thomas Ciriolia (right).

Today she not only credits the treatment program she ultimately went through with saving her life, but with changing it as well.  “I looked around me,” she recalls of the moment in recovery when it hit her, “and I said to myself, ‘This is what I want to do!’”  It was a decision that would set her off, at the age of 55, on an entirely new career path. One that led her to East 3rd Street where, over the next dozen years, she would became one of the OPD’s most effective Intake Counselors--a post she held until her retirement in February. 

Addiction treatment is just one part of an integrated chain of comprehensive services Project Renewal’s various facilities provide in order to restore the health, employability, sustainable income and permanent residence of each client. The first and crucial link in that chain is to fully engage new clients in an assessment of their needs as well as cultivate their participation in a service plan to address those needs.  As Intake Counselor, this pivotal task fell, in part, upon Madeline Pedraza’s shoulders.

It’s a task that can at times prove elusive.

“Remember, these are at-risk people. Some of them are angry and hostile,” explains Recovery Center Director, Thomas Ciriolia. “Some don’t want to be here. They don’t think they need any treatment.”  

But for Madeline, having been there herself, a little empathy goes a long way. “The way I look at it, every person is someone’s child.  A lot of these guys didn’t have what I had growing up, and look what happened to me.  You listen. Try to get them to relax. Let them know you understand. Nine times out of ten, I could get them to do the entire intake.” 

“Madeline just seemed to have a knack with people. She was the face of OPD,” Cirolia declares. “She was totally sincere. No matter what mood someone walked in the door with, she could break down their defenses and make them feel that somebody truly cares about their wellbeing. When she announced her retirement I had mixed emotions.”

So too, her immediate supervisor, Avram Gleitsman, A musician at heart, he composed a song about Madeline and sang it to her during the retirement luncheon staff held in her honor. “Madeline was really appreciated by a lot of people.  She had such a positive attitude, and a lot of respect among the clients. Her absence will be felt.”

As for Madeline herself, leaving Project Renewal tugs at her heartstrings as well. “I loved my job,” she exclaimed.  “I saw it as a challenge.  You just don’t give up. I figured if I could do it, they could do it. I loved planting that seed and watching it grow.” 

Madeline Pedraza's retirement party

Madeline Pedraza's retirement party

12 Must-Know Facts about Women and Homelessness

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  1. Among industrial nations, the US has the largest number of homeless women and the highest number on record since the Great Depression. 1
  2. An estimated 50% of all homeless people are women. 2
  3. Up to 92% of homeless women have experienced severe sexual or physical assault at some point in their lives. 3
  4. 57% of homeless women cite sexual or domestic violence as the direct cause of their homelessness. 1
  5. 63% have been victims of violence from an intimate partner. 3

  6. 32% have been assaulted by their current or most recent partner. 3 

  7. 50% of homeless women experience a major depressive episode after becoming homeless. 1
  8. Homeless women have three times the normal rate of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. 1
  9. Homeless women are twice as likely to have drug and alcohol dependencies. 1
  10. Homeless women between 18 to 44 years old are 5 to 31 times more likely to die than women in the general population. 4
  11. Homeless women in their mid-fifties are as physiologically aged as housed women in their seventies. 1
  12. Victims of domestic violence experience major barriers in obtaining and maintaining housing and often return to their abusers because they cannot find long-term housing. 5

 

 



NOTES

1. Colorado Coalition for the Homeless: http://www.coloradocoalition.org/!userfiles/TheCharacteristicsofHomelessWomen_lores3.pdf

2. Homeless Women & Children: The Problem and the Solution http://voices.yahoo.com/homeless-women-children-problem-solution-368646.html

3. National Alliance to end Homelessness http://www.endhomelessness.org/pages/domestic_violence

4. Homelessness in the United States: History, Epidemiology, Health Issues, Women, and Public Policy Med Scape http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/481800 

5. A. Correia, Housing and Battered Women: A Case Study of Domestic Violence Programs in Iowa (Harrisburg: National Resource Center on Domestic Violence, 1999) accessed via "The Dangerous Shortage of Domestic Violence Services"




"Aha!" Moments

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Jewel at right with CATP student Marisol working during class

