Even in the kaleidoscopic context of New York City’s
incredible ethnic, economic, and geographic diversity, a single
housing program can tackle many different aspects of social welfare.
Our latest commitment to this end has taken the form of Flora Vista,
built specifically to address the needs of previously homeless
individuals with histories of substance abuse and mental illness
in the heart of East Harlem, on 116th Street. Opened to our tenants
on May 26, Flora Vista offers another option for New Yorkers trying
to get their lives back on track.
Flora Vista is a newly-constructed six-story building, offering long-awaited
stability, security,
and support in the form of twenty bright studio apartments with sleeping alcoves,
full kitchens and baths, and a beautifully landscaped backyard. The men and
women living here receive most of their income from public assistance, though
several are employed and engaged in vocational education programs.
Perhaps the most important aspect of Flora Vista
is that tenants have their own private spaces;
domestic infrastructures on which they can build secure and forward-looking
lives. Living in their own homes, with full access to on-site case management
and support services, Flora Vista’s residents will carve out healthy
places for themselves in a supportive community.
The pictures our tenants hang in their spaces, the
food they store in their cabinets, and the toothbrushes they keep
in their bathrooms are just as important as the walls of the building
themselves—both are symbols implying stability, independence,
and room to breathe. Above all things, Flora Vista is a safe place
to grow, and its opening represents a huge step forward for both
Palladia and for the tenants we serve!
A response to Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s challenge
to “reduce the number of homeless men and women living on
the streets of New York City by two-thirds” by 2009, Flora
Vista was built adjacent to Dreitzer Women & Children and Dreitzer
House, two other Palladia residential and permanent housing facilities.
Both located on East 115th Street, Dreitzer Women & Children
is a residential treatment facility for 25 women and 25 children,
and Dreitzer House is a permanent supported housing facility for
36 families.
Construction of Flora Vista was
made possible through funding provided by the Enterprise Social
Investment Corporation, the New York State Homeless Housing Assistance
Corporation, the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development,
the New York State Division of Housing & Community Renewal,
and with the support of the New York City Department of Housing
Preservation & Development.
-by Jon Bellinger, Communications
Coordinator
Press Contact:
Alyse Booth
ABA International
718-643-4877 or 917-648-1382
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