Dear friends,

As we emerge from the winter months to brighter and warmer days, we look forward to the many opportunities ahead to engage with our communities in meaningful, creative ways. With spring upon us, we are in the midst of planning the 2023 Loisaida Festival in partnership with our beloved affiliate, The Loisaida Center, which promises to bring love, light, and creative placemaking in all its forms to the Lower East Side community on Sunday, May 28th, 2023. 

And that is what it’s all about! With a deep commitment to our communities and the conviction that the arts are a vehicle for healing and transformation, Acacia Network is continually looking for ways to imbue our programs with elements that drive inspiration and foster self-expression – from music and dancing to painting and creative writing. 

At our transitional housing sites, where we welcomed over 1,200 homeless asylum seekers, we developed an innovative Arts & Language Enrichment Program for migrant kids and adults to encourage socialization, language attainment, and skills-building, while aiding their transition into life in this country. Meanwhile, at our residential treatment facilities, we launched a Creative Mindfulness Program to support men and women in their journeys toward recovery, by providing a space for internal reflection and artistic expression. Those interested in learning more should join us at our upcoming Julio Martinez Memorial Fund Breakfast, where we’ll hear firsthand accounts from people impacted by these programs.

On the housing front, we celebrated two major milestones last month as we held the ribbon-cutting ceremony at La Plaza de Virginia in Buffalo and the kick-off of the CDBG-DR improvements project at Palacio Dorado in Puerto Rico, both of which are affordable housing developments for low-income seniors. 

These are only a few ways in which Acacia Network and our affiliates are transforming lives in our communities. Please read on to learn more!

As always, I am humbled by the resilience of our community members and inspired everyday to do more and do better. Thank you to our staff, leaders, partners, and supporters for making our work possible.

Gracias,

Lymaris Albors

CEO

P.S. Please join us at our Julio Martinez Memorial Fund Breakfast on June 15, 2023. Your support enables us to continue making an impact on vulnerable individuals whose lives have been touched by addiction and homelessness.

Born in Drobo, Ghana to a family of farmers, Gotfred Effah emigrated to the United States at the age of 25. Today, he is a proud father of two and works as a Shift Supervisor at a transitional housing site operated by Acacia Network Housing (ANH), serving vulnerable homeless individuals. He is also a proud member of Acacia’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Council, which builds upon our commitment to diversity and cultivates transformative change across the organization to implement initiatives and best practices that are rooted in principles of equity.

Growing up with 7 siblings, the value of hard work and the importance of contributing to the household were instilled in Gotfred at an early age, which is why he always strived to help his family at the farm and do well in school. Understanding the importance of a good education, he graduated from high school and pursued university studies, completing a bachelor’s in business administration from Catholic University. When the opportunity to emigrate to the U.S. arose in 2014, he decided to pursue it in the search of a better life and a desire to inspire others.

Once in New York, he found a job to make ends meet and began networking, while embarking on new academic pursuits at Monroe College in New Rochelle, where he completed a master’s in business administration. His journey at Acacia began in 2019, where he discovered his passion for community service while working at one of our homeless shelters in Brooklyn. Since then, he has continued to apply himself to his job, learn new skills, and expand his scope by joining the DEI Council. He says that what makes him proud about the work he does is knowing that he has an opportunity to make a difference. 

“The DEI Council is a gamechanger for Acacia,” says Gotfred. “Education begins inside with our own employees, and we still have a lot of work to do, especially with frontline staff. I look forward to being an ambassador for this work.”

Acacia Network is proud to be amongst the organizations that were recently awarded federal funding to provide behavioral health and addiction services across New York City homeless shelters.

Through an innovative collaboration between the NYS Office of Addiction Services and Supports (OASAS), the NYS Office of Temporary & Disability Assistance (OTDA), and the NYC Department of Homeless Services (DHS), Acacia Network was awarded $625,000 in funding, which will enable us to embed mental health services, substance use treatment, and harm reduction services at five (5) transitional housing sites throughout four boroughs in the City, including Manhattan, The Bronx, Queens, and Brooklyn. 

Thank you to Governor Kathy Hochul and the State of New York for their continued commitment to tackling the opioid epidemic and supporting programs that save lives, particularly in underserved populations who are most at risk of overdose and death.

