A MESSAGE FROM OUR PRESIDENT & CEO |
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Acacia Network was built on a few key foundational principles that sought to rescue, restore, and protect the valuable community assets, legacy, and programs created by Bronx-based pioneers within the housing, health, and addiction recovery fields to improve the quality of life of under-resourced communities. Today, our organization has expanded beyond the wildest dreams of those early pioneers, such as Julio Martínez and Ramón Vélez, among others, without whose trailblazing efforts our work would not be possible today.
Today, Acacia Network and our affiliates serve more than 150,000 individuals of all ages across New York State, as well as five additional states and Puerto Rico. Our programs utilize a holistic approach to meet the needs of every individual that comes through our doors: from housing, education, and employment needs, to primary care and behavioral health, nutrition, and cultural access.
As we approach Memorial Day, we would like to take a moment to honor our fallen military heroes, while extending a helping hand to veterans in our communities. Thank you for your service! We are here for you.
We wish you a healthy and peaceful Memorial Day Celebration, and invite you to tune into Part 2 of the 34th Annual Loisaida Festival, which will air this Sunday, May 30th at 2:00PM through the YouTube and Facebook channels of our arts & culture affiliate, Loisaida Inc. CLICK HERE to watch a preview!
Cordially,
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Raul Russi
President & CEO
P.S. Don't forget to join us at our Annual Julio Martínez Memorial Fund Breakfast on Thursday, June 17th from 8:30-11:30AM. This is our first in-person fundraising event since the COVID-19 shutdown in early 2020. We look forward to seeing you there!
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HONORING OUR FALLEN HEROES & VETERANS |
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Today and everyday, Acacia Network honors the brave members of the U.S. armed forces who died serving our country, and we honor our living veterans, who deserve our utmost respect and support.
If you are a veteran in need of services or know someone who is, please contact us so we may be of assistance. Our program for veterans seeks to assess and meet veteran job-training needs, connect veterans to employment opportunities in an in-demand industry, and address supportive service needs of veterans, including housing. CLICK HERE for more information!
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OUR IMPACT: 2020 AT A GLANCE |
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Featured Profile: Norma Iris Díaz Colón |
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Cultivating Wellness in Puerto Rico |
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Norma Iris Díaz Colón was one of the first residents to move into Acacia Network’s Palacio Dorado affordable housing development in Toa Alta, Puerto Rico, which provides housing for seniors ages 62 and older.
She has been living at Palacio Dorado for close to three years now, and is thankful for the opportunity to rely on safe, permanently affordable housing within a complex that was built with the ideals of sustainability, green living, and resident wellness in mind. That’s because Palacio Dorado, which was awarded an ENERGY STAR score of 100, not only incorporates principles of energy-efficient design, but it provides an array of community amenities and services to its residents, such as a community room, library, wellness facilities and activities, among others.
Norma’s favorite spot? The Palacio Dorado garden, which she tends to on a daily basis. The garden –which is cared for by dedicated residents such as Norma– produces vegetables and herbs for everyone to enjoy, such as tomatoes, eggplant, basil, cilantro, among others.
More recently, Palacio Dorado was awarded funding through the Community Development Block Grant - Disaster Relief (CDBG-DR) program to make improvements such as solar panels, air conditioning in community rooms, and more. CLICK HERE for more information on this huge milestone!
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FEATURED HIGHLIGHTS... OUR WORK ON THE GROUND |
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Sneak Peek: COVID-19 Education Campaign |
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Acacia Network is proud to launch a series of public service announcements (PSAs) as part of a robust multi-platform COVID-19 vaccine outreach campaign that seeks to spread awareness about COVID-19 and promote vaccine uptake in hard-to-reach communities, while dispelling myths and misconceptions among those experiencing high rates of hesitancy, such as the Latinx/Hispanic community.
