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The Magazine of Community Access
Audraand Activism
LEGENDARY ACTOR AND SINGER AUDRA MCDONALD SPEAKS ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF COMMUNITY ACCESS’ WORK IN NEW YORK CITY
1,000 UNITS IN THE PIPELINE 25 YEARS OF HOWIE THE HARP PEER WORKFORCE EXCELLENCE SHA’WORNE SMITH
SEEING THE HUMANITY IN EVERYONE AND
TENANT BRUCE DILLON REFLECTS ON HIS LIFE WITH COMMUNITY ACCESS
WELCOME Dear Friends, As the world continues to grapple with the destabilizing effects of the COVID-19 public health and economic crises, I sincerely hope you and your loved ones are healthy and safe. While the work of keeping people housed and supported has always been central to Community Access’ mission, it has taken on new significance amidst the pandemic as we have seen so clearly how the experience of being homeless and otherwise marginalized can cost people their lives. Much of the past two years has been marked with loss, isolation, anxiety, and uncertainty. Perhaps because of this, discussions about mental health struggles and the importance of self-care have become more commonplace. I have seen it here at Community Access among our dedicated staff and colleagues who work every day to support participants, tenants, and each other. It has also been evident on the world stage, such as when Naomi Osaka withdrew from the French Open, citing her mental health needs. In her personal essay in Time magazine she noted: “It has become apparent to me that literally everyone either suffers from issues related to their mental health or knows someone who does.” And again when Simone Biles spoke openly about her mental health and stepped away from competing individually in the Olympics—she did what she knew was required to put her welfare first. These two young women were courageous in using their platforms to shine a light on the ubiquity of mental health struggles. As I sit here today, considering how this period will impact us for years to come, I am hopeful. I’m hopeful that the learning we have begun will continue until we get to a place where people who choose to do so can discuss their mental health struggles without stigma or fear of being marginalized. I am hopeful that awareness of the personal mental health toll wreaked by systems of oppression will only increase over time. I am hopeful that because we have lived through a shared trauma, that we will treat each other with increased kindness and compassion and join together to redress societal inequities and champion justice.
1159 River Avenue in construction with planned opening in 2023
I feel enormous gratitude to the staff of Community Access—all 350+ of them—who show up day in and day out to keep Community Access going strong. Quite literally, we cannot do anything without them, and their dedication and perseverance continue to inspire me.
MILESTONES
I am incredibly grateful to Community Access funders and donors who know, as we do, that the work of developing and sustaining supportive housing is essential. Because of this generosity, Community Access is poised to surpass our latest housing development goal. And, we are eager to provide more critically needed workforce, mental health, and crisis response services to ensure that more New Yorkers living with mental health concerns have access to resources that they need. In the pages ahead, you will find details of our affordable housing development and news of other goings-on around the agency. I am very proud of all that we are accomplishing in this period. I hope that as friends, supporters, and partners of Community Access, you’ll feel proud, too.
Cal Hedigan
Chief Executive Officer
FOR THE FIRST TIME IN COMMUNITY ACCESS’ HISTORY, WE ARE PROVIDING SUPPORT SERVICES FOR FAMILIES WITH CHILDREN COMING OUT OF THE SHELTER SYSTEM. At our new building in the Bronx, we’re offering connections to educational supports, health care, community services, and providing some extra fun along the way: basketball practice, backyard movie nights, and art activities. Through all of this, we are becoming a place where families can have a home, a fresh start, and a chance to build a community together.
Our Howie the Harp Advocacy Center is celebrating 25 years of peer workforce training with a complete redesign of the classroom, computer lab, and library, and investments in new technology and furnishings. We are ramping up infrastructure and refining curricula to scale up enrollment and serve more participants than ever.
We’re adding four Intensive Mobile Treatment teams in Manhattan and the Bronx to support individuals who have been disconnected from care, including individuals living in shelters or on the streets.
