Spring 2012 Newsletter - Syracuse Housing Authority

Spring 2012 Edition
SHA COMMUNITY NEWSLETTER
Syracuse Housing Authority
Citywide Council Welcomes Two New
Service Coordinators
The Citywide Council of Low
Income Housing Residents, Inc.
would like to introduce their two new
Service Coordinators; Camille Ferrell
-Knighton and Juanita Gamble. Ms.
Juanita Gamble and Camille Ferrell-Knighton
Ferrell-Knighton will be working with
residents at Vinette and Ms. Gamble
will be assisting Fahey Court Residents.
Ms. Ferrell-Knighton brings to the
position a background in counseling, case management and rental
contract management. Ms. Gamble’s background includes extensive case management experience
with youth and adults, including
focused work with those impacted
by substance abuse and the criminal justice system.
The new service coordinators are available to serve those in
Vinette and Fahey Court, and have
office hours from 8:30am until
4:30pm. To reach Ms. FerrellKnighton at Vinette, call 395-3367.
To reach Ms. Gamble at Fahey,
call 395-4990.
Omar Ahmed’s Journey to the United States
My name is Omar
Ahmed. I was born in
Somalia. I am 30 years
old, married to Sangabo
Abdi, with 6 children; 3
boys and 3 girls. One of
eight children, I have
three sisters and four
brothers. Family means a
lot to me. When we lived
in Somalia, there was a
civil war. The President
in Somalia vowed not to
leave his power unless he
dies, and the fighting continues even today. Somalia has no established government; it is chaos.
The Civil War took my
parents. One day, our
village and my home were
attacked by gunmen.
During the attack, my
brothers and sisters ran
in different directions. I
did not run-I stayed with
my parents.
They were
killed by the gunmen for no
reason. I stayed until they
were buried, not knowing
where my siblings were and
whether I would see them
again.
Somalia was home to me.
(continued on next page)
Inside this issue:
Omars Ahmed’s Journey
(Continued)
2
Eastwood Homes New
Computer Center
3
On Point for College
3
City School District offers Pre-Kindergarten
3
Section 3 Workers Hired
at Leonard Buildings
4
Football Program
4
Father’s Day Event
History Corner– Fahey
Court
5
City School District Liter- 5
acy Zones
Meet the Site Office
Staff at Vinette/Ross
6
Omar’s Journey to the US ( continued from front page )
Nestled in the horn of Africa, it
neighbors Kenya, Ethiopia, Dijibouti and Yemen. It was colonized
by the British and Italian governments and gained its independence
in 1960. Somalia has a significant
number of different ethnic and economic minority groups. People of
the Somali-Bantu descent tend to
live in farming villages and in the
southern part of the country. Individuals of Arab and other nonAfrican immigrants tend to reside
in the coastal cities, such as Mogadishu. Currently Somalis are located in Somalia and the neighboring countries including Ethiopia
and Kenya. Many live in England,
Australia, Sweden, Finland, the
Netherlands, and in the United
States today. Since the collapse of
the central government in 1991,
Somalia has been subject to widespread violence and instability.
After the death of my parents in
1991, I fled to Kenya with my Uncle
and his family. My Uncle Hassan
Suleiman gave me everything and
was very kind; he wanted me to
forget everything that happened to
my parents in Somalia. I was 11
years old when I went to Kenya
with my uncle, and while he loved
me very much, life there was difficult. There was little food due to
the drought. Many were starving.
We lived in a Refugee Camp in the
North East Province. We would
spend 12 years there, even applying
for resettlement to Mozambique.
Our application was denied due to
the massive floods there. Then, my
uncle decided to apply to immigrate
to the United States. Two years
later, the United States accepted
our application. Our long journey
to the United States began with a
five day trip to Kakuma Refugee
Camp. Once we were there, we
spent two additional years waiting
for resettlement to the United
States. During that time we were
interviewed, fingerprinted and
questioned as to why we wanted to
Page 2
live in the United States. My response was “in the United States
you have a better life, good education and jobs.”
