@ DYCD June 2019 Newsletter
Facebook icon Twitter icon Forward icon

EMPOWERING INDIVIDUALS • STRENGTHENING FAMILIES • INVESTING IN COMMUNITIES

Spring into Health

Parents are talking to DYCD staff at an info table.

DYCD, in conjunction with the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH), NYC Health + Hospitals, the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) and The Interagency Coordinating Council (ICC) on Youth, hosted over 40 Spring into Health events across the City. Visitors enjoyed a day of fun and were connected to health-related resources. View photos on the DYCD Facebook page.


Healing the Hurt

Co-Founder and Executive Director of The Human Root, Anyanwu is walking Healing the Hurt crowd through a breathing an exercise.

DYCD and Vibrant Emotional Health hosted the 6th annual Healing the Hurt conference on May 17. Healing the Hurt was launched in 2014 in response to a surge in community violence impacting youth-serving programs. DYCD and Vibrant have since collaborated to develop new offerings focused on trauma-informed approaches for youth and family-serving programs. Throughout the morning, attendees heard organizational best practices in building a culture of trauma-informed approaches that provide care, compassion, and resources to frontline staff. Photos from the conference are available on DYCD’s Facebook page.


Family Development Credential (FDC) Program

FDC Header

Applications for the Fall 2019 scholarships are now available for both the Family Development Credential Program for frontline staff and the Family Development Credential Program for Leaders for supervisors, managers and directors. Applications are available online and are due by July 15, 2019.


Raising Readers

Three young adults are reading.

Raising Readers is a collaboration between DYCD Capacity Building and the National Book Foundation (NBF) to encourage adults to read for enjoyment. The assumption is if youth see and hear adults in their lives reading and discussing books for enjoyment, they will as well. On May 9, NYC author Valeria Luiselli lead a reading circle for Raising Readers participants at the El Puente Leadership Center at Taylor Wythe in Brooklyn. Check out photos from Raising Readers on DYCD’s Facebook page.


Free Books for NYCHA Residents

NYCHA free book header.

During June, NYCHA will give away more than 62,000 free books to residents ages 0 to 18. The books are courtesy of Book Rich Environments (BRE), a program that connects public housing communities with resources to help children create a lifelong joy of reading. This is the third year NYCHA received free books through BRE. NYCHA, along with BRE, DYCD and other community partners will distribute the free books at community centers in all five boroughs. To find out where and when a NYCHA BRE event will be held in your area, visit the NYCHA Journal.


NYCHA-CUNY Scholarship

The 2017 NYCHA-CUNY scholarship winners are holding up their awards.

The NYCHA-CUNY Resident Scholarship Program offers four distinct scholarships each worth $1000. All scholarships require that the applicant is currently a NYCHA public housing resident; is presently enrolled as an undergraduate at CUNY; has earned 30 or more credits; and has a minimum 3.0 GPA. Please go to the scholarship website for additional information and scholarship-specific eligibility requirements.


Need Help with Student Loans?

DCA Student Loan banner

In New York City, more than one in six—or approximately 1 million—adults have at least one student loan, and collectively, they owe $34.8 billion. Given the negative impact that student loan debt has on the daily economic lives of New Yorkers and the detrimental effect it has on achieving equality in our City, the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP)—formerly the Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA)—is employing a multi-pronged approach of education, advocacy, and enforcement to tackle this issue. For tips, resources, workshops, or to set up a one-on-one appointment, visit the Student Loan section of the DCWP website.


MOME Summer Legal Internship

MOME Logo

The Mayor's Office of Media and Entertainment (MOME) encompasses the key economic and creative sectors of film, TV, theater, music, advertising, publishing, and digital content. In total, these industries account for over 305,000 jobs and an economic output of $104 billion. The office promotes New York City as a thriving center of creativity, issuing permits for productions filming on public property, and facilitating production throughout the five boroughs. It also oversees NYC Media, the largest municipal broadcasting entity in the country including five TV channels and a radio station with a reach of 18 million viewers and a 50-mile radius. Legal interns at MOME conduct legal research and prepare memoranda used to inform policy. They also analyze legal documents and assist in drafting document provisions, reports, and correspondence. Interns may also attend meetings and negotiation sessions. To apply for this internship, send your cover legal and resume to internships.media@media.nyc.gov.


