November 1, 2018

Each year at the annual Opportunity Awards, NYCETC honors one workforce program that has brought a new practice to our field and serves as a model for forward-thinking programming. Last year, this award went to Samaschool for incorporating "gig economy" trainings into workforce development programs.

This year, we are pleased to announce that the winner of the 2018 Workforce Innovation Award will be Connections to Care, a program created by the Mayor's Fund to Advance NYC and the Mayor's Office of Economic Opportunity (NYC Opportunity) as a partnership with over a dozen NYC community-based organizations and a similar number of mental healthcare providers.

The program ensures that our community's clients get the attention and resources they need to address mental health and substance abuse challenges they are facing while they embark on a search for new employment. NYCETC congratulates the Mayor's Fund, NYC Opportunity, and our member organizations who have worked together to establish this new model initiative: The HOPE Program, Center for Employment Opportunity, Bedford Stuyvesant Restoration Corp, CAMBA, The Hetrick-Martin Institute, Northern Manhattan Improvement Corporation, STRIVE International, The Door - A Center for Alternatives, and Union Settlement.