JCTOD Outreach, Inc.

doing business as

Johnson Park Center Johnson Park Center

Annual Report 2015

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CommunityDevelopmentSpecialNeedsHousing

NutritionRecreationMentoring&Advocacy

A letter from our founder Dear Honored Member of the JPC Family:

20 years have come and thrived in Johnson Park-Cornhill.

The last two decades have brought tremendous change to the neighborhood – in 1995, the houses were burned out by slumlords and the people were burned out by drugs and violence. The streets were filled with trash and debris; all hope for Cornhill was lost amongst the gunshots.

But with perseverance, hard work, and determination, JPC has changed the conversation in Johnson Park-Cornhill. The children first learned how to pick up the garbage around the streets, how to have pride in their home – and the adults followed. Crime and violence has decreased steadily over the years, largely due to the active presence of the neighborhood. Negativity, hate, and destruction are no longer tolerated here.

Two decades ago, 20 years was the age many young people hoped to reach; and it was the age that many never experienced.

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In today’s Johnson Park-Cornhill, 20 years means that our children never have to go to bed hungry. 20 years means safe streets. 20 years means a second chance.

20 years have given Johnson Park-Cornhill back to the people who live here.

JPC has earned the trust of the neighborhood, and lived up to its promises of a better future made for those who Join Positive Change. We are looking forward to the great changes of the next 20 years!

Respectfully yours,

Rev. Dr. Maria A. Scates, D.D. CEO / Founder

Board Member – Ms. Nancy Wolfe volunteering at the Say No To Drugs Party

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Community Development JPC continued to change not just lives, but the look and outlook of the community.

Making Changes for the Children

January 2015 brought with it exciting new changes to JPC – specifically, a change in the structure of our Youth Center. JPC developed a new program called Head, Hand, Heart (HHH) Family Enrichment Program, made possible through the Utica National Foundation Fund, a donor advised fund through the Community Foundation of Herkimer and Oneida Counties. While the Youth Center remains a Drop-In Center and is accessible to all neighborhood children, the HHH program focuses on the school-readiness of children ages 3-5 years old and the structure/quality of home life. The point of the program is

to increase the overall school-readiness of children from low-income households in the Cornhill and greater Utica area, who often do not receive the pre-kindergarten education (at home or through a program) equivalent to their peers from middle- and high-income households. JPC’s program is intended to shrink the gap and give low income children the opportunity for success, beginning at an early age. The program goes further than simply teaching children the alphabet, colors, and numbers – JPC has incorporated technology into the Youth Center, including iPads, tablets, electronic gadgets, and interactive digital games to increase not only their practical knowledge of everyday learning but the applicable knowledge of emerging technologies that will inevitably push them ahead through the early years of their schooling. The idea, ultimately is to give Cornhill children the opportunities that their families may not necessarily be able to (or know how) to give them – a head start to learning and overall academic success throughout their education. The program benefits JPC-JPA families because they too are allowed to participate in the program and involve their children with other neighborhood children.

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Special Needs Housing

Family Shelter Most Utica shelters welcome only women (and children) or only single men; but at JPC, our shelter is family-friendly and is able to accommodate and accept non-traditional referrals. In addition to shelter, we provide food, personal basic necessities, and access to weekly life-skills classes. In 2015, JPC provided shelter to 3,084 individuals. 19JP Congregate Care 2 – OASAS Certified Supportive Living

JPC’s OASAS Certified Supportive Living Program serves mothers with substance abuse and mental health diagnoses, who may or may not have their children in their custody during their stay. In 2015, eight women and thirteen children were impacted with the benefits of the program and were able to move on to improved standards of living. The program is intended to support families for a minimum of 6-9 months (based upon need) in Congregate Care Level II transitional housing. The mothers must have a substance abuse diagnosis and may be dually diagnosed with a mental illness, as well as other co-occurring problems. Chloe came to JPC to start over. Her four children were in kinship care, she was homeless, and struggled daily with a heroin addiction. Chloe’s whole life had fallen apart – her children were gone, her husband in prison, her home condemned by the city, and no family to whom she could turn. She entered JPC’s OASAS Certified Supportive Living Program with one goal in mind: to restart her life as a clean, sober, supportive, and successful mother to her four children. Her oldest daughter was returned to her custody the day she entered the program, and Chloe has been granted weekend visitations with the younger three. By the end of the school year, Chloe hopes to be granted full custody. Single women’s program Megan has battled her mental illness with self-medication for many years -- resulting in a co-occurring substance abuse problem that plagues her daily. Her two youngest children have been in the custody of Megan's parents for most of their lives while Megan traveled from coast to coast, never staying in one place (or one apartment) for very long at all. Her oldest daughter, who is now an adult, spent most of her life in and out of kinship care as well.

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Alumni – Graduates One highlight of the Week of Celebration was the Graduation of five JPA clients. Each woman took to the stage to receive special recognition of their accomplishments and to officially receive alumni status - two years at JPA. Congratulations!

