Coalition Member Agencies
The Far Rockaway/Arverne Nonprofit Coalition is comprised of 17+ nonprofits and community-based organizations committed to the development of youth in the Rockaways, primarily the Far Rockaway and Arverne neighborhoods.
Membership includes those who are able to support and uphold the Coalition’s mission, whether or not their primary area of work is with youth.
101st Precinct Community Council
The mission of the 101st Precinct Community Council is to establish and maintain a working partnership between the New York City Police Department and the community to improve public safety, quality of life, and police-community relations throughout Far Rockaway and Arverne. Because the vast majority of crime is committed by the youthful segment of residents, the 101st Precinct Community Council's efforts and events target this population. Its annual signature events include the Rockaway Resource Day/National Night Out Against Crime and the Unity in the Community Talent Show.
Founded in 2001, the Action Center has become a community resilience hub serving more than 66,000 families and 6,000 children while providing dozens of local jobs in one of the nation’s most at-risk neighborhoods. The organization operates on the premise that all parents want the same things for their children regardless of family make-up, orientation, hue, culture, or financial status. With this in mind, its mission is to feed and empower those it serves so they can move beyond the lines of poverty. It accomplishes this by addressing the anchoring prongs of poverty on three fronts: education, feeding, and empowerment. The Action Center has positively impacted many families and youth, allowing them to live up to the full promise of their potential. The Action Center engages in after school, weekend, and evening programming for youth; health advocacy; emergency response; and more.
The Mission of the AIDS Center of Queens County (ACQC) is to promote and coordinate the provision of services to persons infected and affected by HIV/AIDS and other blood borne diseases; to improve the lives of people living with HIV/AIDS and other disabled and disenfranchised populations included those infected by mental illness, substance abuse, incarceration, and poverty; to design and implement education efforts aimed at reducing the spread of the infection; to reduce AIDS-related fears; and to foster public health awareness of the disease and support for those affected by HIV/AIDS. This is accomplished by providing comprehensive services in a non-judgmental, safe and supportive environment.
Geared toward adolescents and young adults between 10 and 21 years of age throughout Queens, ACQC's Comprehensive Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention (CAPP) program provides a holistic approach to teaching young people how to make responsible choices regarding sexual activities. The program offers a variety of workshops meant to boost self worth and prepare adolescents for a successful adulthood, covering topics such as STD and HIV prevention, healthy relationships, job readiness, and financial literacy. ACQC also offers programming for LGBT youth as well as a youth drop-in center that provides a safe space for homeless youth and youth at risk of homelessness.
Founded in 1977, CAMBA is a nonprofit agency that provides services that connect people with opportunities to enhance their quality of life. CAMBA offers more than 150 integrated services and programs in economic development; education and youth development; family support; health; and housing and legal services. CAMBA Housing Ventures program builds sustainable and affordable apartments for low-income New Yorkers.
CAMBA serves more than 45,000 individuals and families each year, including 9,000 youth, helping people with low incomes; those moving from welfare to work; people who are homeless, at risk of homelessness or transitioning out of homelessness; individuals living with or at risk of HIV/AIDS; immigrants and refugees; children and young adults; entrepreneurs and other groups working to become self-sufficient. While the majority of CAMBA’s clients lives, works, and/or attends school in Brooklyn, CAMBA’s programs are run from over 60 locations in New York City, including more than 30 schools, and CAMBA now has a location in Arverne, New York.
The Arverne View Recovery Project was established to further the efforts of assisting residents of Far Rockaway in their recovery after Hurricane Sandy. The project brings access and referral services to residents in Arverne and the surrounding Far Rockaway area. CAMBA staff assists residents with one-on-one Case Management, Career Advisement and Resume Development, Job Placement services, and Consumer Law services which includes representation for residents in Queens who are being sued on any debts whether they are credit card, and/or student/car loan debts being collected.
Catholic Charities
Catholic Charities Brooklyn and Queens promotes unity among all persons by seeking to develop caring communities. Catholic Charities develops effective responses to human need and joins with all people of good will in advocating for a social order which promotes justice and embraces human development. For 115 years, Catholic Charities Brooklyn and Queens has been providing quality social services to the neighborhoods of Brooklyn and Queens, and currently offers 160-plus programs and services for children, youth, adults, seniors, and those struggling with mental illness.
Catholic Charities' Rockaway Behavioral Health Clinic has served the Rockaways for over 40 years and is a staple in the community. Over those years, thousands of adults, children, and families have come through the doors seeking help in their darkest hours. The clinic has strived to provide the most vulnerable of residents with quality services with the aim to strengthen families and the surrounding community. The clinic strives to work closely with partnering organizations to build connections to better serve our clients and provide greater opportunities for treatment, recreation, medical care, education, and socialization.
The Child Center of New York reaches out across diverse ethnic populations to create a supportive, caring place for children and families at risk. For nearly 60 years the organization has been a powerful presence in the community—transforming outcomes of lives in the margins. Its more than 70 programs empower children to make good decisions; establish places of safety; help parents build skills to become better providers and nurturers; and make connections to the community through Early Childhood Education, Individual and Family Counseling, Child Abuse Prevention, and Youth Development. The organization also works with its partners to deliver Comprehensive Pregnancy Prevention programming. All of the programs—from daycare to crisis intervention—promote emotional wellness and secure attachments to parents and other adult caregivers.
