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429 West 127th Street, New York, NY 10027 phone: 212-222-3882 fax: 212-222-7067 online: www.africanservices.org
In This Issue
Seattle Benefit - Sept. 9, 2015!
#Home4AfricanServices
Summer Health Fair
TPS Extended to Nationals of Countries Hardest Hit by Ebola
World Hepatitis Day
Farewell Brunch
Fresh Veggies!
AFROPUNK 2015
Okayafrica presents Shabazz Palaces
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Sept. 9, 2015!

Mojito Seattle & Nectar Launch 
Massive ASC Ethiopia Benefit!


 

Sept. 9, 2015! We are so excited to announce Mojito owners Luam Wersom and Juan Carlos Ganz will be holding a massive fundraising event for ASC's Ethiopia clinics on Sept. 9, 2015 at Seattle's largest indoor and outdoor music venue Nectar: www.nectarlounge.com . 

 

Seattle friends, click here to get your tickets! 

 

Featuring six spectacular musical acts and a giant barbecue rotisserie pig roast, aptly titled "Feed the People," will also include a huge benefit raffle with proceeds directly going to ASC Ethiopia's pediatric HIV programs. Pure honey from ASC Ethiopia and striking photos from lauded photographer and filmmaker Haik Kocharian will also be on hand for sale.   

 

Please click here to donate. Simply scroll and select  "Mojito - Nectar Benefit for ASC Ethiopia " to designate the donation to ASC's Ethiopia program. 

 

Click here to learn more about the event as well as sponsorship opportunities.  

 

Pure honey from ASC's Ethiopia program  

 

News and Activities

#Home4AfricanServices 

   

 

African Services Committee is at the frontlines every day, striving to meet the needs of some of New York's most vulnerable people.  

 

We provide services to enhance immigrants' prospects of thriving in this country, and we do that through adult literacy programs, a food pantry, free legal assistance, HIV testing and counseling, housing and mental health help and health advocacy.  Started by a group of African refugees more than 30 years ago, we were here during the start of the AIDS crisis in New York, which continues to this day among the African Diaspora. And we have several HIV clinics in Africa, providing pediatric and adult HIV treatment in areas where there are no other services. 
 
BUT, we are being priced out of our lease. In order to continue doing what we do, we are looking to buy a building to create a permanent sustainable home for our mission and our clients. ASC has launched a $5.1 million capital campaign, which will result in a state-of-the-art, 31,250 square foot multi-purpose facility in the Bronx that will help thousands of new New Yorkers every year. This is not cheap, but it is something we can accomplish by combining our careful financial planning and help from you!

 

What can you do ?

 

JOIN our Make-it-Happen Campaign Committee. Have ideas? Resources? Space? Connections? Suggestions? Synergies?  We want to hear them!  Join us. Contact Co-Executive Director, Kim Nichols, at kimn@africanservices.org, or 212.222.3882 x
2119 to learn more.

GIVE to the Campaign .
Any amount (even $5) helps and we'll name parts of the facilities in your honor with gifts above $100,000. Click here  to Donate. Simply scroll and select "#Home4AfricanServices - Capital Campaign" in the designation section of the donation page. 

SPREAD the word. Follow us, Friend us, Tweet us! Battle it out with your friends and colleagues to see whose followers raise the most (get the Rooftop Garden named after you if you raise $250,000!). Or just tell your friends about the hard work we do:

Twitter:  
@AfricanServices
#Home4AfricanServices
Website: 
africanservices.com/Home4AfricanServices
Instagram: AfricanServices 
Facebook: African Services Committee 
 
PARTY with us. Throw a party, concert, sports event, dinner or other cultural event to raise awareness (we'll help), or follow us on Twitter to see what fun events we have planned.

We invite you to join us. To visit our community center in Harlem and our clinics in Ethiopia. To talk to our clients who have triumphed over incredible challenges and the staff that helped secure those triumphs. 

To call us and brainstorm new ideas to get this going.  To volunteer, to show up and to give openly.


If you would like to learn more about African Services Committee, please contact Co-Executive Director, Kim Nichols, at kimn@africanservices.org, or 212. 222.3882 x 2119 or Founder and Co-Executive Director, Asfaha Hadera, at asfahah@africanservices.org, or 212. 222.3882 x 2147.  
 
Click here to learn more.

