THE AcAciA NETwork EDiTioN

FEBRUARY 5 - FEBRUARY 11, 2014 • Vol. 15 • No. 6
N O RT H E R N
M A N H AT TA N ’ S
BILINGUAL
N E W S PA P E R
washington Heights • Inwood • HARLEM • EAST HARLEM
E L P E R I O D I C O B I L I N G U E D E L N O R T E D E M A N H AT TA N
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MIE
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THE Acacia Network EDITION
Services | Servicios
• Beacon and After-School Programs
Programas Después de Escuela y ‘Beacon’
• Audubon Youth Program
Programa Juvenil ‘Audubon’
• Mental Health Clinic
Clínica de Salud Mental
• Psychological, Counseling and Therapeutic
Services
Psicología, Asesoramiento y Servicios
Terapéuticos
• Summer Youth Employment Program (SYEP)
Programa de Empleo Juvenil de Verano
• Respite Recreation Saturday Program
Programa de Recreación (Día Sábado)
• Administrative Assistance
Asistencia Administrativa
• And more
Y más
212.781.5500
www.acdp.org
Acacia en el Alto
ACDP Headquarters
3940 Broadway (165th Street)
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ACDP serves all in our community.
Estamos al servicio de todos en nuestra comunidad.
Acacia con ACDP
Asociación Comunal de Dominicanos Progresistas
Community Association of Progressive Dominicans
Founded in 1979, ACDP, the first non-profit organization to focus on the needs of New York’s Dominican
immigrants and the communities in which they live, has developed quality programming that provides
direct assistance to over 27,000 children and families annually. It is now part of The Acacia Network,
one of the largest community-based, Latino-led, health and human services agencies in New York. Soledad Hiciano
Executive Director
Líder
There is much for Executive Director Soledad Hiciano to celebrate.
The partnership with Acacia means ACDP will be able to do more than ever
before.
“We are so happy,” says Soledad. “Acacia already has a mechanism in
place to include us in their system.”
She is looking forward to program expansion. “Servicing the youth is a
tremendous component.” ACDP’s after-school services at Washington
Heights’ MS 328, for example, are part of the Department of Youth and
Community Development’s (DYCD) Beacon program.
“The only way for a community to move forward is if there’s a plan for the
youth.”
There are science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) courses,
as well as literacy and art. There is even a forensics program, where kids
get to explore on-site “crime scenes”.
As Soledad puts it, “Nobody does what we do.”
Hay mucho de celebrar
para Soledad Hiciano, la
la Directora Ejecutiva de
ACDP.
La asociación con Acacia
significa que ACDP será
capaz de hacer más que
nunca antes.
“Estamos muy contentos”,
dice ella. “Acacia ya cuenta
con un mecanismo para
incluirnos en su sistema.”
Añade con orgullo, “Nadie
hace lo que hacemos.”
Motivada
Yaberci Pérez joined ACDP two years ago.
Since partnering with Acacia, ACDP has received a three-year grant
from the city’s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH)
for its Youth Program.
“You see quality and motivation in the team we have,” says Pérez, who
hails from the Dominican Republic.
She is excited for even more growth.
“I have always enjoyed helping people.”
With the grant, ACDP has a unique capacity to reach the most
vulnerable populations. The funding will allow ACDP to provide
non-billable services to those who require them most. No insurance,
documentation or paperwork is required.
“There’s something about touching people’s lives,” smiles Pérez.
“Not telling them what to do, but helping them be self-sufficient.”
Clínica de Salud Mental de ACDP
3940 Broadway, 2nd Floor
New York, NY 10032
212.781.5500
2
Yaberci Pérez
“Usted ve la calidad y la
motivación en el equipo que
tenemos”, dice Yaberci Pérez,
oriunda de la República
Dominicana.
“Siempre me ha gustado
ayudar a la gente.”
FEBRuary 5, 2014 • Manhattan Times • www.manhattantimesnews.com
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ACDP Mental Health Clinic
Acacia con ACDP
Asociación Comunal de Dominicanos Progresistas
Community Association of Progressive Dominicans
Positiva
Candida Martínez
Candida sufría de depresión.
“La vida no tenía valor.”
Pero su terapia en ACDP le ha ayudado a aprender a centrarse
en las cosas buenas en su vida, como la música y el ejercicio.
“Ellos me ayudan a relajarme y mantener una actitud positiva.”
Two years ago, Candida Martínez was, by her own admission, depressed.
In an abusive relationship, her days were marked by fights and crying fits.
“I didn’t have the desire to do anything,” she says. “Life didn’t have any value.”
But things have changed.
Since starting therapy at ACDP, she has been taught coping mechanisms to
deal with her negative feelings, and to help with her fibromyalgia,
osteoporosis and osteoarthritis.
Even her ailments don’t keep from smiling.
“Everything that hurts, I have it,” says Candida humorously.
She has even moved from living in a cramped kitchen space to her own
subsidized apartment.
She has learned to focus on the good things in her life, such as music and
exercise.
“Here they help me relax and stay positive.”
Comprendida
ACDP Audubon Youth Program
513 West 207th Street
New York, NY 10034
212.568.4872 (T)
www.acdp.org
Ana Almenzar
Fue difícil para Ana cuando se
encontró como la única persona a
cargo de sus nietas adolescentes.
“Pero ahora, gracias a ACDP, mi
familia esta unida.”
FEBRuary 5, 2014 • Manhattan
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Times •• www.manhattantimesnews.com
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After difficult family circumstances, Ana Almenzar, 68, found herself the sole
caretaker of her teenaged granddaughters Miranda and Alanna.
It was difficult for Ana to cope as the young women entered their teens on the
heels of psychological and physical trauma.
Things needed to change.
Ana sought out help at the ACDP offices located near her home in Washington
Heights, where she has lived since moving to New York from Santiago in the
Dominican Republic.
Since the family started seeing an ACDP therapist, Ana has noted the
difference.
Both girls are now happy to go to school, and have been earning good grades.
Ana revels in the simple pleasures she now enjoys with her granddaughters,
including watching television and painting.
“My interest is getting them ahead in life.”
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Acacia in the Community
Asociación Comunal de
Dominicanos Progresistas (ACDP)
3940 Broadway
New York, NY 10032
212.781.5500
www.acdp.org
Audubon Partnership for
Economic Development (APED)
513 West 207th Street
New York, NY 10034
212.544.2400
www.audubonpartnership.org
Barbee Family Health Center
266 West 145th Street
New York, NY 10030
212.690.4002
East Harlem Council for
Community Improvement, Inc.
413 East 120th Street
New York, NY 10035
212.410.7707
For a full listing of Acacia’s locations and services throughout New York,
please visit www.acacianetwork.org.
“Celebrating 45 Years of Keeping the Promise”
Connect with us|Conéctese
AcaciaNetwork.org • Follow us on
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FEBRuary 5, 2014 • Manhattan Times • www.manhattantimesnews.com
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Acacia en la Comunidad