Finally, we were on our way to the
Omar Ahmed in front of the newly relocated Somali-Bantu Community Center
United States. We took a plane to
Belgium and from there we went to
Atlanta, Georgia. From there we
took our final plane to Hancock International Airport in Syracuse NY.
There were 8 of us that would come
to know Syracuse as home. When
and showed us how to use the
kitchen appliances to cook, and how
to take care of the apartment. She
showed us how to get to school. She
brought us pens and notebooks for
school. I thanked her that day, but
she was only one of the first of
many people that would help us
and show us kindness in our new
home. The United States government and the people of the US have
helped give many of my people a
chance at a better life and opportunities we would never have imagined in Somalia. I have never forgotten my past and my 12 year
journey from home after the death
of my parents.
Today I am a
United States Citizen, having arrived here in 2003. I speak English
now and teach Citizenship to new
refugees coming here for the same
promise and new life I had sought.
Omar Ahmed is an Outreach
Worker with the Somali-Bantu
Community Association (SBCA).
Located at 302 Burt Street, the
SBCA serves immigrants, refugees
and new Americans with Case
Management support, help applying for benefits, assistance in finding employment, English as a second language instruction, and academic tutoring and citizenship
classes. While the center serves
many Somalis, it also currently
works with participants from
Burma, the Congo, Nepal, and
many others. The center offers services and programming for all ages.
The SBCA is an incorporated 501c3.
To learn more about the SBCA, call
254-2628 or stop in to the center
between the hours of 8:30 AM and
4:30 PM.
we arrived, we were very surprised
by what we saw. Men and women
were kissing each other on the lips.
This was never done in Somalia.
They gave us an apartment to live
in with appliances we had never
before seen. Everything was different. The next day, a caseworker
from Catholic Charities visited us
SHA COMMUNITY NEWSLETTER
Eastwood Homes Tenant Council Holds Ribbon Cutting Event
and Open House for New Computer Lab
The Eastwood Homes Tenant
Council held its Computer
Lab Open House on Saturday
March 3rd. Residents were
invited to come and see the
new 5-computer lab and
share in the celebration with
cake and refreshments. The
Tenant Council was pleased
to have Sheena Solomon from
the Gifford Foundation in attendance. The Gifford Foun-
Housing Authority, were also
on hand. Ms. Anna Lamontagne, Eastwood Homes Tenant Council President, along
with Janice Rufus, Vice President, cut the ribbon. The center has open lab hours for
ages 8 and older every weekday evening form 4pm to
7pm.
dation provided $2500 in financial support to the center
and also donated the five
computers through their
“What If” mini grant. Gladys
Smith, Chairperson from the
Citywide Council of Low Income Housing Residents, and
William Simmons, Executive
Director for the Syracuse
Syracuse City School District Has Pre-Kindergarten Program
The
Syracuse
City School District has a pre
kindergarten
program for 4
year olds who
are living in
Syracuse.
There are classrooms, both full day and half
day, in almost every school
building and in community
sites throughout the city.
There is a classroom near you!
To find out more information
or to register your child,
please call the Pre-K Office of
the Syracuse City School District at 435-4276. You will
need to hve your child’s birth
On Point for College
Are you between the ages of 17
and 25 and interested in going
to college or into a vocational
training program? On Point for
College can help you. On Point
for College provides free one-toone counseling on choosing a college, financial aid, and scholarship and college applications.
They also offer college visits,
mentoring, transportation to
and from college during breaks,
advocacy and follow up counseling and financial assistance
with college supplies. On Point
for College has various offices
throughout Central NY; some
are located within Syracuse
Housing Authority sites. For
more information and to sched-
ule an appointment, call 3625003.
