NEWSLETTER
Fall | 2017
HARLEM
KNOW YOUR RIGHTS: WELCOMING WEEK 2017
“What makes someone American
isn’t just blood or birth but
allegiance to our founding
principles and faith in the idea
that anyone - from anywhere -
can write the next chapter of our
story.”
-President Barack Obama
On September 18, 2017,
the NAI hosted our first Know
Your Rights panel focused on
informing the community on
current immigration practices and
policies. Representatives from the
pg 2
HSE Recipients
New Americans Initiative
Mayor’s Office of Community everyone was encouraged to meet
Affairs, African Services with the panelists to learn more
Committee’s Immigration Legal about their work as well as to
Clinic, Manhattan Legal Services, make appointments with legal
representatives.
and New York Immigration
Coalition briefed attendees on best Welcoming Week highlights
practices for dealing with the importance of welcoming all
immigration enforcement, legal people, regardless or origin, to our
communities. One of the greatest
rights and protections for
immigrants, and on seeking legal needs is legal services, and the NAI
aid. is committed to providing access
After the panel, a reception to quality legal organizations to
of food from local, immigrant-run help whoever is in need of
restaurants was provided for immigration services.
attendees. During the reception,
Pictured Left:
Attendees listen as to opening
thoughts provided by Schone
Maillet, the chair of the Board of
Managers for the Harlem Y.
Pictured Right:
Attendees participate in the
“Where in the World Are You
From?” map activity. We may come
from different places, but we all
call the US home!
pg 3 pg 4
Fall 2017 Highlights New Americans Welcome Center Goals
and Vision
 “Education is not the
learning of facts, but the
training of the mind to
think.”
-Albert Einstein

PARTICIPANT SPOTLIGHT: HSE Recipients

Congratulations to all of our HSE participants throughout 2017 that have taken and passed the Test
Assessing Secondary Completion (TASC). The following students passed all sections of the test and
our on their way to bigger and better things. Congratulations on this great achievement!

Pictured Top Left to Right:

Ellie Alexander, Ronald
Dominguez, and Jovan Baez

Pictured Bottom Left to Right:

Shirley Robinson and Oumou
Diaby

NEWSLETTER
Fall | 2017
ASK Fall 2017 Job Fair
YOUR organizations. These organizations
included Hot Bread Kitchen, Heart to

NAI Heart (pictured to the left), NYS Civil

Service, Ponce Bank, HBB SUNY Attain
Lab, Parent Job Net, and the Harlem
YMCA.
Q: I take classes that are
ending in December.
Students actively seeking
employment spent part of their class
What will I do during
the fall? time meetings with these organizations
and employers to discover opportunities
A:
We have a fall
as well as apply for open positions that
session just for Other than providing classes,
you! Enroll the first day.
the NAI helps participants find
week of January! Yejide Alexander, the College
employment and apply to college. Yejide
and Career Counselor for the NAI,
Alexander, the College and Career
Q: Oh no! I missed 3 coordinates the event each year.
Counselor, works with participants to
registration, now “My aim is to put the students
create resumes, prepare for job
what? face-to-face with potential employers
interviews, search for job opportunities,
Certain classes and job training providers. I want to
may still have room
and apply to college. The majority of
provide them with concrete
A: for new students. participants do not have recognized
opportunities that will lead to lasting
Stop by the office high school diplomas from the U.S. or
employment.”
to see if you can other countries.
Stay tuned for the 2018 Job
register! If not, we On October 19, 2017, the NAI
Fair taking place during our next Fall
will add you to our hosted out second annual job fair, cycle.
contact list for the partnering with city-based job training
next cycle. providers and other community-based

Q: All the classes are

full… but I want to
get started NOW!
Exploring the City: Fall Field Trips
A:
Join our evening
Language Skills
Class! It meets
every Tuesday and
Thursday from
6:30-8:30 pm.
Walk-ins welcome!