The Child Center of New York has three sites based in Far Rockaway: Beach 41st Street Cornerstone Community Center, the Beacon 43 Community School Program at P.S. 43, and the Child Center of New York Afterschool Program at Waterside Academy.
Church of God Christian Academy
The Church of God Christian Academy (COGCA) was established in 1988 by the Arverne Church of God—a non-affiliated and non-denominational Christian organization in Far Rockaway that is dedicated to providing redemptive fellowship and spiritual services in the community. The Academy, serving nearly 100 children from K-12th grade, provides an educational alternative for low-income families who cannot otherwise finance private education. Emphasis is placed on individualized learning needs, interactive computerized learning strategies, and the development of character and communication skills. The school also offers students the opportunity to build leadership skills outside the classroom in areas such as community service, choir, speech, athletics, the arts, and more.
Community Learning Schools Initiative at Queens High School for Information, Research & Technology
The NYC Community Learning Schools Initiative (NYCCLSI) aims to improve student achievement by meeting the health, safety and social service needs of students, parents and communities. It does this by facilitating partnerships between public schools, non-profits, local businesses and government agencies which connect vital services to public school buildings, making each school the hub of its community.
The Initiative was launched in 2012 by the United Federation of Teachers in collaboration with the New York City Council, the Partnership for New York City and Trinity Wall Street. After starting with six demonstration schools, the initiative expanded in the 2013-14 school year to 16 schools and in the 2014-2015 school year to 23 schools.
Queens High School for Information, Research and Technology (QIRT) recently became a Community Learning School, and works to bring resources and services into the Far Rockaway Educational Campus so that the school can serve as a hub in the Far Rockaway community.
North Shore-Long Island Jewish School Based Health Center/CAPP Program
The NS-LIJ School Based Health Center provides free comprehensive medical and mental health services to youth. Additionally, the School-Based Health Center has the Comprehensive Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention (CAPP) program, which is a five-year state initiative aimed at reducing teen pregnancy and STI rates. The program serves approximately 2,500 students ages 10-21 on the Far Rockaway Educational and Brian Piccolo campuses.
Ocean Bay Community Development Corporation
Ocean Bay Community Development Corporation is a community based nonprofit corporation that works with Ocean Bay residents and the surrounding community to provide opportunities for socio-economic improvement that will create a healthier, safer, more prosperous, better educated and revitalized community. Initiatives include collaboration with tenant associations to support and engage residents; case management for homeowners; GED programs; transportation for seniors; free income tax preparation; rental assistance; financial literacy workshops; and much more. Its Youth Committee aims to engage youth on community issues. In partnership with the PAL Goldie Maple Academy Beacon's youth mentoring program, the Ocean Bay Community Development Corporation also offers a variety of employment services for youth ages 13-17 years old.
The Police Athletic League, together with NYPD and the law enforcement community, supports and inspires New York City youth to realize their full individual potential as productive members of society. PAL’s philosophy is grounded in the belief that young people’s individual strengths and capabilities can guide them to mature, productive adulthood with our encouragement and commitment. PAL’s activities are experiential opportunities for young people to expand their horizons and realize their full potential.
Located throughout the five boroughs, particularly in some of the city’s most challenging neighborhoods, PAL Centers are a home away from home for young people in need of safe, supportive environments. PAL Centers are oases in their communities and stand as proof of PAL’s long-term commitment to helping New York City’s children. The Centers offer educational, recreational, and cultural programs that inspire and support children throughout the year.
The PAL Redfern Cornerstone Community Center serves more than 100 youth in Far Rockaway, ages 5 to 21, offering after-school programming, summer day camp, and an evening teen center. Housed in a public school and open to the community, the PAL Goldie Maple Academy Beacon, which serves youth, teens, and adults—including more than 150 middle school students—offers after-school programming, summer day camp, and an evening teen center.
Queens Law Associates (QLA) is a non-profit public defender organization in Queens. QLA is dedicated to providing high quality indigent defense representation in Queens County. QLA represents over 25,000 individuals in the criminal, family, finance and tax legal services, and immigration justice systems each year.
QLA strives to empower all residents through positive community action. By building relationships within the many diverse Queens neighborhoods, QLA's energetic staff is devoted to making quality legal assistance available to every resident.
The Queens Law Associates Youth Justice Court (YJC): Far Rockaway Chapter opened in summer 2015. This court is run by local young adults training to become peer leaders both in their school and within their community. The YJC model exposes youth to the positive impact of peer intervention and provides essential tools that allow youth to develop a greater sense of accountability and responsibility. By learning the foundations of the justice system, and restorative justice principals, these youth advocates will be empowered to help decide what justice means in Far Rockaway, while holding peers accountable for negative behavior. On a greater level, our goal is to provide an alternative response to youth crime within the Far Rockaway community.
