Centro Corazon De Maria Inc

Our Emergency Assistance Program responds to the needs of newly arrived individuals & family units as well as other individuals & families who are unable to pay rent due to illness or loss of work. More than 90% of 105 famili include money spent on food gift cards in this category.This past year, the East End of Long Island received a mixture of newly and already established immigrants, single adults and families mainly from Ecuador and Mexico. All applicants were screened to determine the urgency of the need, and to ascertain that all other options had been explored. Persons who entered the country illegally are not entitled to any government assistance and are ineligible for benefit programs or apply for health insurance. Non-citizen children can receive medical insurance theough the NYS of Health Child Health Plus Program.105 families were served.

In December, we began our three month Mothers As Protagonistas program, serving 11 Latino mothers and 12 pre-school children. The program provides education and support for moms to learn the developmental stages of their children, skills to aid their learning in preparation for preschool and help them identify early interventions needed. Mothers attended a weekly parenting class with their children and individual virtual sessions to learn how to advocate for their childrens education. Also, English as a New Language classes (ENL) were provided weekly. The criteria for inclusion was income based. A monthly stipend was provided by a generous private donor.