CLNY also has an Emergency Grants initiative to assist youth across all programs in navigating a variety of crises. These funds assist with issues such as:
– Rental arrears and move-in expenses to secure housing
– Food emergencies
– Parenting emergencies such as formula or diapers
– Payment for utilities such as heat, Wifi, phone bills, and electric
– Expenses related to securing employment such as uniforms, MetroCards, or vocational program fees;
– Expenses related to starting, or maintaining, educational goals such as tuition arrears, laptops, and books/school supplies.
– Daycare coverage assistance for parents when a lack of childcare is the only obstacle to starting a new job or enrolling in school: The youth work with CLNY to secure a Human Resources Administration (HRA) daycare voucher during this time, as proof of employment/college classes are required to get the voucher. This proved extremely effective, with all the young people participating able to maintain employment or education, and all the children remaining in the daycare under the HRA voucher within one-two months. Our Emergency Grants initiative allows our youth to feel a level of stability not experienced by other former foster youth without such support.
In FY25 CLNY formalized an Alumni Program to meet the needs of the older youth who graduate from our core programs. We launched an Alumni Advisory Board which spent the last year developing and implementing this program, including the launch of a peer mentoring program. While alumni have less of a need for our intensive services, CLNY prides ourselves on not abandoning our youth at a specific age as many programs do – there is no “second aging out” of CLNY. With the development of a formal alumni program, CLNY is growing our capacity to target specific events and training workshops to these youth while still acknowledging and encouraging their independence.