   

Published Work   

Health Screening & Counseling

 

ASC, Partners Hold 
 Staten Island Summer  
Health Fair

 

African Services partnered once again with the Staten Island Liberian Community Association (SILCA) as well as Community Health Action of Staten Island, The United States Sierra Leonean Association, Guinean Association of Staten Island, Project Hospitality, and Staten Island Mental Health Society for a Summer Health Fair on Aug. 1st at SILCA, 180 Park Hill.  

 

The fair offered free testing for hepatitis B and C, blood glucose, blood pressure, among other tests.  Healthcare navigators were also on hand. More than 20 members of the community received services.  

 

Our screening staff has also recently launched a mobile testing site at SILCA's outdoor market on Wednesday afternoons throughout the summer. The site offers free, confidential testing to market-goers.    

 

African Services operates an on-site testing center at our offices in Harlem as a resource for all New Yorkers seeking free and confidential testing for HIV, hepatitis B and C, sexually transmitted diseases, pregnancy, diabetes and blood pressure.

ASC's multilingual staff provides counseling, testing and health education in a supportive and caring environment. They speak English, French, Spanish and many African languages. Referrals for free treatment and care are provided regardless of immigration status. The testing center is vital gateway to health care for immigrants and an important part of our HIV prevention programs, which emphasize the importance of knowing status and early intervention.

 

Walk-ins are welcome Monday to Friday from 9 am to 4 pm. Tests take only 20 minutes.  

 

Click here to learn more.  

 

 

 

Follow us on Instagram! 

 

 Ebola-Related Temporary Protected Status 

TPS Extended to Nationals of Countries Hardest Hit by Ebola
New deadline is Aug. 18, 2015


November 20, 2014 marked an important day for nationals from Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea living in the United States on that historic day, as they received news regarding immigration relief in the form of Temporary Protected Status, or TPS. Temporary in nature, the grant of TPS for the three countries affected most by Ebola was for a period of 18 months. The initial registration period was from Nov. 21, 2014 to May 20, 2015. This deadline has been extended to Aug. 14, 2015. It requires that an individual is a national from Liberia, Sierra Leone or Guinea, that they can document they were present in the U.S. on the day of the designation, which is Nov. 20, 2014, and also that they have been in the U.S. since that time.

Ebola-related TPS seekers must show that they are admissible otherwise, which means that individuals with previous interaction with immigration or who have a criminal history may not be eligible and should consult with a lawyer. if someone is granted TPS they are eligible to apply for employment authorization to get a work permit, and eligible to apply for a travel document. Once employment authorization is granted, one can apply for a social security number. TPS is a temporary benefit status for nationals of designated countries, usually those that have experienced a conflict, natural disaster, or some other extraordinary event. TPS gives these nationals a safe haven from feeling legally compelled to return to their country while their country experiences one of these extreme events. Haiti was designated as eligible for TPS following the earthquake in 2010.

"The general rationale behind TPS is that in circumstances of conflict or a natural disaster, it is not safe for a national of the designated country to be returned to their country during the crisis, so they should be granted status in the United States," said former ASC Supervising Attorney Kate Webster. "Also, given those extraordinary circumstances, nationals of the country in crisis should be allowed to work in the United States, not only to support themselves, but also to be able to send money home to friends and relatives who could be suffering from the conflict or natural disaster."

ASC, Partners Hold Free Legal Clinic on Ebola-Related TPS
 
On Aug, 1 2015 African Services Committee's legal team collaborated with Empowerment Zone, the Staten Island Liberian Community Association, the United States Sierra Leonean Association, the Guinean Association of Staten Island, the City Bar Justice Center, and volunteer attorneys from around the city, to conduct the third free Ebola-related temporary protected status (TPS) legal clinic for nationals of Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia. The clinic took place at Empowerment Zone's Recreation Room at 160 Park Hill, Staten Island. 

 

Click here to view and download the TPS checklist in English and here for the French version.

 

For more information or questions about the clinic call 212.222.3882 or email  immigration@africanservices.org.

 

   

 

Raising Awareness 

World Hepatitis Day

African Services joined organizations from around the globe on World Hepatitis Day, July 28, to help raise awareness and advocate for those infected and affected by hepatitis.

 

World Hepatitis Day brings much-needed attention to the real-life impact of viral hepatitis. The World Health Organization estimates that nearly 400 million people have chronic viral hepatitis worldwide and most of them do not know they are infected. More than 1 million people die each year from causes related to viral hepatitis, commonly cirrhosis and liver cancer. It is important to know the risk factors for hepatitis, talk to family and friends who may be at risk, speak to your health care provider about treatment and strategies to remain healthy.

