A citywide health program based on community health centers

Aerial shot of Manhattan island

Aerial shot of Manhattan island Shutterstock

Bank of America announced $3 million in grants to nonprofits in the New York metro area. Among the 30 nonprofits the bank is partnering with is Win, headed by former New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn. The bank has given out $45 million in grants to local nonprofits since 2014. 

The National Endowment for the Humanities recently unveiled a final round of grants for this fiscal year, totaling $29 million in giving for the period. Who’s getting those grants in New York? The Strong Museum in Rochester, for an exhibition on “the history and cultural impact of video games,” and the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum for summer institutes for K-12 teachers. The New York City Municipal Archives received funds as well. 

 

The New York City Council gave a boost in discretionary funding to Asian Pacific American-led and serving organizations. It gave 74 such organizations a total of $2.9 million this fiscal year, according to the Coalition for Asian American Children and Families. That funding was about $500,000 higher compared with the last fiscal year, a win for organizations such as the Korean American Family Service Center and the South Asian Council for Social Services.

“We want to ensure that as our community expands that the level of funding rises to meet our growing needs,” said Anita Gundanna and Vanessa Leung, co-executive directors of the coalition, via press release. “Our organizations are frequently the only ones who provide quality language accessible and culturally competent services necessary for our communities’ survival and growth.”

 

The New York City Department of Homeless Services awarded a $16.6 million contract to the Institute for Community Living. The funds will go toward providing shelter services to homeless single adults at 78 Catherine St. in Manhattan, according to the City Record. The nonprofit also recently received $3.4 million from the department for shelter services in Long Island City.

 

New York City Council members introduced legislation to create a citywide health program based on community health centers. Speaker Corey Johnson and Council members Mark Levine and Carlina Rivera are pushing for the bill, which would give uninsured New Yorkers, including undocumented immigrants, access to primary health care through such centers. San Francisco and Los Angeles already have similar municipal health programs, Documented reported in December, though it would likely be stymied by cost concerns and legal challenges. 

The bill would build upon NYC Care, an initiative from Mayor Bill de Blasio that provides uninsured New Yorkers with a card to access services through the city’s public hospital network.

 

Nonprofit Westchester announced four new members on Monday. Mercy College, Hope’s Door, the harris project and SPARC, Inc. joined 162 other nonprofits represented by Nonprofit Westchester. Mercy College is a Dobbs-Ferry-based independent college with roughly 9,000 undergraduate and graduate students. Hope’s Door supports survivors of domestic violence, while the harris project advances prevention and treatment for people with co-occurring disorders, who have both substance use and mental health disorders. SPARC, Inc. focuses its services on children and adults with intellectual and mental disabilities.