KINGSBRIDGE HEIGHTS COMMUNITY CENTER INC

Youth Services: We provide a fun, safe, and welcoming environment within out-of- school time youth development settings, including our college and career offices, where over 1000 young people can socialize, learn, and grow across our center and campus based locations. Our programs include After-School, Summer Camp, Teen Center for high school-aged youth to develop leadership skills, College Directions focused on effective post-secondary planning, and a Respite program for young people with special needs. Adult and Family Services: We provide a range of services and support to adults and families that help break generational cycles of abuse, neglect, and poverty. At the heart of this division is Changing Futures, providing therapeutic intervention for over 540 survivors, and offering prevention and education programming designed to guide caregivers, such as Parenting Journey and Neighborhood events, to an additional 350 individuals. Other offerings include English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) for 250 adult learners, our Connect Family Resource team that coordinated concrete services and referrals for over 560 families, and our new Family Enrichment Center that reached over 250 community members in its inaugural year.KHCConnect: Our unique case management unit, KHCConnect screens all participants enrolled in our programs for unaddressed needs and provides assistance addressing those needs in the form of referrals, intensive case management, or educational opportunities/workshops. Since its establishment two years ago, KHCConnect has become a critical part of the work we do and has had a deep impact on the lives of the families we serve.Nutrition and Food Access Services: Participants in all programs receive nutrition education and opportunities to grow their own food in our thriving community garden. We offer a diverse array of programming such as internships, cook shops and chef battles, intergenerational gardening, and family cooking classes. To further support food access, we operate a food pantry year-round and offer 30 garden plots for community members to grow their own vegetables. Food insecurity has become a major problem: while 34% of our participants lacked adequate food before the pandemic, now over 75% are struggling to feed their families. The reach of our food pantry has grown exponentially, from 20 families served per week pre-pandemic to now over 300 families per week.