 

African Services offers free and confidential hepatitis B and C screening and navigation to free or affordable care, regardless of immigration status or ability to pay. 

 

Click here to learn more.


ASC was among the thousands who joined the World Health Organization, World Hepatitis Alliance "4000 Voices" Twitter campaign this year, which raised awareness on the deadly toll this silent disease takes each day.
 
 
Farewell Brunch


 

African Services Committee recently surprised beloved Supervising Attorney Kate Webster farewell with an over-the-top, Canadian-themed brunch (Yes, she moved to Canada!). Current and former staff, family, friends and many of Kate's clients over the years stopped by to wish her well and offer their gratitude for all her tireless work.   

 

Led by the party's "creative director," staff attorney Jessica Greenberg, along with ASC Superstorm Sandy Grant Coordinator Deirdre Stradone, ASC's legal team used their keen eye for detail, hard work and a great sense of humor to pull this off.  

 

Note the details: Canadian star -themed maple leaves hanging from the ceiling and photo-bombing most shots, a Buzzfeed Canada quiz, Canadian -themed cuisine, giant conference room door maple leaf (which Kate entered with Canada's national anthem "O-Canada!" playing in the background), and, yes, there was even a curling station.

 

You'll be missed Kate!  

 

Fresh Veggies!!

ASC's food pantry is full of beautiful fresh veggies once again this summer.

 

African Services' food pantry serves more than 6,500 individuals and families each year in need of supplemental nutrition. In addition to supplemental nutrition, pantry staff and volunteers lead weekly nutrition and cooking classes to assist clients in making the right nutrition choices for themselves and their families.

 

The food panty welcomes walk-ins Monday to Friday from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm. All first-time visitors must have a referral from a social services agency, community center or church.

 

Click here to learn more and check out the following photos of the first few batches of the season!

 

 

 

    

 

 

Fun in the City
Mildred Ngminebayihi, Paralegal recommends ...

   AFROPUNK 2015  


AfropunkFASHION: 'Matty The Neon' - Model Maty Sal Features In Photographer @KazumaTak's Captivating New Work For @SuperiorMag More images -> AFROPUNK.COM

 

AFROPUNK 2015 is returning to Brooklyn's Commodore Barry Park, also known as City Park, for a weekend of live music, vibrant art and good vibes on August 22nd and 23rd. Described by the New York Times as "the most multicultural festival in the US," the word AFROPUNK itself has become synonymous with openĀ­ minded, nonĀ­conforming and unconventional, placing the institution at the epicenter of urban culture inspired by alternative music, according to AfroPunkFest website.

 

Learn more here.

Eirik Omlie, Communications Director Recommends ...

 

The Studio Museum in Harlem

Stanley Whitney Dance the Orange

Jul 16, 2015 - Oct 25, 2015

 

 

Stanley Whitney: Dance the Orange is now open though October 25. Photo: Adam Reich

 


The Studio Museum in Harlem presents Stanley Whitney: Dance the Orange, the first New York City solo museum exhibition of the work of a painter (born Philadelphia, 1946) whose intensely color-based abstractions have won steadily mounting recognition since the mid-1990s. The exhibition will feature twenty-eight paintings and works on paper created between 2008 and 2015, including the 2013 title work. Following time spent in Italy and then later in Egypt in the mid-1990s, Whitney developed the weighty, almost architectural approach that has now become his signature style. Rhythmic and lyrical, with a combination of pre-ordained structure and improvisation inspired in part by his love of jazz, the square-format paintings arrange rectangles of vivid, single colors in a deliberately irregular grid, with the close-fitting, many-hued "bricks" or "tiles" stacked vertically and arrayed in horizontal bands. 

 

Learn more here.

 

Eirik Omlie, Communications Director Recommends ...

 

  

Okayafrica presents Shabazz Palaces, the experimental hip-hop outfit comprising Ishmael Butler (aka Palaceer Lazaro) and Zimbabwe's Tendai 'Baba' Maraire, at New York City's Music Hall Of Williamsburg on August 5.

 

The Seattle-based group's Brooklyn show will one of  the last stops on their extensive North American and European tour in support of last year's Lese Majesty, an LP which boasted the standout singles "They Come In Gold,"  "#CAKE" and "Forerunner Foray." Click here to learn more.




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