Page 3
SAVE THESE DATES:
SATURDAY, JUNE 9,
2012:
SHA will be sponsoring a Father’s Day Event
on this date. It is scheduled to be held at the Martin L King
School side open lot if it is a nice Saturday afternoon; if the
weather does not cooperate with us, it will be moved inside
the school building. The Black Lites are scheduled to
perform!! Please be sure to mark this date; it will be a fun
filled day to spend with your family and friends to celebrate
the men in your lives! More detailed information will be
forthcoming soon.
SATURDAY, JUNE 23, 2012:
Once again SHA, in conjunction with CNY Football Academy, will be recruiting youth ages 9-12
for their FREE FOOTBALL CAMP on SATURDAY, JUNE 23rd. Tyron Branch (Oakland Raiders) Jo-Lonn Dunbar (New Orleans Saints) and
Mike Hart (Indianapolis Colts) and other athletes
will again organize the 2012 CNY Football Academy at Sunnycrest Park behind Henninger
High School. If you know of someone who is between ages 9-12 who is interested in participating
on June 23rd, please contact Kenneth Boyd of the
SHA Life Program at 470-4254 to register. Both
Boys and Girls are invited.
Section 3 Workers Hired to Work on Leonard Buildings
Environmental Construction Group
of Rochester (ECG) has been in
business for about six years now.
The primary functions of the business are remediation, abatement,
demolition and construction services. Recently, ECG was awarded
a contract to provide abatement
services for the renovation of the
Leonard Buildings. The Leonard
Buildings are three apartment
buildings and one community building located near the corner of S.
West St. and W. Onondaga St. in
Syracuse. Upon their completion
Syracuse Housing Authority (SHA)
will utilize the buildings to provide
affordable housing to low- income
residents.
Bruce Corey is the owner of ECG.
He has been able to provide opportunities for five (5) low/very-low
income area residents from SHA’s
Section 3 database to work on the
project. Darrell Smarr 48, is one of
those individuals. He received his
NY State Asbestos Supervisor’s License about 4 years ago through a
program called VESID (now called
ACCESS-VR). Working on the Leonard Buildings’ project has allowed
him to utilize his knowledge of asbestos abatement to do demolition
work. The work involves pipe cutting and asbestos and lath removal.
Darrell said “Depending upon the
Page 4
Jose Pineda and Jorge Saez remove lath
from walls after asbestos has been abated
job my license gives me the oppor
tunity to earn at least $14.00 an
hour. If the job is a ‘rate job’ the
pay is even more.”
There are other certifications and
licenses obtainable that that can
help individuals to better their position in the workforce too. A few of
them are EPA Lead Certifications,
BPI Weatherization and HAZWOPER. Darrell also has the HAZWOPER and Red Cross Training as
well.
Jorge Saez 24, is a Cuban emigrant
who work at the site. Jorge has
been in the US for about nine (9)
years and speaks fluently in Spanish and English. He is often called
upon to translate for others on the
job site who has limited English
speaking ability. Jorge has been
licensed by the State of NY to do
asbestos abatement for three (3)
years. Like Darrell, Jorge enjoys
the earnings that he is able to make
because of his license. He got his
license after a friend told him about
the potential opportunities to obtain work in the field.
ECG is currently working on getting other projects in the area.
Their plan is to use Darrell and
Jorge and others from SHA’s Section 3 database to work on them.
If you are a public housing or low/
very-low income area resident and
would like to receive more information about where to go to get certified, or if you are currently certified
and would like to be placed in our
Section 3 database, please email
your
resume
to
rseigler@syrhousing.org. Be sure to
include your up to date contact information. No phone calls or
walk-ins please.
Darrell Smarr with power pipe cutter
SHA COMMUNITY NEWSLETTER
HISTORY CORNER: FAHEY COURT
apartments for the elderly and handicapped. Because of the unique layout of
the original school building, many of
the apartments are quite different
from each other in design as to where
the kitchens and living rooms are situ-
The City of Syracuse had a vacant
school building on the north side,
namely Jefferson School, located at
1503 Park Street.
The school was
closed in the 1970’s. In an effort to re
use some of Syracuse’s existing buildings, SHA applied in 1979 to the US
Department of HUD with development
plans to renovate this vacant building
into housing for the elderly and handicapped. Mr. Joe Maryak of JCM Architects, was the architect hired by SHA
to design the re use of this old school
house. With a budget of $1.3 million
dollars, renovations began in June of
1981 and after a few delays, was ready
for occupancy in April of 1982. It was
100% occupied by December of 1982.