CLICK HERE to read Governor Hochul’s announcement.

Last month, Acacia Network’s primary care arm, La Casa de Salud, held its first annual Quality Improvement (QI) Ceremony, during which they examined performance measures and best practices of their federally qualified health centers (FQHCs), celebrated milestones, and recognized their teams on all of their hard work. It was an inspiring and engaging event that brought together executives, staff, and board members during a morning filled of team-building, networking, presentations, awards, and learning.

In other news, La Casa de Salud was proud to be amongst the first FQHCs to join Zocdoc, as the company sought to expand its presence across underrepresented areas in order to reach more patients from low-income communities, including those with Medicaid and Medicare.

Lauren Mendenhall, Executive Director of La Casa de Salud, was featured in Crain’s Health Pulse noting that the partnership with Zocdoc has enabled us to better market our services, increase visibility, and reach patients that we would otherwise not reach through traditional marketing methods.

CLICK HERE for the scoop from Crain's Health Pulse!

In 2021, Acacia Network received funding from the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) through the UnidosUS Esperanza Hope for All Program to develop programming to tackle vaccine misinformation amongst Latinos, particularly with regards to COVID-19 and flu.

What resulted from this grant was a creative partnership between Acacia Network and the Loisaida Inc. Media & Technology Center, through which we developed a series of multilingual public service announcements (PSAs) that we titled Journey to Immunity. Our series follows a quirky and unusual “Vaccine Champion” in his heroic quest to spread awareness and dispel myths about COVID-19 and flu vaccines. 

As we begin Year 3 of the COVID-19 pandemic, we realize that we are entering into a new post-pandemic future, with a need to reimagine our efforts. Our journey to immunity is far from over and our Vaccine Hero has embarked on his most dangerous quest of all, facing his biggest foes yet.

Watch episode 1 and episode 2 of our epic trilogy, Quest for Immunity.

The Education & Youth Development programs operated by our affiliate, the Community Association of Progressive Dominicans (ACDP), held their 2023 Youth Film Festival on April 6, 2023 at the SVA Theatre on 333 West 23rd Street in New York. The ACDP Film Festival provides an opportunity for youth program participants to showcase their movie-making skills and see their accomplishments on the big screen.

All students enrolled in our elementary, middle school, and high school programs have an opportunity to participate in this creative endeavor to instill a love for film and filmmaking in underserved youth. Youth program participants themselves are in charge of developing the scripts, directing, and editing, with adult supervision limited to an advisory capacity.

During the 2023 ACDP Film Festival, we screened a total of 11 films, which ranged from educational topics around cooking to mystery / thriller films. Films included "The Last Sleepover" by the Cornerstone Murphy program; "Beacon Cooking Show" by Beacon IS 117; "The Lunch Bully" by the Cornerstone Sedgwick program; "Pop Rally" by School in the Square; "Killer Academy" by Compass MS243; "Sarah" by Beacon MS328; "Grade A The Heist" by IS210; "Downtown" by PS48; "After School Rocks" / "My Story" by PS28 Wright Brothers; "RUN" by MS243, and "The Last Picture" by PS48.

Congratulations to the talented youth who participated in this incredible program!

Our affiliate in East Harlem, El Barrio's Operation Fightback, Inc. (EBOF), operates a FREE Certified Home Health Aide program in English and Spanish that trains hundreds of individuals every year and helps them find employment.

On March 31st, EBOF celebrated a graduation ceremony for a class of 10 students who successfully completed the Home Health Aide course. Congrats to the graduates and best wishes in your careers!

CLICK HERE to learn more about this program.

Our arts & culture affiliate –The Loisaida Inc. Center– is excited to announce that its 36th Annual Loisaida Festival will take place Sunday, May 28th, 2023, along Loisaida Avenue (Avenue C) in the Lower East Side. Since 1987, the Loisaida Festival has been the largest Latino community celebration of Lower Manhattan, growing annually in size, excitement, and impact. 

In keeping with our annual tradition, this year’s Loisaida Festival will represent a culmination of the year-round programming that has taken place at the Loisaida Center, highlighting new and ongoing partnerships that serve individuals of all ages and backgrounds living in the Lower East Side and beyond. There are two initiatives that are especially significant for us this year: Ecolibrium (Loisaida’s Environmental Justice and Sustainability Initiative that has already received recognition from City and State agencies) and La Cocina de Loisaida (our teaching commercial kitchen, to be inaugurated this year).