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Spreading Mental Health Awareness in May |
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Acacia Network and our affiliate, the Community Association of Progressive Dominicans (ACDP), spoke with Univision 41 Nueva York recently about NY Project Hope, New York State’s COVID-19 Crisis Counseling Program. As part of this program, we provide FREE and CONFIDENTIAL one-on-one crisis counseling, as well as information, education, emotional support, resources, and referrals.
NY Project Hope is a program of the NYS Office of Mental Health, funded by the Federal Emergency Management Agency and administered by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.
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Supporting Local Efforts in Puerto Rico |
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In addition, we coordinated local vaccination efforts through a collaboration with Puerto Rico Salud to ensure COVID-19 vaccine access to at-risk communities. From March through May 2021, Acacia Network and Puerto Rico Salud inoculated a total of 500 eligible individuals during six (6) vaccination events.
Special thanks to our local partners Ministerio Marc, Puerto Rico Salud, EDP University, Colegio de Profesionales de la Enfermería de Puerto Rico, and Plataforma Eje, whose efforts have been essential to the success of these initiatives
We are also thrilled to announce that we’ve achieved yet another milestone in our most recent construction project in Puerto Rico, as we have installed walls on our Resilient Prototype Home in Caguas (pictured below). With expected completion by Fall of this year, this innovative housing development will provide long-term sustainable, green, and resilient housing for low-moderate income families, while creating a scalable model for implementation across the island and in other disaster and non-disaster areas.
Our Chief Operating Officer, Lymaris Albors, was recently onsite in Puerto Rico with WAPA Pégate al Mediodía, telling them all about this development. CLICK HERE to watch the interview!
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Expanding our Footprint in Upstate NY |
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Acacia Network and our Upstate New York affiliate, Hispanos Unidos de Buffalo (HUB), recently commenced construction on La Plaza de Virginia, a $17.1 million 46-unit mixed-use affordable housing development serving low-income seniors ages 55 and above. We were recently onsite for the first owner construction site visit, and are thrilled to see the progress!
This project will combine elements of green building design that promote environmental sustainability, while providing access to a robust array of supportive services and community resources. All 46 one-bedroom apartments will serve households with incomes at or below 60% of the area median income (AMI), with 14 Empire State Supportive Housing Initiative (ESSHI) units set aside for formerly homeless seniors at or below 30% AMI, who will receive supportive services to assist them in transitioning into congregate housing and achieving housing stability. For more info, CLICK HERE!
In addition, we're excited to continue growing our footprint in the Upstate NY region by expanding our services to the City of Dunkirk through the provision of bilingual mobile services! Acacia Network and our affiliate, Promesa Inc., have been licensed by OASAS to operate a mobile addiction treatment unit through the Center of Treatment Innovation (COTI).
The Safe Point Lighthouse COTI Mobile Unit currently serves the City of Dunkirk in Chautauqua County, and will expand to Cattaraugus, Allegany, Wyoming & Erie Counties. It has an Onsite Counselor, Peer Specialist & Nurse Practitioner, and provides Screenings and Intake, Treatment for Chemical and Alcohol Dependency, Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT), Peer Services, DWI Assessments, among other services.
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Celebrating our Resiliency through the Arts |
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¡Éxito total! [Part 1] of the 34th Annual [Virtual] Loisaida Festival was a complete success, offering a two-hour multicultural bonanza of music, performances, and community art-making from the Lower East Side [LES] to thousands of viewers on Sunday, May 23rd, with artists such as Linda Díaz, Fernando Allende, Chabela Rodríguez, Batalá, and many more.
¡Pero la fiesta no se acaba! [The party's not over!] Tune in THIS SUNDAY, MAY 30 AT 2:00PM on Loisaida's Facebook and YouTube to catch [Part 2] of the Loisaida Festival, featuring the sounds of Afro-Caribbean/electronic music project ÌFÉ and acclaimed local contemporary R&B Soul-Jazz artist Duendita, among other amazing guest artists!
