Published May 07, 2009 @ 01:36PM PT

The first lady, Michelle Obama, ventured publicly into the policy realm on Tuesday, announcing that the Obama administration planned to create a $50 million "social innovation fund" to help finance and expand promising nonprofit agencies.  The fund would offer financial support to nonprofit and community groups that focus on education, health care and economic mobility, among other issues, officials say. The administration plans to encourage foundations, philanthropists and corporations to help raise additional money for the program.  "The idea of the fund is simple: find the most effective programs out there and then provide the capital needed to replicate their success in communities around the country," Mrs. Obama said Tuesday in New York City, where she was honored at Ti... Read More

Published April 19, 2009 @ 05:36AM PT

The Obama administration yesterday launched a five year, $45 million media campaign to promote HIV and AIDS awareness, saying that Americans had grown complacent about the deadly illness. "Act Against AIDS" will feature public service announcements, advertising placards on trains, buses and other modes of public transit, text messaging and a Web site, NineAndaHalfMinutes.org,a reference to the frequency with which 56,000 people a year are infected. "There is a complacency ..... a false sense of security, and a false sense of calm," said Kevin Fenton, director of the National Center for HIV/AIDS at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). "Every nine and a half minutes someone's mother, someone's daughter, someone's father, someone's friend is infected." Fenton said the a... Read More

Published April 10, 2009 @ 05:18PM PT

Coming Soon.  The Renee Steedley Residence is AAPCI's response to addressing the need for new affordable housing in New York City. The residence will be designed to meet two needs of area residents. Half of the 40 unit residence will be designated with a preference for working families who also happen to be survivors of domestic violence. The second half of the residence will consist of apartments for regular working families who have been priced out of “market rate” housing in New York City. To learn more about how you can help survivors of domestic violence, please visit: http://aapci.org/services/dvhelp.html

Published April 10, 2009 @ 05:13PM PT

Coming Soon.   The goal of Edwin's Place is to meet the immediate and long term needs of single adults, elderly couples, and families living with HIV/AIDS. Additionally, Edwin's Place seeks to facilitate independence, dignity and well-being through a complement of safe, affordable housing and day-to-day supportive services provided to tenants. All tenants MUST be capable of independent living and may not require 24 hour round-the-clock, on-site medical intervention. To learn more about how you can help families and seniors living with HIV/AIDS, visit: http://aapci.org/services/edwin.html

Published March 17, 2009 @ 05:16PM PT

The African American Planning Commission, Inc. (AAPCI) has been awarded an annual $625,000 grant by the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene ("DOHMH"). The funds will be used by AAPCI to provide supportive services to families and elderly couples living with HIV/AIDS once AAPCI completes development of its Edwin's Place residence, a new state-of-the-art permanent housing program with onsite support services in the East New York community of Brooklyn. "Southern Brooklyn has been one of the hardest neighborhoods hit by the HIV epidemic, and due in part, to a lack of sufficient supportive housing and services. The area we serve has one of the highest mortality rates for the disease." said Matthew Okebiyi, founder and Executive Director of the Commission. "Edwin's Place wil... Read More

Published March 11, 2009 @ 02:55PM PT

“Women Living with HIV and AIDS in NYC: A Mapping Project and Literature Review” was released yesterday by The Women’s HIV Collaborative of New York. A disproportionate percentage of women and girls living with HIV and AIDS in NYC – 60% -- reside in just 14 ZIP codes in eastern Brooklyn, the Bronx, and northern Manhattan, according to a study released yesterday by The Women’s HIV Collaborative of New York. Socio-economic stressors in these “hot spots,” including high rates of poverty and incarceration, heighten women’s risk for acquiring HIV. Consequently, the report recommends that local politicians, service providers, and advocates work together to reduce HIV risk among NYC’s women and girls by enacting reform in areas such as ho... Read More

Published March 08, 2009 @ 09:39AM PT

Jasmina Anema turns 6 years old Wednesday, and the birthday party planned for her - with a fashion show, cake and an appearance by singer Kelly Rowland - is a dream come true. But the celebration could be Jasmina's last. The bubbly Greenwich Village kindergartner is suffering from a rare and especially fatal form of leukemia that doctors fear will take her life within two months unless she receives a bone-marrow transplant. Jasmina's family - and celebrities like Rihanna and NBA star Paul Pierce, who were touched by her plight - hope a donor drive Saturday will produce the match needed to save her. "I need thousands of people to come," Jasmina's mother, Theodora Anema, said Tuesday at NYU Medical Center as her ailing child clung to her neck. "She's the love of my life." Jasmina's ... Read More