The large classrooms were converted
into 30 good size one and two bedroom
ated. It was a wonderful way to reuse
the building instead of having it fall
into disrepair and, at the same time,
supplied the City with much needed
housing for low income senior citizens.
When the newly renovated building
was opened, everyone, including the
neighborhoods surrounding the building, were extremely pleased with the
end result. After everyone had moved
in, the resident committee and city officials wanted to rename the building, (it
was still being referred to as the old
“Jefferson School”), in honor Judge Joseph Fahey, City Court Judge for the
City of Syracuse. A large crowd attended the Dedication Ceremony held
on April 11, 1983. Attendees included
the Fahey Family, Fred Murphy, the
SHA Director at the time, the SHA
Board, the Mayor, City Officials, all the
new residents, along with many other
Citywide members and SHA staff. On
that day it was officially renamed
“Fahey Court”. This 30 unit housing
development retained some of it’s
charm of the old school house. The two
story community room is an attractive
meeting area and the second floor laundry is set in a mezzanine to this common area. New site lighting and security systems were installed in 2001 and
2003. Federal Funding for this type of
development will never again be at the
level it used to be when SHA redeveloped this building for elderly housing.
The Syracuse City School District Literacy
Zones Provide FREE Services Throughout the City Including:
Connect to Community Services and Agencies
GED ESL and Adult Basic Education Classes
Assist with Job Readiness, Training and Vocational Programs
Navigate the Department of Social Services
Help with Childcare and Housing
Immigration Resources and Citizenship Classes
Communicate with your child’s Teacher
Search for a Medical Care Provider
Provide Health and Financial Literacy, and much more…. Please call or stop by at one of these three centers:
West Family Welcome Center
307 S. Geddes Street
Syracuse, NY
South Family Welcome Center
Dr. King School
416 E. Raynor Street
North Family Welcome Center
Grant Middle School
2400 Grant Blvd.
Phone: 214-4218
Phone: 435-6000
Phone: 435-6376
Page 5
Building Neighborhoods, Growing Dreams
516 Burt Street
Syracuse, NY 13202
Phone: (315-475-6181
Fax: 315-470-4203
www.syracusehousing.org
Meet the SHA Vinette Site Office Management Staff:
The Property Management Office at
Vinette Towers includes three staff
with 47 years combined work experience for Syracuse Housing Authority. Vinette Towers, built in
1973 and currently under construction for renovations, houses 152
units for the elderly and disabled.
Working with tenants, the Property
Management Team works hard to
balance Public Housing regulations
with high quality living for the tenants at Vinette Towers.
Nick Napolitano, Property Manager, has been with SHA since
1998. During his 14 years he has
worn several hats including positions as a Tenant Selector, a Family
Self-Sufficiency Coordinator with
Section 8, and the Supervisor of
Collections.
Nick’s varied background has helped him understand
Joann Smith, Nick Napolitano, Deb Kinsey
both the business side of Public
Housing as well as the Tenant Advocacy side. Working with Nick as
part of the Vinette Team are Joann
Smith and Deb Kinsey.
Joann Smith, Housing Specialist at
Vinette, has been with SHA for almost 21 years. She too has worked
in various capacities including work
in Grants Management, Youth Services, Tenant Organization and as a
Tenant Selector.
Deb Kinsey, Clerk in the Vinette
Towers Management Office, has
been with SHA for 13 years. She
has worked in Security and Occupancy.
Staff at Vinette Towers work as a
close-knit team to respond to tenants needs and to manage the units
in accordance with HUD guidelines.
In this tough economic time the
staff wanted residents to know that
“we really are on the tenants’ side.”