Tag: NAC

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EPIC Stakeholders Gives Plaques of Appreciation

Kim Washington, Denise Fletcher, Paulette Miller, Dwight Leevy

The Northeast EPIC Stakeholders meeting on September 27th opened with the presentation of plaques of appreciation by Kim Washington and Dwight Leevy.  In appreciation for the support given by the 2nd Baptist Church to the EPIC group, the plaques were presented to the Pastor Rev. Bradsbery and the Culinary group of the church represented by Denise Fletcher and Paulette Miller.

Also at the meeting:

  • Monica Orozco-Cadena made a presentation on behalf of the Red Cross dealing with blood donations and promoting an upcoming blood drive on October 13th at the Aspira Campus, 6301 N. 2nd Street
  • Sakina Dean, Director of Divine Light and board member of the Philadelphia Association of Recovery House presented on the NARR standards for recovery residences.  The NARR has established the standards and the Philadelphia Association works with recovery houses to bring them into compliance with those standards.  As several participants pointed out, this will only apply to those houses that are working within the system.  Those below the radar can choose to ignore those standards.
  • Layra Wagner of First Home Care presented on drug and alcohol addition prevention and recovery.  She made a very good case for why it is important to keep the youth away from their first experimentation with drugs and alcohol.  Because of their physiology, they are more likely to become addicted.
  • Kim Washington discussed the EPIC ELITE (EPIC Leaders In Training & Education) program.  This program provides a stipend for people working in the community in support of the EPIC Stakeholders.
  • There will be a Hedge Street park cleanup day and plans are underway for improvements to the park.

    Kim Washington, Rev. Bradsbery, Dwight Leevy

  • American Recycles Day will see the EPIC/NAC working with the Frankford CDC on distribution of much coveted recycling bins.
  • Tree Philly is coming up again for the distribution of yard trees.

The next EPIC meeting is scheduled for October 30 from 5:30 to 7:30 PM and will be held at Friends Hospital at 4641 Roosevelt Boulevard.  The subject will be domestic violence.

 

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NAC/EPIC Update September 2012

Thank you to everyone who attended our last NAC/EPIC Stakeholder community meeting.  For those of you who could not attend, please find the meeting minutes attached.  Our next meeting will be held at Second Baptist Church (1801 Meadow Street) on Thursday, September 27th, from 5:30 – 7:30pm.  The month each EPIC Stakeholder group will be focusing on bringing awareness to drug and alcohol recovery and addiction.  As such, Laura Wagner from First Home Care will be joining us to give a presentation about drug and alcohol addiction and recovery.  A representative from the Philadelphia Association of Recovery Residence will also be joining us to talk about regulation of “recovery homes”.  I hope to see you all there!!!

EPIC ELITE CORP Stipend Positions

Attached is a copy of the guidelines for ELITE CORP program.  DHS has added funding to the EPIC Stakeholder program to provide stipends for two EPIC community members to participate in the planning and support of EPIC sponsored events in their community.  As per the guidelines, one member must already be a member of the stakeholder group that has been involved and volunteering with the group for two years.  Since our group is a relatively new group, compared to the other EPIC groups, this factor will be taken into consideration when interviewing candidates.  The other member does not have to have any history of involvement  with EPIC but does need to be a parent with a school aged child.  Both will be expected to volunteer a minimum of 25hrs a month and attend EPIC sponsored leadership trainings.  If you are someone you know is interested in this opportunity, I will be collecting resume’s at our next EPIC Stakeholder meeting.  DHS is looking to implement this by October so it is urgent that I receive resumes from all interested candidates by next Thursday.  There will also be an interview that is set up by a community panel of EPIC ECAC members.  So if you would like to serve on the community panel please let me know by Thursday. NAC Housing and Utility Resource Fair & 4600 Block Targeted

Façade Project

On Saturday, September 20, 2012, the Frankford Business & Professional Association will be sponsoring an informational meet and greet with Councilwoman Sanchez, IMPACT Services, Mural Arts, and the Frankford Economic Development Steering Committee for business and property owners who have signed up for the Façade Improvement Project for the 4600 block of Frankford Avenue at Iqraa’s Café.