Each year, the festival’s main stage and pre-festival activities are graced with the presence of distinguished organizational leaders, elected and government officials, top tier musical entertainers, and artistic performers. We hope you will consider supporting us this year and attending the Festival!

On Wednesday, March 29th, Acacia Network and our affiliate Hispanos Unidos de Buffalo (HUB) were proud to join partners and friends as we celebrated the Ribbon-Cutting Ceremony at La Plaza de Virginia, a 46-unit mixed-use affordable & supportive housing development for low-income and formerly homeless seniors.

We thank Mayor Byron Brown, Secretary of State Robert Rodriguez, NYS Homes and Community Renewal (HCR) Assistant Commissioner Leonard Skrill, Empire State Development (ESD) WNY Regional Director Karen Utz, and Council Member David A. Rivera, as well as our esteemed Board Members, Chairwoman Carmen Villa-Lugo Esq. and Eliezer Rodriguez Esq., for sharing remarks during this special event.

Thanks to all who made this project possible, which today serves as a testament to the incredible results that can be accomplished when minority, nonprofit affordable housing developers come together with public and private partners to develop mission-driven projects that respond to the needs of our communities.

CLICK HERE to read Governor Hochul’s announcement.

In partnership with Somos Inc., Acacia Network and our Albany affiliate Capital District LATINOS (CDL) hosted the SOMOS Uptown Reception & Panel Discussion on Friday, March 10th at CDL’s Cultural Empowerment & Community Engagement Center. The event was attended by 150+ friends and partners from the public, private, and nonprofit sectors.

The networking reception was preceded by a thoughtful panel discussion to explore how the public and nonprofit sectors have addressed the needs of the rapidly growing migrant population in the Capital District. Among other topics, panelists explored the depths of the immigration crisis from an Upstate New York perspective, and looked into data regarding the newly arrived population and their most pressing needs.

We thank our esteemed panelists –Assemblywoman Catalina Cruz, Esq. (District 39); Assemblyman Jonathan Rivera (District 149); Lauren DesRosiers (Albany Law School); Meghan Maloney de Zaldivar (New York Immigration Coalition); Lina Hernandez, PhD (Licensed Psychologist), and Micky Jiménez (Capital District LATINOS)—for their participation, as well as our moderator, CDL Chairman Dan Irizarry.

CLICK HERE for the story published by the Times Union!

Our newest affiliate, Out of The Darkness, provides transitional housing and support to women in recovery in Rochester. This small, Puerto Rican-founded and led organization was born out of a desire to help women struggling with substance use disorder –many of whom are also justice-involved– to get back on their feet, achieve recovery, and lead stable lives. 

The program facility –initially a single-family home that was equipped to house 14 program participants at a time– was in need of repairs and improvements to ensure a safer and more comfortable environment for its clients. 

Acacia Network and Out of the Darkness worked together to make the needed modifications to the interior spaces, including basic remodeling and/or refreshing of common living areas, new furniture and appliances, amongst other improvements.

On Thursday, March 30th, the Puerto Rico Department of Housing and Acacia Network celebrated the kick-off of the CDBG-DR improvements project at Palacio Dorado in Toa Alta, Puerto Rico, our 103-unit affordable housing development for low-income elderly.

As a Puerto Rican-founded organization, Acacia Network is proud to continue collaborating with government partners and community-based organizations on the ground to improve the quality of life for vulnerable Puerto Ricans. We are grateful to the Government of Puerto Rico, the Puerto Rico Department of Housing and its Secretary William Rodríguez-Rodríguez, as well as the CDBG-DR Puerto Rico Program for supporting our resiliency initiatives at Palacio Dorado.

CLICK HERE for news coverage of this milestone!

Julio Martinez Memorial Fund Breakfast

Thursday, June 15, 2023

New York Botanical Garden, Garden Terrace Room

2900 Southern Blvd, Bronx, NY 10458

Acacia Network Gala

Tuesday, October 3, 2023

NEW LOCATION: Ziegfeld Theatre

1341 6th Avenue, NY, NY 10105