Megan is the epitome of chronically homeless -- a constant cycle of psychiatric wards, prison, and the streets kept this woman from building a solid foundation on which she could raise her family. However, Megan completed one year at JPC in April, a huge milestone for a woman who previously could not remain in one place for more than one or two months. Additionally, she has begun to regain the trust of her parents and her children -- last Christmas was her first holiday with her children in years and is in constant communication with her oldest daughter. Megan has shown tremendous growth and accomplished so much in her one year! Women & Children’s program

Abby has had quite a start to this new year as well. She came to JPC last year without any of her children in her physical custody, but was able to gain physical custody of her oldest child, 16-year-old Ashley, prior to entering the Women and Children’s Program. Abby was granted weekend visitations with her three younger children in October of 2014, and has worked to rebuild her relationships with not only the children but their current physical guardians, her mother- and father-in-law. The family has overcome several obstacles – ones that come naturally with both rearing children and being early in recovery. The visits slowly evolved from day visits to weekends to school breaks and holidays. In February of 2015, Abby was granted joint custody of her three youngest children and was able to move to a larger apartment in March in anticipation of their permanent reunification at JPC!

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Nutrition JPC is committed to nurturing our residents and the community at-large with healthy food choices and an effort to fight hunger. Food Pantry

The Johnson Park Center Food Pantry continues to grow as a resource for hungry and impoverished families in the community. In 2015, we served 219,132 meals to 7,013 households.

Utica is well-known as the “Melting Pot” of Central New York – a surge of refugees have immigrated to Utica in recent years, and many have relocated to the Cornhill neighborhood. Like much of the Cornhill neighborhood, many of these newcomers are part of the working class, but in need of ways to supplement their income to acquire food and other needs. The Johnson Park Center (JPC) Food Pantry is open to the public three nights a week during non-traditional hours – Monday, Wednesday, and

Friday from 5:30pm-7:30pm to meet the needs of the working poor. The Pantry serves any household in need of food, without question. One household that made an impact on the JPC Food Pantry team was comprised of a single father and his four children. Ernie immigrated to Utica from Bosnia a few years ago, and raises his four young children alone on the West Side. He works all day, five days a week in a job that is physically demanding – but a family of five struggles to make ends meet on one income that is just above minimum wage. Once each month, Ernie rides his bike across the walking bridge and through Utica’s raggedy streets to obtain supplementary food items from the JPC Food Pantry. He arrives close to closing time, and balances the many bags on his bike’s handlebars to trek back home through varying weather conditions to provide a little relief to his household’s economic strain. The volunteers at JPC’s Food Pantry know Ernie very well – he has been coming to the Pantry since he moved to Utica. He has told the volunteers many times that he would not be able to make it to the Pantry if it was not open so late. The volunteers try to fill his bags with everything that he is allotted, but his long trip on his bike makes carrying all of the items difficult. However, Ernie’s positive attitude and gratefulness radiates through the small space when he enters the Pantry to receive assistance, and he never leaves without a smile and a thanks.

The JPC Food Pantry, is located at 1404 West Street. Sponsors include The Food Bank of Central New York and the United Way of the Valley and Greater Utica Area.

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One Million Meals

Since May 1996, JPC Food Pantry has operated as a supplementary food source to household incomes across Utica. The heart of the city, Cornhill is Utica’s poorest neighborhood and this service is of unparalleled importance – many families lack understanding of how to prepare healthy meals in conjunction with the inability to afford much fresh produce or staple non-perishable products. And this year, JPC Food Pantry reaches a milestone: We are approaching 1,000,000 meals served. This means 1,000,000 more nights children did not go to bed hungry. 1,000,000 times parents did not have to worry if their food stamps would make it to the end of the month. 1,000,000 times JPC gave the community hope that things would be better tomorrow than they were yesterday, and proved it. On May 18, 2015 JPC celebrated this 1,000,000 meal milestone with a special food giveaway – fresh fruit, snacks, assorted meats, breads, cereals, vegetables, and many other goodies were among the selection. Hamilton College Gives Back Students from Hamilton College began a new initiative in 2015 – that no food will be wasted.

Under the guidance of Economics Professor Paul Hagstrom, students from Hamilton College developed a method to freeze leftover food from their dining hall in “TV dinner” style so that it could be re-distributed at JPC’s Food Pantry at least one time each academic semester. This ongoing project is an effort to reduce the amount of food thrown away each semester from the College’s dining hall. The project was a huge success, with community members lined up for the tasty

TV dinners – a different and exciting treat.

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Recreation

JPC remained committed to fitness and fun in 2015, giving our community positive things to do. Summer Festivities It was a busy summer for JPC! July 21-July 28, the agency celebrated its 20th Year with the Week of Celebration -- free food, games, contests, and prizes kept the children entertained while the adults participated in the free giveaways, raffles, and listened to Rev. Dr. Scates and other presenters speak over the microphone. The JPA participants also spoke about their own experiences with drugs, mental health problems, domestic violence, and being on the streets before engaging in positive change and becoming a part of the JPC community. The big attraction of the week appeared on Sunday -- a 16-person train from Scotty's Amusements drove