1159 River Ave Project team: Maddd Equities LLC; Alembic Community Development; Aufgang Architects; Urban Quotient; Joy Construction Corp 245 units under construction
Baez Place (334 East 176th St) Project team: Blue Sky Bronx, LLC; Edelman Sultan Knox Wood Architects; Joy Construction Corp 154 units in pre-development
1461 Bryant Ave Project team: Blue Sky Bronx, LLC; Edelman Sultan Knox Wood Architects 70 units in pre-development
521 East Tremont Ave Project team: Mega Contracting Group; Community Healthcare Network; SLCE Architects 202 units in pre-development
1185 River Ave Project team: Blue Sky Bronx, LLC; Edelman Sultan Knox Wood Architects 275 units in pre-development
With close to 1,000 units in the housing development pipeline, the next wave of Community Access real estate is well underway!
AUDRA & ACTIVISM
We are living through extraordinary times. As a performer, I keep coming back to that line in the musical Ragtime that says, “We can never go back to before.” The COVID-19 pandemic brought to light so much of our nation’s systemic racism and deeprooted inequalities, as we saw people of color bear the brunt of the virus and its economic fallout in staggering numbers. At the same time, we watched the horrific killing of George Floyd, captured on camera by a determined witness—Darnella Frazier, the Black teenage girl who has since been recognized with a Pulitzer Prize for her brave and impactful truth-telling.
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At Community Access, you’re a human being in full, and you are beautiful for that reason. —Audra
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This past year, Community Access welcomed Audra McDonald to speak and perform at a virtual gala where she shared her thoughts about the importance of our work in New York City and reflected on the intersection of our advocacy with her art and activism. We are proud to share her remarks with you.
My friend Sherrilyn Ifill, president of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, recently told me, “America is addicted to a narrative” about its Black and Brown citizens. As a performer, I recognize the power of narrative. We need new stories that uplift our shared humanity and that reject stigmatizing and dehumanizing depictions of long-oppressed communities. That’s part of what we focus on at Black Theatre United, where I’m a founding member, and it’s a central focus of Community Access’ daily work to combat stigma and celebrate the innate potential in everyone. Community Access worked tirelessly throughout the pandemic, protecting New Yorkers most vulnerable to the virus. And just as the agency has done for nearly 50 years, Community Access continues to fight inequality—helping New Yorkers overcome discrimination through access to affordable and supportive housing, healing-focused services, job training, and advocacy.
Actor and soprano singer Audra McDonald has won a record-breaking six Tony Awards, two Grammy Awards, and an Emmy. In 2015, she was named to Time magazine’s list of 100 most influential people and was honored with America’s National Medal of Arts by President Obama. In 2017, she was inducted into Lincoln Center’s Hall of Fame. She is a co-founder of the nonprofit Black Theatre United and a member of the board of directors at Covenant House, a nonprofit serving young people experiencing homelessness. She is a passionate activist for equal rights and a dear friend of Community Access’ board of trustees president, actor/director John Turturro.
We need to tell new stories that lift up the humanity of all people and reject all stories that would seek to divide and dehumanize. That’s what I try to do through my art and activism. And that’s what Community Access does, each and every day. At Community Access, you’re a human being in full, and you are beautiful for that reason. The future we seek will be shaped by those who are willing to roll up their sleeves and do the hard work of transforming systems and lifting people up. It will be shaped by organizations like Community Access.
25 YEARS OF HOWIE THE HARP Our Howie the Harp Advocacy Center (HTH) is celebrating its 25th anniversary as the nation’s foremost training and workforce development academy for peers with a complete renovation of the center and curricula enhancements. New smart classroom technology, an expanded computer lab and library, and a series of new e-courses are all a part of how we’re scaling up enrollment and preparing for the next quarter century. We recently caught up with three alumni to learn about the careers they have built from their HTH foundation.
