Queens Community House (QCH) has partnered with St. Luke’s Episcopal Church again to bring the spirit of the holidays to over 50 children that are part of our Eviction Prevention Program. This week these young people will receive a new, wrapped gift from a member of the church’s congregation.
The Eviction Prevention Program works with families that are public assistance-eligible and have an active housing court case. The services include benefits advocacy, landlord-tenant mediation and referrals to legal services. Over the past year over 1,500 children were counted among the families that QCH assisted.
“Through St. Luke’s ‘Jesse Tree Project’ members of the church’s parish are able to anonymously brighten the spirits of a child who may otherwise go without any holiday gifts,” said Marilyn Sotomayor, QCH Director of Housing & Homelessness Prevention. For over a decade the church has adorned a holiday tree with ornaments made by the children from their Church School. The information of each child slated to receive a gift is written on the back of these ornaments.
“The church parishioners are providing many families with the only gifts that their children will receive this holiday. The larger gift to those that we serve is the reminder that there are people within our community that care and this is a tradition we hope to continue.”
St. Luke’s has been a part of the Queens community since 1913. With a mission to celebrate the rich diversity of its community, they strive to provide be a center of compassionate service to others. Their work with QCH does not end there, in addition to the Jesse Tree Project the church also assistances in the stocking of an emergency food pantry.
QCH Receives $50,000 Grant from the New York Life Foundation
Queens Community House (QCH) announce that it is the recipient of a $50,000 grant from the New York Life Foundation through the United Neighborhood Houses (UNH) College Access project. This newly project has provided QCH with a grant that will be used to strengthen the college access programs it currently operates for low income students in Queens.
“We are delighted to have this additional support which will enable QCH to expand and deepen our
college preparation work. In particular, this grant will enable us to strengthen our capacity for early awareness work with middle school students through individual and group educational counseling and facilitation of our signature COPE program which promotes future planning particularly targeted for 6,
7th and 8th grade youth,” said Susan Matloff-Nieves, Associate Executive Director of Youth Services.
QCH currently offers programs such as Options which has a College Access and Success Program
(CASP) imbedded within it. Options provides high school students and their parents assistance with test preparation, financial aid guidance and college application processes. CASP works with overage under- credited youth, providing them with the tools they need to succeed in obtaining a high school diploma or General Equivalency Diploma (GED) through a non-traditional high school.
“The goal of this programming is not only to see young people graduate from high school or earn a GED,
but also to increase access to and retention in postsecondary education.”