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F a l l 2 018
The magazine of Community Access
A CHAMPION FOR NEW YORKERS By John Turturro
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John Turturro on a Life Transformed A New Building in the Bronx A Look Inside the Crisis Respite Center
It was a startling realization, and it’s exactly what happened. When our mother died, I became Ralph’s legal guardian. Since then, I’ve tried to provide him with some comfort and stability in his life. As anyone who’s been in my position knows, there’s only so much one person can do. The journey has been difficult, bewildering, and emotionally draining. Then, something happened. I met Steve Coe, and I discovered Community Access. Life has been different ever since – for me, and, more importantly, for Ralph.
ommunity Access has launched the biggest fundraising effort in the agency’s history: The Coe Campaign to Raise $4 Million, named in honor of visionary CEO Steve Coe, who will be retiring next June after 40 years of service.
Inside this issue…
When we got there that day, all the lights went out. It was the day of the blackout that affected 50 million people. Still, we were allowed to take him out on his pass, which he had been very much looking forward to. We drove around and ate pizza together and had some laughs. But as I looked over at my mother, another thought occurred to me: My mother wouldn’t be here forever, and, one day, caring for Ralph would be my sole responsibility.
This is my Community Access story.
In the years since I found Community Access, the mystifying landscape of mental health and housing has become much more manageable. And I no longer worry whether people like Ralph have a champion in New York City. Community Access is that champion, a fact obvious to anyone who’s seen Community Access’ work up close.
When my older brother Ralph first started showing signs of a serious mental health condition, he was still a young man, living in our parents’ basement.
A few years ago, Ralph became a Community Access tenant, and his life has been transformed.
Over the course of his life, Ralph has been labeled with every diagnosis you can think of. He’s been through therapy and endured shock treatments. He’s been medicated, and suffered the side effects of being medicated – weight gain, tremors, diabetes. He has struggled to live independently, and has been in and out of institutions and different places all his adult life.
In his building, as a participant at East Village Access, and as an artist in the Art Collective program, Ralph is regarded as a human being in full – not as a diagnosis, or a problem to be solved. He still has struggles, but he knows he has a supportive, loving community to lift him up through it all, and to help him make informed decisions about his own life.
I agreed to chair this campaign because I know just how important Community Access is in the lives of so many of our fellow New Yorkers. I know this, because I’ve seen it in my own life.
While our father was dying of cancer, and losing his booming voice, Ralph’s voice was becoming louder, and more anguished. It was a sign of what was to come. I vividly remember, one hot August afternoon in 2003, driving with my mother to visit Ralph in Creedmoor Psychiatric Center in Queens. Growing up in the Rosedale neighborhood, I never would’ve imagined that I’d be visiting my brother in this psychiatric hospital. Kids in the neighborhood often joked about ending up at Creedmoor. It had been a childish punchline; but now it had become my brother’s reality. He lived there for 11 years.
Ralph (left) and John Turturro in baseball uniforms and equipment Ralph bought with his savings
“A few years ago, Ralph became a Community Access tenant, and his life has been transformed. “ have been improved during his tenure as CEO – including me. But his work will be far from finished. That’s why I’m so honored to chair The Coe Campaign. I hope you will join me in this effort, to help ensure that our NYC neighbors like Ralph continue to have a champion they deserve. Every dollar counts, and I hope you will contribute whatever amount you can to help us celebrate Steve Coe.
THE COE CAMPAIGN TO RAISE $4 MILLION
Ultimately, the promise Community Access makes to people with mental health concerns and their families throughout New York City is this: You don’t need to travel this road alone.
Please help Community Access reach our most important fundraising goal ever and join us in recognizing our visionary leader Steve Coe.
When Steve Coe retires next June, he will leave behind a powerful legacy filled with caring neighbors, and a community of tenants, participants, staff and board members who are ready to carry Community Access’ mission on to new generations. And he will have the gratitude of thousands of people whose lives
Make your 100% tax-deductible donation online today, or call John Williams, Chief Development & Communications Officer: 212-780-1400, ext. 7772 www.communityaccess.org/donate