QCH is committed to serving the diverse neighborhoods of Queens every year, offering a support system to children, youth, adults, and older adults, helping them to develop the knowledge, confidence, and skills to change their lives for the better and become active participants in their larger community. Below are some highlights from a memorable 2023.

EMBEDDING FAMILY SUPPORT SERVICES

At the height of the pandemic, QCH implemented a comprehensive response structure that included full household assessments, systems for referrals and benefits screening, and cash grants for emergency needs. We soon recognized that the families most impacted by the crisis were those whose situations were already fragile beforehand. In response, post-COVID we have created a team of four Family Support Coordinators (FSCs) who work closely with households facing multiple, deep-rooted challenges and help them access opportunities that will enable them to thrive in the long run. This year, our FSCs served 340 households with comprehensive case support. Our aim is the long-term stability of these households, to prepare them to weather future crises.

QUEENS POWER ACTIONS INFLUENCE STATE HOUSING PLAN

QCH is a member of Queens Power, a coalition of faith communities, social service organizations, and unions organizing to ensure a more just just and equitable borough for all residents. With rents skyrocketing across the borough, many working people, who have lived in Queens for generations, are now being forced out. For two years, Queens Power has been demanding that the state-owned land at the Creedmoor campus be used for affordable housing. After a camapaign that included door-to-door canvassing, a rally of 1,200+ people at Creedmoor in June, and several protests outside of Governor Hochul’s Manhattan office, we have seen movement towards our vision via the "master plan" released by the State earlier this month. Creedmoor: Community Master Plan commits to building 2,800 affordable units (the State originally said their max was 1,000), including 1,633 units for home ownership. This plan reflects an important shift in conversation around the vision for Creedmoor, and we look forward to continuing to fight for housing affordability.

QCH OFFERS “PATHWAYS” TO YOUNG ADULTS

For two decades, QCH has been helping youth who struggled in high school to transition from school to productive adulthood and living-wage jobs. We have learned that many of these young adults are not college-ready when they graduate and that most will change direction several times in their path to career success. As such, this year we have integrated our college access and youth employment services into a program we call Pathways. Pathways provides continuity that ensures young people who may encounter obstacles along their career path have options should they need or want to pivot. All Pathways participants are supported to set goals, acquire skills and a degree/certification, and, ultimately, access in-demand jobs which offer higher wages and a career path.

LONGEVITY AND NEW BEGINNINGS FOR QCH OLDER ADULT CENTERS

This year, we celebrated both longevity and new beginnings for our older adult centers. In June, neighbors from Rego Park and across the borough joined to celebrate 45 years of the Rego Park Older Adult Center serving the community. A few miles from Rego Park in the same month, we held the grand opening of the Jamaica Older Adult Center, marking our 6th older adult center in the borough. Over the past four decades, QCH staff at our older adult centers have committed to establishing and maintaining culturally-rich environments where older adults can engage with peers, make new friends, enjoy a hot meal, keep physically active, learn new skills and explore new interests, and give back through volunteer opportunities. We’re excited to replicate what we learned from our 45 years operating older adult centers to ensure our newest site can serve older adults in Jamaica for years to come.

BUILDING INTERGENERATIONAL CONNECTIONS

Building intergenerational connections has always been a part of QCH's settlement house model. During a recent staff retreat, we focused on creative ways to strengthen relationships across generations, and throughout the year, we were able to see many of those ideas come to fruition. Activities included a Lunar New Year celebration at the Beacon Community Center at PS 149; a photography project bringing together our LGBTQ+ youth and members of our Queens Center for Gay Seniors; ping-pong competitions between participants in our Forest Hills Older Adult Center and students from our YABC at the High School for Arts & Business; an "e-basics" tech support class, where teens volunteer to teach older adults how to use smartphones, computers, and other digital devices; and a Soap Box Derby in Flushing Meadows, where young adults from our YouthBuild program constructed the cars, participants of our teen program worked on the overall design and paint of the cars, and our after-school youth served as drivers. 

QUEENS CHILDCARE NETWORK AWARDED IN NYC PARTICIPATORY BUDGETING PROCESS

We were very pleased to be one of three Queens projects awarded $280,000 as a result of NYC’s first-ever citywide participatory budgeting process. This spring, tens of thousands of New Yorkers ages 11 and over voted on how to spend more than $5 million of the city's budget on borough needs. Our own Queens Childcare Network (QCCN) was one of three projects awarded. With this grant, QCCN will provide free and accessible parental support within early childhood centers/elementary schools; enhance parent wellness and stability for marginalized families by offering monthly educational sessions on parenting topics; develop an online Parent Resource Directory; and coordinate a Parent Help Line to guide parents in need of referrals for childcare, educational, medical, behavioral, mental health, legal, vocational, or social services.