ADVANCING THE PEER WORKFORCE
HOWIE THE HARP ADVOCACY CENTER FEATURE
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My life experiences are my biggest asset on my resume, and the semester at HTH helped me harness so much knowledge about how I can use these experiences to help others. —Toshia
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My amazing cohort of HTH classmates are masters in perseverance. They have formed my closest network of friends, advisors, and inspiration. —Sean
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I was so nervous when I first started this job at Anthem, but they were excited to have me. They actually wanted to learn from me. They appreciated my knowledge and had me provide trainings for other staff. —Linda
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Toshia Parks, 2018 Alumna After graduating from Howie the Harp, I began doing peer work right away. Today, I’m the community benefits project coordinator at CASES, a nonprofit dedicated to providing communitybased alternatives to incarceration. In this role, I line up partnerships, service projects, and internships for youth participants and also teach them in an advanced class that’s part of our work readiness program. I was a foster kid myself. I’ve been in the psychiatric system and justice system—and never had a supportive environment when my bipolar disorder kicked in. When I enrolled in Howie the Harp, I was five months pregnant and living in a shelter. The program gave me a safe space, real-world job skills, and so many other tools. For the first time ever, I was able to envision that mental health struggles would not mean the end of the road for me. My life experiences are my biggest asset on my resume, and the semester at HTH helped me harness so much knowledge about how I can use these experiences to help others. I had my baby during the semester I was enrolled, and they told me I could take a break and return next term.
I came back just three days later! It was an intense program, and I didn’t want to have to start it all over again. I wanted to see it through. Even with a newborn, I graduated at the top of my class. This is the message I try to impart to the young women I work with today: you’re strong enough to do anything.
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HTH trains ‘peers’ to use their firsthand knowledge about recovery so they can become employed as specialists, counselors, and other important roles in the workforce.
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—Lynnae Brown, HTH Director
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Linda Parrish-Phillips, 1997 Alumna July 11, 1997 was my first day at the internship I got through Howie the Harp. I still remember the exact date, because it’s the day my life changed. I began as an intern at Pathways to Housing, and then I got promoted to housing specialist. That turned into an 18-year career, during which I have helped a lot of people access housing.
I will never forget the man I helped to finally accept housing after he’d been sleeping under a bridge on the street for 20 years. His new apartment was beautiful, but he wasn’t used to sleeping in a bed, and so I helped him practice sitting on the bed during my visits just so he could get acclimated to his new home. That’s me as a peer. I can understand someone else’s pain. When I was ready for a new job, Howie the Harp connected me to Anthem / Empire Blue Cross Blue Shield, where I now work as a wellness recovery specialist in housing. In this role, I’ve engaged members during their hospital stays and assisted with their discharge planning and coordinating housing resources, and I advise them before they talk to their different doctors. Mostly, I try to offer empathy and help them find strength to believe that they can achieve their goals. I listen and try to show that someone cares about them and their happiness.
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I was so nervous when I first started this job at Anthem, but they were excited to have me. They actually wanted to learn from me. They appreciated my knowledge and had me provide trainings for other staff. All these years later, I still carry Howie the Harp with me and stay in touch with the staff. The program provided a very caring and nurturing environment, and helped me celebrate me.
My family has been so supportive and proud of my career. I’ve even been able to help many of them on their own journey to mental health recovery. —Linda
Linda with her husband and friend
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Sean Brennan, 2016 HTH Alum As the founder and executive director of Brain Food Garden Project (BFGP), I think a lot about prevention and recovery. Our mental health is closely linked to the food we choose, and the experience of growing our own food can be very healing. Gardening is a great tool for recovery.
I had the vision for BFGP before participating in Howie the Harp, but the peers I met through the program and the lessons I learned from the trainers helped me complete the missing pieces and realize my vision. One of my favorite lessons that I learned in HTH and now use quite frequently with my urban gardening groups is that we all have the right to fail. There is dignity in taking risk. Life and the journey to recovery will never be without roadblocks or adversity, but we can persevere. My amazing cohort of HTH classmates are masters in perseverance. They have formed my closest network of friends, advisors, and inspiration. We are not defined by our diagnoses, by our histories of hospitalization, or by any other challenges we may have faced. We can, however, use the knowledge we’ve gained from those experiences to go out every day and be of service in our communities. For me, that has included my work with BFGP, as well as my role as project manager with Baltic Street Community Resource & Wellness Center, and as a workshop facilitator with the Urban Justice Center. HTH gave me a strong foundation to forge my own path.
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Looking Ahead to the Next Quarter Century: With over 2,000 graduates trained for the peer workforce, HTH has made a substantial footprint in how mental health services are delivered in New York City and beyond. Hundreds of agencies across NYC look to us every year as a source for job candidates, and we have come to define excellence in peer workforce training.