around the Park for three hours, giving children and adults the opportunity to have a ride! Even Rev. Dr. Scates and Rev. Meier went for a ride that afternoon! In August, JPC continued the celebrations with the Back to School Party! Annually, this event provides free school supplies to those in need -- anyone in school, Pre-K through college, may receive school supplies. This party also celebrated the JPC Youth Voice Initiative, a group of 9-14 year old boys and girls who are learning to speak up, speak out, and be positive role models for their peers. The group works hard all summer, volunteering as helpers in the Youth Center and learning skills that they can take with them into high school and potentially the workforce or college. The school year definitely started off right for many families – JPC gave

away notebooks, crayons, markers, rulers, pencils, folders, and glue sticks! Any student – from pre-school through college – were eligible to receive the supplies. The Memorial Celebration is an annual public remembrance of the young lives taken by violence. Ricky Powell and Brian West were two such young lives, and their passing is marked by a memorial at the corner of Arthur Street and West Street. JPC Board of Director member, Ms. Wolfe, and JPC Staff, Mrs. Hemphill, led the procession to the memorial site. The JPC Youth Voice Initiative accompanied the group, and passed glow sticks to the crowd as the sky dimmed.

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Mentoring / Advocacy Johnson Park Center believes that self-empowerment is learning to do things for yourself. Therefore, JPC residents not only benefit from a staff that advocates for them, but they participate in the process of advocating for the causes and concerns that affect their lives. In addition, JPC provides a diverse array of role models for youth and residents who mentor them in achieving their goals. 20 Years of Positive Change

This November, JPC celebrated its 20th Birthday!!! Rev. Dr. Scates came to Johnson Park 20 years ago to begin the transformation of the neighborhood and the people. To celebrate, JPC hosted a Birthday Party under a heated tent on November 14, 2015. Games, food, and a live performance by a local band entertained the community, while current program participants and alumni shared their experiences and gratitude for Rev. Dr. Scates and JPC. Friends and supporters of JPC made appearances as well. Heartfelt expressions of joy and appreciation for the transformation of the last twenty years brought tears to the eyes of many and warmed the hearts of all. The night was a wonderful celebration of the positive change in Johnson Park-Cornhill over the past 20 years and what the community is looking forward to in the future.

On March 20, 2015, SUNY-Poly presented its 12th Annual Benefit Dinner to sponsor JPC in its 20th Year. The college’s Psychology and Sociology Club, West Indian and African Club, and the Veterans’ Club hosted the event at Daniele’s Banquet in New Hartford. The event gave community leaders, other local programs, and community members the opportunity to celebrate JPC’s commitment to Johnson Park-Cornhill over the last 20 years, and the positive change that has erupted in the neighborhood. JPC clients, staff, and volunteers were able to join in the celebration at the benefit as well. The event included bids on several prizes including: artwork donated by SUNY Poly students, a helicopter ride, and gift certificates to various places.

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During the event, students and their supervising faculty members, Dr. Tichenor and Dr. Joseph (both long-time supporters of JPC) spoke to the immense change that has occurred in Johnson Park-Cornhill over the last 20 years – change that has revitalized a neighborhood and strengthened the people. Following the event, SUNY Poly held a ceremony on campus to present the proceeds of the benefit to Rev. Dr. Maria Scates. The proceeds of the event assisted JPC with the 20th Year Week of Celebration. Community Service Award - Volunteers JPC is built off of the shoulders of volunteers – the hard working individuals who dedicated their time and passion to positive change. For eight straight years, JPC has taken time during the Back to School Party to celebrate stand-out individuals who volunteer throughout the year. This year, the honoree was Ms. Frances Thayer! Reverend Dr. Scates, D.D. and Reverend Meier introduced the award and gave some background to the crowd before announcing this year’s honoree. The trio commended the honoree on her commitment to

positive change that is evident in the hard work she applies to all tasks and challenges JPC delivers. Ms. Thayer can be seen on the JPC site nearly every day, and certainly at each event. She works hard to ensure that the children are fed at the Youth Center, HHH program, and every event. Ms. Thayer also functions as a Recovery Coach – she works with the JPA program participants on a daily basis to assist them with the throes of life as a recovering addict. Throughout the year, volunteers function as mentors and positive role models for its youth and residents and help with the upkeep of properties and buildings. Utica College, Hamilton College, SUNY-

Poly, and Colgate University students are frequent guests as interns and volunteers in small and large groups to assist us in our mission. Thank you for everything that you do for JPC!

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Christmas

Christmas came in full spirits for women and children that have had little to celebrate in recent years. The 2015 Johnson Park Apartments Christmas Celebration featured carols, games, good food and what everybody likes best….presents. The presents for this year’s party came from local businesses, community donors and the agency itself. Families were also given a holiday food bag of groceries to help them enjoy the season just a little more. The stories inside of the party ranged from stories of recovery and reunifications to stories of survival. Some mothers are celebrating the holidays with children they thought they lost to the system years ago and some women received their first present in decades.

This year, JPC took holiday giving to another level with the Christmas Food and Presents Giveaway on December 21, 2015. The event provided families with supplemental foods for their Christmas meals and additional presents for the children – both a huge help to local families during the economically difficult holiday season. The food giveaway was sponsored by the Food Bank of Central New York.