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BOROUGH PRESIDENT HELPS PRESENT GROUNDBREAKING CONFERENCE WITH THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES

Goal is to help local health & social service agencies get more federal funding

Borough President Marty Markowitz partnered with the Greater Southern Brooklyn Health Coalition, the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York and other New York City health care agencies on an innovative and groundbreaking conference today, Direct from D.C. – The United States Department of Health & Human Services: Accessing Resources For Your Community, at the New York Marriott Brooklyn.

“We are thrilled to have so many senior members of HHS here in Brooklyn,” said the Borough President. “I know that we will learn a great deal from you today. Some of our nation’s most skilled, most effective and most dedicated health and human service providers are here in New York City. This conference represents a very important opportunity for our community-based service providers to learn how to gain access to much-needed federal support. As Borough President, I know that, given sufficient resources, the people in this room have the ability to effectively serve virtually every resident of our borough and our city who needs help.”

“We at the Department of Health and Human Services are committed to a strong, productive relationship with families in Brooklyn, as well as all of New York City and the state of New York. That relationship can be strengthened only by ensuring that people understand what HHS services are available to them and how to access them,” HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson said.

"This event allows for an innovative initiative blending government and the community. We see this as a model for the future that will allow fora better quality of life for all," said Rabbi Bob Kaplan, Director, Commission on Intergroup Relations and Community Concerns, Jewish Community Relations Council of New York.

Local grassroots organizations across New York City learned of the many funding programs that are available and how to navigate the HHS system. The conference was also a valuable opportunity for leaders of local health and social service agencies to meet and network with some of HHS’ top staff.

Pictured back row left to right: Deputy Mayor Dennis Walcott, Jewish Community Relations Council of New York Executive Director Michael Miller & Rabbi Bob Kaplan, the group’s Intergroup Relations and Community Concerns Director.

Front row left to right: HHS Regional Director of REGION II Deborah Konopko, Deputy Borough President Yvonne Graham, Borough President Marty Markowitz and HHS Center for Faith-based and Community Initiatives Director Bobby Polito.

Deputy Borough President Yvonne Graham, founder and past CEO of the Caribbean Women’s Health Association, gave a presentation on citywide health disparities and the unique position of faith-based organizations in delivering important social services and positively impacting the quality of health and social service delivery.

The day featured workshops from the Center for Faith-based and Community Initiatives, the Administration for Children and Families (ACF), Administration on Aging (AOA), Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), Centers for Medicare & Medicaid (CMS), Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

HHS announced that the Center for Faith-based and Community Initiatives is introducing a helpful new booklet, “Guide to HHS Grants for Faith-Based and Community Initiatives,” to help grassroots organizations better access HHS’ programs. This guide is designed to help the novice federal applicants identify the specific federal grant programs that match the services they provide or would like to provide. The guide is a journey through 330 grant opportunities offered by HHS. Using the familiar red, yellow, and green light metaphor each program has been rated according to the type of opportunity it presents to small grassroots organizations. The HHS Center for Faith-based and Community Initiatives distributed 1000 CD-Roms with grant information and grant writing aids at the conference. Copies of these materials can be obtained from the Center’s website at www.hhs.gov/fbci.

The conference hosted over 800 citywide service providers, leaders from faith-based and community-based institutions, government officials, city and statewide agency representatives, and many others. This is a first-time, regional conference that is being recognized by HHS as a model for other communities, faith-based and community-based, around the country.

Other partners in the event were – Bronx Health Link, Inc, Brooklyn Alliance, Coalition for Far Rockaway, Lower Manhattan Health Care Coalition, Northern Brooklyn Health Coalition, Northern Queens Health Coalition and The Staten Island Health Coalition.