The 34th Annual Loisaida Festival, produced by our arts & culture affiliate Loisaida Inc, was made possible with funding and support from: Popular Bank, Phipps Houses, Hispanic Federation, The New York Community Trust, The Howard Gilman Foundation, New York City Department of Cultural Affairs (DCLA), NYC Department of Youth and Community Development (DYCD), Hon. Carlina Rivera, NYC District 2 Council Member, Assembly Member Harvey Epstein, and State Senator Brad Hoylman.
Special thanks to: Elizabeth Colón, Luis Rivera Fargas, Rolando Politi, Darryl J. Padilla, Oscar d’Angeac, Deinya Phenix, Yari Helfeld, Julio César Morales, Bio Bus, UPR – Recinto de Arecibo, Prof. Anilyn Diaz, Helen Ceballos, Lauren Margolis, Guillo Torres Rivera, San Juan Marriott Resort & Stellaris Casino, Jake Cheriff, Caron Veazey, La Plaza Cultural de Armando Pérez, 9C Community Garden, Fundación Nacional Para la Cultura Popular, Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña, BRIC/Brooklyn Free Speech, BronxNet, Casa Adela, Essex Market, LES Sports Academy, El Jardín del Amanecer Community Garden, and PSA-4.
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COMMUNITY RESOURCE CENTER |
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The COVID-19 vaccine is currently available for all New York State residents age 12 and older. Minors under the age of 18 can only receive the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine, and Acacia Network is currently only offering the Moderna vaccine. Therefore, we can only make appointments at our community health centers for individuals ages 18+ at this time.
Please note: Due to high demand, we may not have appointment availability at the time of your inquiry. Please know that we are working with our City and State partners to ensure additional vaccine supplies to meet the needs of our communities.
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In an effort to ensure widespread testing in our community, Acacia Network continues to offer COVID-19 testing to our clients, staff, and community members. We are conducting COVID-19 nasal swab tests for those who suspect they might currently be infected with COVID-19, as well as COVID-19 antibody blood tests for those who suspect they might have had COVID-19 in the past.
We accept most insurance plans, as well as Medicaid and Medicare. We also offer sliding scale and/or free testing for uninsured patients.
For more info or to make an appointment, please call: (347)352-2484 or (718)734-2539.
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Learn More About our Work & Services |
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Acacia Network and our affiliates provide integrated, culturally-competent, and trauma-informed services to more than 150,000 individuals of all ages every year. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, we have continued to provide uninterrupted access to critical resources to ensure that those most at risk are able to overcome the challenges of mental health and addiction disorders, chronic health conditions, poverty, housing insecurity and homelessness, food inequality, economic hardship and unemployment, educational barriers, cultural alienation, among others.
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Acacia Network is pleased to invite you to our Julio Martinez Memorial Fund (JMMF) Breakfast on Thursday, June 17, 2021 from 8:30-11:00AM at the New York Botanical Garden. This annual fundraising event supports our addiction prevention, treatment, and recovery efforts in the communities hardest hit by the opioid epidemic, such as the South Bronx.
Funds raised through the JMMF Breakfast support a wide array of programs and initiatives carried out by Acacia and our affiliates in the areas of substance use treatment and addiction prevention, including services for underserved youth and families experiencing homelessness.
Your support is critical. Now more than ever, as our communities continue to be among the hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, we must redouble our efforts to ensure that we don’t continue to lose more lives as a result of addiction.
Ways to Give:
TEXT TO GIVE: Simply text the code JMMF21 to 44-321
CONTACT US:
Julia Jones
300 East 175th Street, Bronx, New York 10457
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For over 50 years, Acacia Network and its affiliates have been committed to improving the quality-of-life and wellbeing of underserved Latino communities by providing access to integrated health and housing programs, and by reinvesting in communities through innovative programming, employment opportunities and affordable housing ownership, among other initiatives. Acacia Network’s offices are located in New York City, Buffalo, Albany, and Syracuse in New York State, as well as Florida, Maryland, Tennessee, Arkansas, Georgia, Connecticut, and Puerto Rico. Acacia Network’s extensive array of community-based services are fully integrated, bilingual and culturally competent. For more information, visit: www.acacianetwork.org |
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