Jewel at right with CATP student Marisol working during class

Jewel John started in November as an instructor with the Culinary Arts Training Program. Though she has no formal training in social work, her experience learning leadership training with The Landmark Forum helps her identify the key pieces needed to move her students towards success in the classroom. "I make sure they get there right on time, and if a student comes in even a minute late we talk about what that does for the class as a whole, and how that could impact them in their future jobs." Jewel shared with me her best moment on the job:

The thing I love most about this job is the aha! moment. When something just really clicks for the students. Like when they figured out pasta. They just didn't get how pasta was pasta--I said there is such a difference with fresh pasta but they said there is no differences--pasta is just pasta.

I made roll the dough for like 30 minutes and they were so tired and complaining. Then we used the KitchenAid attachment to roll it out and we rolled it longer and longer and the wheels started turning. Then the real moment came when we put it through the pasta cutter and they said look look!! We have noodles!!

It was like magic!

UPDATE

We had a great turnout at our Culinary Arts Training Program graduation last Friday!

So many friends and families came to support the men and women who have worked faithfully and diligently to reclaim hope for their lives. Check out these great photos of the event.

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Day trips, guest speakers, even crossword puzzles

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At Project Renewal, honoring Black History Month Takes on Many Forms.

An Underground Railroad themed Papier-mâché community “quilt” assembled from individual panels created by staff and residents of Geffner House to celebrate Black History Month.

An Underground Railroad themed Papier-mâché community “quilt” assembled from individual panels created by staff and residents of Geffner House to celebrate Black History Month.

Most of the people that Project Renewal serves are engaged in putting the pieces back together and moving on to renewed lives.  It can entail daily--sometimes even hour by hour-- focus and struggle. Yet even so, staff and residents alike throughout our 16 sites and numerous programs are finding time and ways, this month, to honor, recognize, observe and celebrate black history.

In some cases, like at Renewal House, our transitional housing program for men recovering from substance abuse, observance is a grassroots thing, initiated by the residents themselves. “We noticed that a lot of our people were very interested in it this year,” reports Renewal House Assistant Director Monica Diaz. In response, she hung posters and biographies of notable African Americans from Marcus Garvey to Malcolm X on the walls, and added  black history as a running theme in the four group discussions staff and residents engage in each month. 

Residents at our Third Street Men’s Shelter enjoyed the holiday celebrations so much that Assistant Shelter Director Aluta Khanyile’s continued a seasonal theme by highlighting Black History Month. “The response to all the activities and events we had over the holidays was so positive,” he explains, “that we thought, why not have another celebration, centered on Black History Month, this time?”  Posting them in the common areas of the 200-bed facility, Aluta intends that even in passing the images of--and quotations from--notable Black Americans will raise staff and residents’ awareness, as well as open the door to further cultural exchange. “Next,” he declares, “we need to recognize and celebrate the Hispanic people’s heritage.”

The most elaborate observance of Black History at Project Renewal this year has is in our 200-bed Fort Washington Men’s Shelter for men diagnosed with mental illness and/or substance abuse issues.  Here, Recreation Therapist Joseph White has cooked up a month-long string of related activities and events, including special crossword puzzles, trivia matches, field trips and guest speakers, all centered on Black History Month and culminating in a grand, evening-long talent show featuring staff and resident actors, singers, and musicians, in performance.  It is a tradition White has cultivated over the years.

The Afrikana Madonna, also known as Barbara Bethea

The Afrikana Madonna, also known as Barbara Bethea

Likewise, when the Geffner House Recreation Director Ellis Eisner was first hired eight years ago, she decided to invite a guest speaker to the 20-story, 307-unit building for formerly homeless men and women.  “I grew up during the movement,” confides Ellis who upholds this tradition February. “I was eight years old when they assassinated Martin Luther King.  So this is an important holiday to me.” This month’s activities include a group day trip to Harlem’s Schomberg Center for Research in Black Culture,  a visit from poetess/therapist Barbara Bethea, better known to her fans as the “Afrikana Madonna,” and, new this year, construction of a black-themed Papier-mâché community “quilt” assembled from individual panels created by staff and residents. 