“I believe the contribution of HTH’s peer training has had a great effect on the growth of job opportunities for peers in general,” says program director Lynnae Brown. “The field has really come to value lived experience as an important ingredient in the provision of quality services, and our program’s training in particular is looked to as the gold standard. Our model has now been replicated in the Netherlands, so our impact is only growing.” We’re not resting on our laurels and are continuing to expand our reach through in-person and virtual learning, specialized trainings, and more. “At HTH, we’re thinking about new ways to train our peers to work in the nuanced, gray areas and to meet this unique moment in history. That means building self-awareness skills around biases and better understanding systemic oppression—how it impacts us and the people we support,” says Lynnae. “Interestingly, in the pandemic’s wake, so many people are now asking themselves, for the very first time, the kinds of questions we’ve been asking our participants for the last 25 years: Is the way I’m living my life working? Am I satisfying my needs for community and connection, for love and fun? It’s exciting to see this larger, collective awakening take place.”
a life with
y t i n u m m o C s s e c Ac BRUCE DILLON
If all the world’s a stage, artist and performer Bruce Dillon may well have begun his finest act since connecting with Community Access. His work has appeared in exhibitions all over NYC, and he is a force within our Art Collective program, a community of artists and creatives who have a shared experience of living with mental health concerns. Moreover, he has a home of his own. The road to finding stable housing at our Gouverneur Court building was one with many obstacles—including homelessness—but for over two decades now, he’s had a sense of stability, and a Community Access family who have been through ups and downs together.
“I’d been prescribed psychotropic meds since first being diagnosed with bipolar disorder manic-depression in 1990. I was on Lithium for decades, and the doctors took me off of it because it had given me hypoactive thyroidism, which I then had to take Synthroid for years to combat. It’s a ridiculous cycle of dispensing medications; of course, I ate them all and suffered the dismal, unintended consequences.” More than an apartment, Bruce says his home at Gouverneur Court has provided him with the ability to take care of himself, plan, and give back. “Before I moved into my own studio, I was in a satellite apartment where five gentlemen shared a kitchen and bathroom, and it was really awful and dismal, and so I was very grateful to come here.” At our Gouverneur Court building in the Lower East Side, Bruce spends a lot of his time working on his artwork, visiting the Art Collective studio in the building, and spending time with his neighbors—friends he’s made since moving here in 1999. Walk into nearly any Community Access building around town, and you’ll likely encounter some of Bruce’s art that the agency has purchased to line the halls and offices at our sites. He’s proud that artwork created by Community Access’ artists has also appeared in several exhibitions around the city, including those hosted by New York Public Libraries and TD Bank. And, together the collective has worked on entrepreneurial projects like hosting auctions, appearing at winter festivals to sell original art, and developing an online store with sales benefiting the artists and helping cover costs of studio supplies. Bruce is known for making strong statements that expose inhumanity to humanity, including many works of art that raise awareness about mental health, challenge stigma, and deliver an incisive commentary on the pharmaceutical industry that draws from his personal experiences.
Twenty-two years is a long time, especially as Bruce recalls all that has taken place while he’s lived at Gouverneur Court. The triumphs: he has celebrated birthdays with neighbors living with HIV/AIDS who have thrived in Community Access housing for decades. He has spoken at rallies and events advocating for more housing and being a true mental health champion. And, the tragedies: watching from the rooftop of his building as the second plane hit the World Trade Center downtown; and Hurricane Sandy—a storm that flooded the ground floor of the building, damaging the beloved Art Collective studio and leaving the building without power for days. Now, of course, he’s living through COVID-19. Bruce is—like all of us—hopeful that the end of COVID-19 is within sight. He’s “Team Moderna” and eagerly received his vaccines when Community Access staff brought doses directly to his building. “COVID is just awful,” he said. “Hopefully, life will go on.” For now, Bruce is focusing on his artwork and making his apartment and his building the warmest and most welcoming it can be.
