| NEW SUNDAY LUNCH PROGRAM |
SCS' Center for Active Older Adults is now serving lunch on Sundays! Due to popular demand, the Center, open on Sundays from 11:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., now offers a nutritious hot meal from noon to 1 p.m. in addition to regular weekday service. Come enjoy good food and good conversation, then stay for a lively Bingo game immediately following from 1 to 3:30 p.m.
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| CAREGIVERS SUPPORT GROUP |
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Providing care for a frail, elderly, or disabled parent or family member can be a deeply rewarding experience that brings people closer, deepens bonds, and creates opportunities to improve and build relationships. Sometimes, however, the physical, emotional, and psychological challenges of providing such care take their toll on the caregiver through increased potential for depression and anxiety, resulting in negative impact on the caregiver’s own health and relationships.
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SCS is offering a free caregivers support group for individuals who may be feeling depressed, anxious, or overwhelmed by their responsibilities. Led by Joanne Lehman, LCSW, coordinator of SCS’ Geriatric Mental Health Initiative, the group will meet one evening a week starting in October. Interested participants must attend a preliminary interview with Ms. Lehman before joining the group. To schedule an appointment, please call (718) 784-6173, ext. 431 (TDD/TTY (800) 662-1220).
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| SCS OFFERS FREE JOB TRAINING |
SCS' licensed home care agency, Sunnyside Citywide Home Care Services, Inc. (SCHCS) announced this week that it is offering free training to individuals interested in becoming home health aides. SCHCS will offer immediate job placement upon successful completion of the training program. For program information, please call (718) 784 6160 (TDD/TTY (800) 662-1220).
“If you made a New Year’s resolution to get a rewarding job with great benefits, which include flexible schedules, competitive wages, weekend differentials, paid in-service educational training, as well as group health insurance, vacation, holiday, and sick pay, then you should definitely give us a call,” said Melissa Vitale, director of human resources. “We are always on the lookout for candidates.” Home health aides (HHA’s) enable elderly or otherwise homebound individuals to live at home rather than be placed in an institutional facility. At the direction of nursing or medical staff, HHA’s may provide health-related services such as administering oral medications, checking the client’s pulse and respiration, assisting with simple physical therapy exercises, and changing nonsterile dressings. Home health aides also perform household tasks and duties that some clients cannot do, such as laundry, grocery shopping, preparing meals, personal hygiene, and escorting clients to their doctors and other appointments.
According to the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment of home health aides is projected to grow much faster than average through the year 2014 as the “baby boomer” population ages. At the same time, the health care industry continues transferring patients out of hospitals and care facilities as quickly as possible. Moreover, it is becoming recognized that a patient’s quality of life is improved by staying in familiar environments rather than institutions. This means that home care jobs will remain in very high demand. SCS, Sunnyside Citywide Home Care Services, and Sunnyside Home Care Project, employ more than 100 in-house staff, and 2,000 field staff including home care. |
| U.S. SECRETARY OF EDUCATION VISITS SCS AFTER SCHOOL |
Sunnyside, New York -- On Tuesday, September 18, 2006, U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings visited Sunnyside Community Services' after-school program at PS 150. Secretary Spellings was accompanied by education ministers from countries in the Broader Middle East and in North Africa (BMENA) who took the opportunity to tour the school and see the successful and highly praised program in action.
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Also in attendance at PS 150 were Robert Stonehill, deputy director, U.S. Department of Education, Lucy N. Friedman, president, The After-School Corporation (TASC), Jeanne Mullgrav, commissioner of the Department of Youth and Community Development (DYCD), Chris Caruso, assistant commissioner for Out-of-School Time, DYCD, Jodi Grant, executive director, the Afterschool Alliance, and Judith Zangwill, executive director of Sunnyside Community Services. |
All participated in a dynamic roundtable discussion on critical issues such as literacy, the importance of after-school enrichment programs, and developing and sustaining collaborative efforts between government initiatives and community-based organizations.
According to Zangwill, one of the most successful aspects of the SCS after-school program is that it provides so much more than a just safe and supervised environment for children. "We firmly belive that in order to run a meaningful after-school program, we had to offer more than just a babysitting service. So while this program includes recreational activities such as dance and martial arts, and creative activities such as art and animation, we felt it was critical to incorporate educational components such as literacy skills into all of the activities."
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| SUNNYSIDE
COMMUNITY SERVICES THANKS BLOOMBERG, GIOIA, AND OTHERS AT GROUNDBREAKING
EVENT FOR NEW SENIOR CENTER |
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With the new Senior Center finally
on the way, SCS thanks the people who helped make it possible.
More pictures of the celebration
here. |
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