The day the pipes broke

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In the depths of this winter’s brutal cold snap, a looming crisis: a homeless shelter in the Bronx is suddenly rendered uninhabitable due to broken water pipes. An emergency call from the NYC Department of Homeless Services (DHS) to Project Renewal’s new, state-of-the-art Bronx Boulevard Shelter provided the solution.

“It was in the evening. I was on my way home after my shift when my cell phone rang,” recalls Ana Charle, Director of Bronx Boulevard.  The shelter wasn’t yet fully open so Ana quickly scrambled to make sure that there were enough staff, goods and services in place to make her unanticipated visitors as comfortable as possible.

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“DHS told me 20 clients were coming, so I put in a call to Comfort Foods (Project Renewal’s catering company) to rush over 20 meals” says Ana. “Then they called me back and told me the number was closer to 90. I had to get right back on the line and order another 70 meals.”

Our staff pulled together that night, stepping outside their regular roles to help wherever needed - ensuring that the facility was clean and that sheets, blankets and toiletries were on hand.  Although employees were called in to work unexpectedly, many volunteered to stay for 14 and 21 hour shifts to make certain that our guests’ needs were met!

Click here to check out photos of our new Bronx Blvd shelter!

Click here to check out photos of our new Bronx Blvd shelter!

The best Valentine's Day gift ever

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Tania Santiago wasn’t focused on getting something this Valentine’s Day. What she wanted was for this February 14th to be about giving. Tania called up Project Renewal and asked what she could do. She was put in touch with our Medical Van Outreach Coordinator, Jennie Mejia, who made a few suggestions as to how she could help. Thanks to Tania’s initiative there were plenty of warm winter coats to go around, Renewal  Kits with essential toiletries for patients on our medical vans, cookies, as well as a generous $200 donation—all collected from friends and family Tania had recruited to the cause!

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Top photo from right to left:Bryce Breedyk, Tania Santiago, Katarzyna Domagala, Heather Parisi D'Andrade

Top photo from right to left:

Bryce Breedyk, Tania Santiago, Katarzyna Domagala, Heather Parisi D'Andrade

Project Renewal Champions of HOPE.

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Left to right:  Aluta Khanyile (Assistant Director, Project Renewal's Third Street Men's Shelter), Christy Parque (Executive Director, Homeless Services United) and Elizabeth Fasanya (Case Manager Project Renewal, In Homes Now)

Left to right:  Aluta Khanyile (Assistant Director, Project Renewal's Third Street Men's Shelter), Christy Parque (Executive Director, Homeless Services United) and Elizabeth Fasanya (Case Manager Project Renewal, In Homes Now)

Our hats are off to Emily Brown, Elizabeth Fasanya, Shanira Griffith, Aluta Khanyile, Jackie Moore, Jana Pohorelsky, Mizraim Reyes, Rosalind Williams, and Brittany Zenner.  These nine Project Renewal staffers volunteered to be DHS HOPE surveyors.  So, on Monday, January 27th, they were out in the frigid night, traveling some of this city’s meaner avenues, looking for anyone living on the streets. 

As Emily Brown, who recruited our volunteers explains, DHS (NYC Department of Homeless Services) purposely chooses January to do the annual HOPE (Homeless Outreach Population Estimate) count,  so that they can identify chronically homeless individuals, who tend  to tough it out during the colder nights rather than use the shelter system.

HOPE count data factors into how the city allocates resources.   An undercount could result in an shortfall of services and/or facilities and supplies on hand.  So we are proud of our PRI staffers who braved the chill themselves so that when vulnerable New Yorkers seek help in the future, they will not get left out in the cold.

One of them, Mizraim Reyes, of our Medical Department, went a step further when she encountered a man who hadn’t eaten in a while. “I offered to call the DHS Van for him,” she recalls, “but he didn’t want to go to a shelter and leave behind his two shopping carts full of his possessions, which the shelter can’t accommodate. So I asked him, ‘Well what do you want us to do for you?’ and he said ‘I’m hungry,’ so we went to a deli and got him something to eat.”

A huge thanks to you all, our Project Renewal Champions of HOPE!

Tour our new Bronx Blvd Men's Shelter

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