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Casita Maria Celebrates its 90th Anniversary!
As Casita Maria welcomes 2024 and celebrates our 90th anniversary in service to East Harlem and the South Bronx, we look back on how the decades and recent years have affected our families and community residents. Despite major demographic and societal changes since 1934, the grip of poverty remains strong. What is also strong is our resolve to help the community and their determination to lead healthy, productive lives.
The last five years have taken a toll on the people we serve. We find that young people, in particular, are more anxious, insecure, and unsettled. They cope everyday with harsh physical, social, educational, and economic realities. How can anyone expect calm, focused behavior, which is required for learning, from young people who are consistently under duress? Their parents, caretakers, and family members are all doing their best to provide love and support, but they too are stressed beyond measure.
In keeping our commitment to serve as a safe place for learning, expression, and overall well being, Casita Maria is moving towards becoming a therapeutic environment staffed with empathetic and trauma-informed professionals. We are intentionally pivoting to address the overwhelming need for mental health support. For 90 years we have been a venue for arts, education, and cultural experiences. Now we are deepening our focus on expressive arts, social-emotional learning, and therapeutic recreation as a three-prong strategy to alleviate stress, redirect anger, and provide plenty of physical activity. By engaging children and adolescents in these developmental activities, we will help them gain the skills to process and manage their thoughts, emotions, and behaviors. As they practice and enhance their skills in self-regulation, they will build their confidence as learners, artists, and productive members of the community.
Our public facing programs such as the South Bronx Culture Festival, Parranda Navideña, Galeria Casita exhibitions, bilingual book clubs, and performances by our own BronX BandA Latin Jazz ensemble serve as the pinnacle experiences for our children, families, and community residents. It is in these venues where our young people practice their talents, see themselves in diverse professional performers, aspire to become artists, and contribute to the world. Beyond that, local residents of all backgrounds come together in their own neighborhood to celebrate varied cultures, share in the joy of the arts, and build a cohesive community.
In the coming months, we will be partnering with Astor Services and Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, Office of Field Practice to combine mental and public health professionals with teaching artists and group leaders to deliver a Whole Child approach to our work. After teaming up with Urban Health Plan in 2023 to receive Mental Health First Aid Training, we feel confident that we are well on our way to realizing a Creative Youth Development environment that also addresses the emotional well-being and mental health of our participants.
We want to thank our donors and supporters for making it possible for Casita Maria to continue being that oasis where families send their children to be safe and engaged in the kinds of developmental activities that will enrich and elevate their lives and the entire community.
If you believe in Casita Maria, please donate here.
Felix A. Urrutia Jr.
Executive Director
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