LaToya Charles is program director for St. Nicks Alliance afterschool at Madiba Prep. For the past three years under her leadership student participation has increased 40%.

In April, St. Nicks Alliance received a New York State Network for Youth Success Award for our work at Madiba Prep Middle School, in recognition for demonstrating the highest standards of quality in the field.

Sixth through eighth grade after-school students at Madiba Prep are benefiting from a variety of activities that involve: academic enrichment, debate, Broadway Junior®, cosmetology, dance, STEM/STEAM (with Robofun), sculpting, Genius Bar (Apple Inc.), basketball, flag football, soccer, cooking club, and more. This has led to a 40% increase in student participation over the past three years under the leadership of LaToya Charles, and she continues to raise the bar for how hundreds of North Brooklyn youth can flourish in afterschool. Currently, Madiba Prep’s total enrollment is 160.

LaToya provides students a foundation for success such as access to high-quality resources, inspiring role models, and opportunities to engage a variety of student interests that lead to advantageous future endeavors. Students have participated in the Google Certification program and business and cultural partnerships have broadened their achievement horizons. All this and more have resulted in improved academic outcomes and empowered students.

“[The New York State Network for Youth Success Awards] recognize individuals and programs across afterschool, summer, and expanded learning who have demonstrated exceptional dedication to strengthening the youth development field. Honorees have gone above and beyond in advocating for quality, equity, and innovation, elevating best practices, and advancing programs that create meaningful opportunities for young people. Awardees exemplify leadership, collaboration, and a deep commitment to ensuring youth thrive in supportive, engaging, and impactful learning environments,” states the Network for Youth Success website.

St. Nicks Alliance afterschool at Madiba Prep was recognized with the Program Award of Excellence and Innovation. To be in contention for this honor candidates must: be in operation for at least two years, offer enriching activities that promote higher learning, and incorporate collective strategies between family and the community to meet the after-school needs of its attendees.

Innovative pilot to meet needs of high acuity clients

Economic obstacles and changes within the supportive housing population have had harsh ramifications. Older adults, age 50+, now represent the fastest-growing demographic in supportive housing, with many entering homelessness and crisis systems for the first time.

St. Nicks Alliance has been selected by the Corporation for Supportive Housing (CSH) to lead a pilot initiative to better meet the needs of high acuity residents living in scatter-site supportive housing. This award will fund a new mobile wellness outreach team to benefit residents with overlapping areas of complex need, such as chronic health issues, substance use, and aging challenges.

Economic obstacles and changes within the supportive housing population have had harsh ramifications. Older adults, age 50+, now represent the fastest-growing demographic in supportive housing, with many entering homelessness and crisis systems for the first time. In addition, scatter-site supportive housing tenants are harder to reach because they live in units rented from private landlords throughout the city.

When CSH put out the call to supportive housing providers to create pilot programs that fill service gaps and enhance other operations in order to better serve high acuity residents, St. Nicks Alliance’s proposal was selected as one of four from a strongly competitive showing of organizations. We have the unique designation of being the only provider to serve clients in scatter-site, rather than congregate, settings. The $250K award, provided by a grant from the Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust, as well as technical assistance and support will underwrite the pilot for two years.

“A project like this with three important ingredients of evidence-based innovation – research, testing, and evaluation – bolstered by the deep bench of expertise from CSH and their partners to find solutions to this growing challenge for New Yorkers living with complex health issues in Supportive Housing, is one of the strongest doses of philanthropic support that we could apply to the problem,” said Tracy Perrizo, NYC program officer from the Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust.

St. Nicks Alliance’s new mobile outreach team will conduct comprehensive in-home assessments and provide ongoing support services including medication management, behavioral health support, and health education. This new team will coordinate with existing case managers and be integrated with community providers to facilitate warm hand-offs when clients stabilize.

As defined by the National Center for Housing + Health, “High Acuity refers to the severity of an individual’s physical, mental, and/or behavioral health condition(s), relative to the amount and intensity of care needed to retain housing and ensure safety for themselves, fellow tenants, and staff.”

As of June 1, the wellness outreach team has enrolled 30 residents in our supportive housing who could use more support.  In the last few weeks the team has started to make home visits to introduce themselves and do assessments.  The outreach team plans to serve around 60 tenants during the two-year pilot period. The hoped-for outcomes are: better housing retention, increased social service engagement, stronger physical and emotional stability, crisis reduction, and improved ability to care for self and home.