Q: the
You don’t have
class I need
right now. Can
you still help me?
Yes we can! Schedule

A: an appointment to
meet with one of our
case management
volunteers and we’ll
On November 16, the AM HSE
help you search for class ventured to the Hamilton
what you’re looking Grange National Memorial in
for.
On December 6, 15 students
Harlem to experience one of and staff explored the Winter
Village at Bryant Park. We
our Founding Fathers’ life and
enjoyed ice skating, hot
home. chocolate, and the shops!
 YMCA New Americans Initiative
5 West 63rd Street; 2nd Floor
New York, NY 10023
(212) 875-4336
www.ymcanewamericans.org

The Goals and Vision of the New Americans Welcome Centers

by Dio Gica

YMCA of Greater New York is in a position

“The goal of the YMCA is to be recognized by every New American as a
to provide directly as well as in
“safe haven” that provides multilingual information, resources and collaboration with other human service and
referrals and a wide range of services… to help them attain their goals…” immigrant agencies.

provides multilingual information, Program Components: The New Americans

Program Goal and Vision: The YMCA of
resources and referrals and a wide range Welcome Centers serve as multilingual
Greater New York is committed to serving
of services (instructional, vocational, information resource and referral centers,
the immigrant population of the City, and,
recreational, and family support) that will and provide immigrant families with a wide
in response to their needs, has opened
help them attain their goals. array of instructional, vocational,
New Americans Welcome Centers to help
recreational, family support, and social
immigrants achieve literacy, cultural
The YMCA recognizes the need to build services. Instructional services include
competence, and self-sufficiency. In 2010,
capacity and develop support and English as a Second Language, Cultural
the YMCA will have opened Welcome
networks among new immigrants. As of the Orientation, Citizenship Preparation, Job
Centers in areas where immigrant
2000 census, more than 35% of City’s Readiness, and Computer Literacy. In
communities are most underserved. The
residents are foreign-born and 43% of the addition, some of our Centers offer Adult
Chinatown, Staten Island, Harlem, Prospect
City’s workforce are immigrants. Nearly Literacy and HSE preparation classes as
Park, and Bronx YMCAs have already
70% of the total immigrant population in well as Substance Abuse and Alcohol
served their communities through these
New York speak a language other than Prevention Counseling.
centers. In line with its commitment to
better serve the immigrant population of English. Within this group 23% do not
speak English well and about 10% do not For more information on the YMCA New
New York City, the YMCA of Greater New
speak English at all. Most of these Americans Welcome Centers please access
York is opening a sixth location to serve
our website at ymcanewamericans.org.
Queens, the Flushing YMCA New immigrants live in population clusters that
Americans Welcome Center. The goal of are underserved for informational,
the YMCA is to be recognized by every education, recreational, vocational,
New American as a “safe haven” that advocacy and human services that the

Rachael Rinaldo
New Americans Initiatives Director
rrinaldo@ymcanyc.org
646-599-7607
Bronx YMCA NAI
2125 Glebe Ave. Bronx NY 10462
Selenie Villar, Program Director
svillar@ymcanyc.org
718-829-1564
Danielle Rucker, Program Counselor
drucker@ymcanyc.org
718-829-1564
Chinatown YMCA NAI
100 Hester Street, New York, NY
10002
Jie Ling Chen, Program Director
jchen@ymcanyc.org
212-219-8393
Chloe Yuen, Program Coordinator Jim Anderson, Program Coordinator, Regina Marks, Program Coordinator,
oyuen@ymcanyc.org jaanderson@ymcanyc.org rmarks@ymcanyc.org
212-219-8393 212-912-2163 718-981-4382
Flushing YMCA NAI Prospect Park YMCA NAI Justina Gibbs, Case Manager,
138-46 Northern Blvd., Flushing, NY 11354 357 9th St., Brooklyn, NY 11215 jgibbs@ymcanyc.org
718-981-4382
Michelle Lam, Program Director Nabila Khan, Program Director,
mlam@ymcanyc.org nkhan@ymcanyc.org Darragh Caplan, Case Manager
718-551-9353 212-912-2375 dmurphycaplan@ymcanyc.org
718-981-4382
Lisa Cole, Program Coordinator Alejandro Vilar, Program Coordinator
jchoi@ymcanyc.org avilar@ymcanyc.org YMCA ELESAIR Project
718-551-9353 212-912-2378 138-46 Northern Blvd, Flushing, NY
11354
Harlem YMCA NAI Staten Island YMCA NAI
180 W 135th Street, New York, NY 10030 285 Vanderbilt Ave., SI, NY 10304 Lorna Blancaflor, Program Director,
lblancaflor@ymcanyc.org 718-551-
Kaitlin Griswold, Program Director Joanna Springstead, Program 9351
kgriswold@ymcanyc.org Director, jspringstead@ymcanyc.org
212-912-2163 718-981-4382, ext. 17