The mission of the Queens Library is to provide quality services, resources, and lifelong learning opportunities through books and a variety of other formats to meet the informational, educational, cultural, and recreational needs and interests of its diverse and changing population. There are five branches on the Peninsula: the Far Rockaway Library, the Arverne Library, the Peninsula Library, the Seaside Library, and the Queens Library for Teens.
The Queens Library for Teens, also know as the Teen Center, offers any young person between the ages of 12 and19 a special place to go to after school. The technology-based Center—which includes a 48-station computer lab, a video gaming center, pool tables, a lounge area, magazines, a recording studio, and more—offers a variety of programs, including daily homework help and an internet radio station club, as well as workshops on topics such as STEM, college admissions, Regents exam prep, sign language, calligraphy, job readiness workshops, CPR, library card sign-up, and more. Serving about 140 youth each day, the Center also regularly hosts special events and family activities.
Rockaway Development & Revitalization Corporation
The Rockaway Development & Revitalization Corporation (RDRC) was established in 1978 with the goal to be the catalyst for the Rockaway’s revitalization by implementing community development activities that remove barriers to economic growth, stimulate the economy, and create jobs. The organization’s mission is to promote the revitalization of the Rockaway’s economic base and to assist residents in securing an improved quality of life.
All of RDRC’s services are free-of-charge and administered by trained and experienced staff. The organization offers small business advisory and entrepreneurial assistance; Minority and Women-owned Business Enterprise (M/WBE) certification assistance; HUD certified housing counseling for first-time homeowners and families at risk of losing their homes to foreclosure; credit counseling and financial education; youth and adult employment assistance; and youth career and college preparedness assistance.
RDRC is also actively involved several real estate and commercial development projects focused on creating new mixed homeownership and business attraction opportunities (Arverne By The Sea, Arverne East); improving public spaces (Beach 20th Street Plaza, Beach 21st Street Transit Hub); and the development of a 9,000 square foot commercial property located in downtown Far Rockaway known as the Renaissance Center.
The Rockaway Waterfront Alliance is dedicated to fostering a deeper understanding, respect, and connection between our communities and the Rockaway waterfront. As a catalyst for sustainable development and community building, the mission of the organization is to inspire members of the local community to become active stewards of the waterfront through environmental education; to revitalize the health and well being of the Rockaway community through arts, environmental conservation, and outdoor recreation; and to strengthen the community's role as advocates by the planning of the Rockaways through better use of the under-resourced waterfront.
The Shore Corps is just one of the ways the Rockaway Waterfront Alliance empowers youth in its work. The summer internship program is a service learning program for high school students focused on environmental stewardship and community development. The program serves as a platform for teens to demonstrate leadership skills and inspire other young people in the community."
Originally founded in 1919 as the Queensboro Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, Safe Space remains dedicated to the belief that every child deserves to grow up healthy and in a secure environment. The organization offers a wide range of integrated family support and youth focused programs, including community and mental health services, designed to help families build a more hopeful future for themselves and their children. Now based in Southeast Queens primarily serving Jamaica, Far Rockaway, and Richmond Hill, Safe Space serves more than 14,000 individuals annually. Young people know that Safe Space is a place they can go for acceptance and support regardless of their race, gender, sexual orientation, income, or any other part of their identity.
Safe Space's Far Rockaway site recently opened a drop-in center that offers a space for young men and women to be creative; learn new things; discuss issues affecting their lives; and prepare themselves for the future. Programming includes case management; courses on preparing for employment opportunities and financial literacy; peer support; workshops in the arts; events; and more.
In the summer of 2013, Safe Space joined forces with Episcopal Social Services (ESS), now called Sheltering Arms, an organization that strengthens families, promotes the healthy development of children and youth, and empowers all whom it serves to make positive contributions to their communities. The merger allows both organizations to offer stronger programs to more of the city’s most underserved residents. Safe Space will assume the Sheltering Arms name upon completion of the merger later this year.
Saint John's Episcopal Hospital Community Programs
The mission of the Episcopal Health Services Inc. of the Diocese of Long Island is to provide quality health care with an emphasis on patient safety through its hospital, ambulatory care facilities, nursing homes, community programs and continuing medical education, recognizing the emerging life-care needs of the communities served.It is committed to serving the medically underserved and providing care with ethnic, cultural, and religious sensitivities.
Saint John's Episcopal Hospital (SJEH) presently has several community programs. The Blended Case Management Program provides long-term intensive and supportive case management services for families with children (ages five to 17 and 1/2) who are emotional disturbed. The Family Resource Center works with families of children up to the age of 24 with a mental health diagnosis or behavioral problem, assisting the caretaker and family members who are in need of support and resources. The Home Based Crisis Intervention Program provides intensive at home treatment for seriously emotionally disturbed children and youth (ages five to 17 and 1/2). The NYC CARES Program provides free trauma-based crisis counseling for children (ages five to 17) who were impacted by Super Storm Sandy or affected by any type of trauma. Finally, the Sandy Resource Connect Program assists the community with continued Super Storm Sandy recovery efforts by offering support and connections to resources.