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“Being a human being to other human beings.” That is what Sha’worne Smith—a 22-year veteran employee of Community Access— says sustains her in her work, and what sets us apart from other nonprofit mental health agencies. “My mom lived with mental health and substance use issues, starting in her teenage years, and she struggled most of her adult life. As she sought treatment from so many providers, I saw the dehumanizing effects on her and her loss of autonomy. She dreamed of living the life that she wanted, but with too many people making decisions for her, she had too many external pressures. When I got to Community Access, I realized that things are different here: people are in control of their own lives.”
Employee Feature
SHA’WORNE SMITH
Sha’worne Smith started working at Community Access as a part-time front desk receptionist. More than two decades later, through hard work and a genuine connection to the mission and values of Community Access, she serves as program director for three community residences—transitional housing programs serving forty-four people who have histories of being hospitalized in psychiatric institutions, many of whom have also experienced homelessness.
Sha’worne joined Community Access in 1999 as a front desk receptionist, and was immediately inspired by the level of respect her colleagues showed tenants and an environment where human dignity is valued. Within a few years, she was promoted into a service coordinator role at Access House, an intensive community residence for individuals with acute mental health needs.
“I distinctly remember as a new service coordinator that I was working with an individual living with severe mental health issues who had been in the program for a few years. She was highly motivated to live on her own, but there were some barriers she thought would prevent her from doing so, including not being able to read. My colleagues and I fully supported her in working through anxieties and helping her come up with a plan to achieve what she wanted most: independence. It was really empowering to see her advocate for herself, build the skills and supports that would help her live on her own, and when she moved into her own apartment, she fulfilled her dream.” Sha’worne has since been promoted several times up to program director for all three of our community residences where, throughout the pandemic, she and her team have come to work every day to ensure that residents have access to essential services—mental health care, medication assistance, food and other concrete needs, as well as friendly faces. This consistent support helped everyone get through the toughest of times—while keeping people healthy along the way. Despite the ongoing public health crisis,
and the close quarters, residents had relatively low COVID-19 infection rates and hospitalizations—a testament to the efficacy of the team’s work and the protection offered by a stable home. Sha’worne wants people to know that she is only as good as the team around her. She says “none of this work would be possible” without the help of assistant program directors and service coordinators. While residents may face challenges outside the walls of the organization, Sha’worne sees residents as individuals just like her, with dreams and aspirations like everyone else. Seeing the common humanity of both residents and her colleagues is what inspired Sha’worne to fully commit to working at Community Access all those years ago, and it is what continues to inspire her when she comes to work today. “Community Access afforded me an opportunity to work with individuals in ways that I always hoped that people would have supported my mom. We approach our work with a genuine desire to be human beings—and to be allies with residents to help them fulfill their dreams.”
Doctors Without Borders visited Sha’worne and her team at the onset of the pandemic to brainstorm and share expertise in implementing public health directives in times of crisis.
Tenants are individuals “ just like me, with dreams and
aspirations like everyone else. —Sha’worne
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Welcome to Bruckner Blvd.
In the height of lockdown in NYC, Community Access completed construction of our newest supportive housing building and started moving individuals and families with children out of the shelter system.
HOME TO 215 HOUSEHOLDS
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Stephen H. Chase, President; Dan Wurtzel, Vice President; Ramesh Shah, Treasurer; Mary Massimo, Ph.D., Secretary Mary D’Souza, Martha Dabagian, Theodore Francavilla, Laura Gould, LCSW, Dr. Cynthia B. Green, Diane Louard-Michel, Barbara Malatesta, Adil Nathani, Catherine Patsos, Bradley Soto, and Jose Vazquez, Stategic Advisors: Anastasia Vournas, and David Kuperberg Trustees: John Turturro, Chair; Kendall Atterbury, Jeremy Greenberg, Sally Haver, Mark Reed, David Segura, Andrew Smith, Ariel Stillman, Rana and Matthew Strazza, and Andrew Wenner
www.communityaccess.org Community Access Senior Management: Cal Hedigan, Chief Executive Officer • Michelle Des Roches, Chief Program Officer • Christopher Lacovara, Chief Financial Officer and General Counsel John Williams, Chief Development and Communications Officer • Morenike Williams, Chief People Officer • Chris Alcazar, Chief Operating Officer C Magazine Credits: Design: JJKO Design • Featured Photography: Sean Sime and Anthony Leo • Communications: Anat Gerstein, Inc.