NYC Public Pools to Open June 27

NYC’s FREE outdoor pools will open Thursday, June 27, and most will be available through Labor Day. Outdoor pool hours are from 11:00 am through 7:00 pm. with a break for pool cleaning between 3:00 pm and 4:00 pm. Outdoor pools (except mini pools) will close for the season on Sunday, September 8. For more information on NYC Pools, visit the official NYC Parks and Recreation website.


Adolescent Skills Centers

Vibrant Emotional Health is a non-profit organization that helps people achieve emotional wellbeing. They offer confidential emotional support through crisis hotline services including the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline and NYC Well. Through its Adolescent Skills Centers, Family Resource Centers, and other community wellness programs, children, teens, and families obtain supports and skills they need to thrive.


World Pride NYC

The month of June was chosen for LGBT Pride Month to commemorate the Stonewall riots, which occurred at the end of June 1969. As a result, many pride events are held during this month to recognize the impact LGBTQIA+ people have had in the world. In 2019, NYC Pride welcomes World Pride to mark the 50th Anniversary of the Stonewall Uprising and a half-century of LGBTQIA+ liberation. From rallies to parties to lectures, there are free events taking place across the City all month-long including Family Movie Night, Youth Pride and the NYC Pride March. For more information on all events, visit the NYC Pride official website.


Sign up for a Free CPR Class

NYC youth practicing CPR during an FDNY workshop.

The FDNY Free CPR Program is a 30-minute class on compressions-only CPR. To date, the program has successfully trained thousands of New Yorkers in this lifesaving technique. The Free CPR Program is a partnership between the FDNY’s Mobile CPR Training Unit, the FDNY Foundation, and NYC Service. Sign up for a class near you and be #FDNYSMART.

Upcoming Classes:
Thursday, June 6, 6:30 pm - 7:30 pm
Cooper Park Community Center
76 Kingsland Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11211

Thursday, June 6, 3:00 pm - 4:00 pm
New York Public Library - Hunts Point
877 Southern Boulevard, Bronx, NY 10459


Summer Fun

Growing up NYC Summer Fun Header.

Summer is around the corner and if you are looking to enjoy the season in the City, the Growing Up NYC Summer Guide is now available online. It highlights free and low-cost programs for summer 2019, making sure that every child has the chance to have fun and stay healthy over the summer! For the full list of events, visit the Growing Up NYC website.


River to River Festival

River to River Festival Header

The Lower Manhattan Cultural Council (LMCC) presents the 18th annual River to River Festival, Downtown New York City’s completely free summer arts festival, from June 18-29, 2019. Performances and events celebrate artistic and creative diversity in all its forms throughout spaces in Lower Manhattan. This year’s festival encourages the discovery of what arises when we all slow down.


Karma for Cara Foundation

Cara Becker’s legacy of service lives on in the Karma for Cara (K4C) Foundation. K4C awards microgrants to students engaged in community service. The K4C Microgrant Program is the bridge between ideas and action. By providing microgrants in varying amounts up to $1,000, K4C helps young citizen leaders execute and magnify their initiatives to help repair our world. Students 18 years of age and under may apply for funds between $250 and $1,000 to complete service projects in their communities. Whether you plan to turn a vacant lot into a community garden, rebuild a school playground or help senior citizens ready their homes for the winter, they want to hear what project you’re passionate about. If you are interested in applying for a K4C microgrant, visit K4C’s website before the July 1 deadline.


Brooklyn Workforce Innovations

The mission of Brooklyn Workforce Innovations (BWI) is to fight poverty and empower low-income New Yorkers by creating living-wage employment opportunities. They aim to break the cycle of dead-end jobs and connect our graduates not just to work, but to careers with long-term potential and the chance for growth and advancement. For more information and to sign up for one of their eight award-winning training programs, visit the official BWI website.


Have you discovered discoverDYCD?

discoverDYCD

Looking for an afterschool program in your neighborhood? Need information on improving reading skills or finding the nearest community center? The web application discoverDYCD allows you to search in multiple languages for DYCD-funded programs. You can search by borough, neighborhood or zip code, and discoverDYCD provides contact information, activities offered, and a mapping feature with navigation.

Categories of services include: Afterschool Programs, Family Support, Literacy Services, Youth Services and so much more! We hope you find discoverDYCD useful as you take advantage of the diverse resources and opportunities that New York City has to offer.


The Department of Youth and Community Development (DYCD) invests in a network of community-based organizations and programs to alleviate the effects of poverty and to provide opportunities for New Yorkers and communities to flourish.