| Health & Wellness - Health Outreach Opportunities/Health Fairs - Throughout the year, CCC’s Case Manager/Outreach Coordinator coordinates outreach opportunities for Medicaid and Food Stamp pre-screening services, HIV/AIDS on-site testing, flu shots, health and mental health screening, and more. CCC Staff with MSW candidate Interns also host health fairs in conjunction with local health care providers and local faith and community-based organizations.
Neighborhood Outreach Opportunities - CCC Neighborhood Outreach Opportunities embody the Cathedral mission by providing hospitality and community outreach that extend the “Living Cathedral” philosophy. Two newly launched neighborhood initiatives that began at the end of 2008 include the Foster Grandparent Program and the Cathedral Family Project. Cathedral Family Project: events/workshops that focus on providing helpful social service resources to spouses/partners, family, and children of people who are incarcerated and/or recent releasees. Foster Grandparent Program: in partnership with Cathedral School, CCC reaches out to elderly people at Amsterdam House nursing home in the West Harlem community; on a monthly basis. CCC engages children to understand the nature of social justice and service to the community through this outreach service as well as group activities created for the children in the ACT program, and youth participating in Nightwatch.
Public Policy Affiliations - CCC staff members actively engage in education and advocacy via local, city, and state coalitions/committees, initiatives, and events that focus on the issues of homelessness, hunger, poverty, and health.
A major effort piloted by CCC, the West Harlem Action Network Against Poverty (WHANAP) is a coalition of
13 local Emergency Food Programs (EFPs) that evolved from the growing recognition that the individual efforts of EFPs are ineffectual in bringing about an end to the longer-term issue of hunger. The lack of food is not the only problem facing clients. Providing nutritious meals, while vital, does not alone foster greater self-sufficiency and thereby an end to hunger. CCC is working to transform the discussion in the anti-hunger community to focus on greater advocacy and collation building as well as an emphasis on activities that go beyond traditional emergency services.
Currently, other CCC Public Policy staff affiliations include: Faith-Based Emergency Shelter Network; Manhattan Ecumenical Advisory Group-Department of Minority Health Steering Committee; West Harlem Action Network Against Poverty Member; Emergency Shelter Network of Faith Congregations; and 3 City appointments to the HIV Health & Human Services Planning Council of New York, HIV Prevention Planning Group (PPG)-Department of Mental Health and Hygiene, and Housing Advisory Working Group (HOPWA.) In addition, CCC Staff are a part of advocacy and education initiatives of the AIDS Alliance Advisory Board, Connect-2-Protect, Faith Leaders for Food Justice, NYC CROP Hunger Walk/Church World Service, The Ali Forney Center, and The Partnership for
the Homeless.
CCC’s Education and Advocacy objective is to be active agents of social justice, to educate the larger community regarding current legislation and policy related to hunger and homelessness, and mobilize individuals and organizations into action.
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