SCO News
Center for Family Life Symposium – Cultivating Consciousness
February 22, 2017 / SCO News
February 22, 2017 - Brooklyn, NY Our Center for Family program hosted the 11th Annual Sister Mary Geraldine Symposium - Cultivating Consciousness: Infusing Our Work with Social Justice,
Read MoreFor Bronx Librarian, Bringing Books to Homeless Children Inspires Hope
December 20, 2016 / SCO News
December 19, 2016 – Bronx, NY – Lester Holt did a wonderful story on the NBC Nightly News featuring our Crotona Family Residence’s Reading Literacy Program. A manager from the Morrisania Branch Library, Colbert Nembhard, visits the shelter every Wednesday collaborating with our staff to engage toddlers though reading, sing…
Read MoreSCO Welcomes NYC Schools Chancellor Carmen Fariňa to Announce Homeless Shelter Reading Program
December 8, 2016 / SCO News
December 8, 2016 – Brooklyn, NY SCO Family of Services welcomed NYC Schools Chancellor Carmen Fariňa to our Flushing Family Residence in Brooklyn yesterday as she announced the Afterschool Reading Club (ARC), a brand new literacy enrichment pilot for elementary school students living in shelters. Chancellor Fariňa also took time…
Read MoreA New Forever Family
November 28, 2016 / SCO News
Queens, NY – November is National Adoption Month, a collective, national effort to raise awareness of adoption. Each year, SCO finds forever families for more than 100 children…like Heaven. Heaven (2nd from left) was officially adopted by Ketsy Rhodes (left) on November 15th at the Queens County Courthouse with the…
Read MoreMadonna Heights’ Morning Star Program Helps Address Growing Need on Long Island
July 26, 2016 / Madonna Heights News
Long Island currently faces a worsening addiction crisis, as heroin use and prescription pill abuse surge to epidemic levels. The growing number of women in Suffolk and Nassau counties struggling with substance abuse/addiction make treatment programs more critically important than ever – particularly those tailored to the unique concerns of women in recovery, such as pregnancy, parenting, poverty and trauma…
Read MoreSCO Supports Mayor’s Efforts to Improve Shelter Conditions
February 1, 2016 / SCO News
AP Photo/Richard Drew, Pool SCO applauds Mayor Bill de Blasio for announcing an aggressive plan to inspect and fix New York City homeless shelter conditions. In the press release announcing this plan, SCO Executive Director Doug O'Dell made the following statement of support: “We thank the Mayor for his focus on improving shelter conditions, and the increased resources that will enhance our ability to provide safe, secure and homelike environments for homeless families and individuals. SCO stands ready to support the Mayor in this effort,” said Douglas O’Dell, Executive Director of SCO Family of Services. Read the full press release below.
Read MoreMayor Announces SCO ED Doug O’Dell’s Appointment to NYC Children’s Cabinet Advisory Board
January 28, 2016 / Independent Youth News
SCO is proud to announce that Mayor Bill de Blasio recently appointed SCO Executive Director Doug O'Dell to the newly created NYC Children’s Cabinet Advisory Board. The Advisory Board offers valuable non-governmental expertise, relationships and resources to the City agencies that make up the Children's Cabinet, in order to help NYC best promote and protect children’s wellbeing. Members of the Board include appointees from all five boroughs in academia, faith, media, business, technology, the non-profit sector and the judiciary. In announcing the Advisory Board members, the de Blasio administration recognized Doug for bringing the following expertise: Douglas O’Dell is the Executive Director of SCO Family of Services where he has served in various other roles during his 24 years at the organization. He is an expert in the field of services to vulnerable populations of children, families and adults. During his time at SCO, he created SCO’s alternative to detention and placement programs serving court-involved youth in their homes with family-based therapy and community-based residences. He also launched the agency's Family Therapy Intervention Pilot which promotes families' acceptance of their LGBTQ children and provides services to reduce negative risk factors experienced by LGBTQ youth. Read the full press release below.
Read MoreSCO Thanks Mayor de Blasio for Commitment to Homeless & Runaway Youth
January 15, 2016 / Independent Youth News
SCO Executive Director Doug O'Dell praised Mayor Bill de Blasio for prioritizing the needs of homeless and runaway youth in New York City, stating in a recent press release announcing the City's plans to enhance services to address youth homelessness: "We applaud the Mayor for his encouragement of innovative initiatives to support homeless and runaway youth and young adults in New York City." Read the full announcement below.
Read MoreSCO Family of Services: Building a Brighter Future
January 6, 2016 / Independent Youth News
Each year, SCO Family of Services helps nearly 60,000 vulnerable New Yorkers build a strong foundation for the future. Here are just three examples of the unconditional care and life-changing results SCO brings to all of the lives we touch.
Read More2015 Holiday Cheer at SCO
December 18, 2015 / Independent Youth News
Thank you to the many, many SCO supporters and friends who donated thousands of gifts, organized holiday celebrations or otherwise supported the children, youth, adults, families and communities we serve during this special time of year. Below is just a sample of the overwhelming generosity shown toward New Yorkers in need during this season of giving.
Read MoreDedicated Staff & Partners Help Shelter Families Move Forward
May 20, 2015 / SCO News
SCO Family of Services will honor FJC Security Services, led by Chairman and founder Frank J. Califano, Sr., at the SCO Annual Benefit at Nassau Country Club on May 29th. FJC has for more than a decade provided security services for six shelters managed by SCO serving more than 1,000 people each day. Thanks to the dedicated service by FJC and all of SCO’s shelter staff, we are able to help individuals and families in need – like the Santiagos and Cajigas, whose stories are shared below – to build a strong foundation for the future.
Read MoreCFL students and staff rally to save after-school programs
April 24, 2015 / Independent Youth News
Staff and families from SCO's Center for Family Life in Sunset Park joined a crowd of community members who rallied at Brooklyn Borough Hall on April 23rd, calling on Mayor Bill de Blasio to fund 17 after-school programs in high-need neighborhoods that would be forced to close this summer unless the mayor allocates additional funding. Center for Family Life programs based at PS94 and PS169 in Sunset Park, are among the six Brooklyn programs in jeopardy.
Read MoreSCO’s Sandy Moya Appears on Immigration Forum Panel in Queens
April 10, 2015 / SCO News
Vice Chair Crowley, Assemblyman Moya Host Immigration Forum in Jackson Heights Crowley, Moya meet with local community to discuss executive action on immigration and what’s next for the NY DREAM Act (Queens, NY) – On Wednesday, April 8, Rep. Joe Crowley (D-Queens, the Bronx), Vice Chair of the Democratic Caucus, along with NYS Assembly Member Francisco Moya (D-Jackson Heights) hosted an immigration forum to give members of the local community an opportunity to hear from leaders and experts on the status of President Obama’s executive action on immigration, and the future of the NY DREAM Act, among other topics.
Read MoreFirstStepNYC hosts CityTech Nurses for community health event
March 24, 2015 / Independent Youth News
Seeking to raise awareness for two major health concerns facing children and families in Brownsville – uncontrolled asthma and childhood obesity – the New York City College of Technology Nursing Department and representatives from Brookdale and Kings County hospitals Tuesday held a community meeting at SCO/FirstStepNYC, an early childhood education…
Read MoreANNOUNCEMENT: NYC Worker Cooperative Development Initiative
March 20, 2015 / SCO News
The Center for Family Life (CFL) has been incubating worker cooperatives in Sunset Park, Brooklyn for the past eight years. We have seen how our work has helped empower our community by supporting cooperative members in their quest for fair wages and dignified employment through their cooperative businesses. In the…
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