In addition to the information session, the Frankford NAC will be hosting it’s first housing and utility resource fair in the community lot at Frankford Avenue and Paul Street from 11 – 2pm.  Feel free to stop by and take advantage of this information as well as some free give-a-ways sponsored by the Northeast EPIC Stakeholder Group!!

Thanks,

 Kimberly Washington, Esq.
Northeast EPIC Stakeholder Group, Coordinator
CORA Services, Inc.
8540 Verree Road
Philadelphia, Pa. 19111
215 701 – 2588
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Frankford Has the NAC

Kimberly Washington, Esq.

Frankford has a knack for many things.  The Knack for weaving, brewing, football are all in the past.  What we are talking about today is a NAC aka Neighborhood Advisory Committee.  Our NAC came into being several months ago.

OHCD’s Neighborhood Advisory Committee (NAC) Program offers community-based non-profit organizations the opportunity to lead and engage neighborhood residents in activities that support the City’s core objectives, including:

  • Promoting sustainability through recycling, cleaning, planting and alternative energy efforts.
  • Creating employment opportunities through job placement and training, retail revitalization, and educational assistance efforts.
  • Enhancing neighborhood safety through town watches, youth mentoring and community outreach programs.
  • Providing decent and affordable housing through new housing, preservation of existing housing and mortgage foreclosure prevention programs.

Several Frankford community groups applied to become the NAC provider agency; however Impact Services (1952 E. Allegheny Avenue) was the applicant chosen by the OHCD.

Charlene Lewis-Walker

The coordinator of our NAC is Kimberly Washington, esq. and she is assisted by Charlene (Char) Lewis-Walker.  Since Kim also coordinates the Northeast EPIC Stakeholders meetings, you can expect close cooperation between NAC and EPIC in the future.

The NAC office is located in the Carson Valley Frankford Neighborhood Center at 4451 Frankford Avenue.  The phone number is 215-535-1093.

What has the NAC done so far in Frankford?

  • Charlene has been offering residents assistance with the Homestead applications
  • Monthly door to door (since March) to connect homeowners in foreclosure with the City’s Foreclosure prevention program
  • Housing and Utility Resource Fair which will be hosted in September
  • Char has also been a good resource working with homeowners who are interested in purchasing vacant side lots in the community
  • The students at First Philadelphia Charter have taken on the initiative of creating and publishing our newsletter.  The students are supervised by a teacher at the school his name is Rick Crain and also by Jim Stanton.
  • Charlene has already taken charge of the teen gardening group and has been hard at work this Summer at the community garden at Wilmot and Tackawanna

What will the NAC do for Frankford on a continuing basis?

  •  Provide information on various OHDC-funded programs to residents including but not limited to BSRP, Weatherization Program, Adaptive Modifications Program, Philadelphia Home Improvement Loan Program, PHIL-Plus, Mini-PHIL and other anti-predatory loan programs
  • Home-ownership Rehabilitation Program, Home start Program, Donor-Taker Program, Rental Rehabilitation Programs, housing counseling services, Settlement Assistance Program and American Dream Down payment Initiative (ADDI).
  • Homeowner Foreclosure Outreach – If you are in a foreclosure situation, contact the NAC to get information on what alternatives are available to you.  Foreclosure may be avoiding in some cases
  • Act as a referral center for community residents for all City Departments and programs relating to special services for groups such as senior citizens, the disabled and income-eligible youth
  • Oversee and assists in promoting programs designed to address various issues including literacy, truancy, youth violence, job training, and teen pregnancy. This will be accomplished through the NAC’s partnership with EPIC
  • Oversee and assists in the disposition of vacant land which may be developed as side yards, community gardens, parking lots or other open space through a program of open space management
  • Develop a current list of all block clubs and block captains in the area.

The introduction of the NAC in Frankford adds one more opportunity to move Frankford forward.   Stop into any time to see Char at the Carson Valley Frankford Neighborhood Center at 4451 Frankford Avenue and find out what the NAC can do for you.