Lantern Community Services

See schedule olantern Community Services (Lantern) champions the independence and well-being of chronically homeless new yorkers. Lantern's ultimate goal is to secure and provide stable housing for new yorkers affected by homelessness. To support individuals and families in securing and maintaining stable housing, we provide supportive housing, emergency shelter, and wraparound Services in 19 sites across manhattan, the bronx, brooklyn, and queens.lantern operates 16 supportive housing residences, which combine permanent affordable housing with voluntary and flexible supportive Services such as employment assistance, health education, and food programs. Located across manhattan, brooklyn, and the bronx, these residences provide housing and social Services for single adults and families who have experienced homelessness, as well as young adults who aged out of foster care. In fy 2023, 99.5% of Lantern supportive housing residents maintained their housing stability, either within Lantern or by moving on to another form of permanent housing.lantern shelters provide emergency housing and social Services for single adults currently experiencing homelessness. In fy23, Lantern's three shelters added a total of 374 beds to the nyc emergency housing system, serving unhoused women, men, and transgender and gender-nonconforming (tgnc) individuals.lantern offers on-site supportive Services to all residents of our supportive housing and emergency shelters, and linkages to resources in the broader Community to help progress toward increasing security, stability, and quality of life. These Services include personalized case management, housing stability support, and an array of specialized programs that provide residents with diverse opportunities for engagement, Community connection, and skill-building.shelter achievementslantern operates three shelters for unhoused individuals, including laurel hall in ozone park (queens) the plaza in Washington heights (manhattan), and rockaway terrace in far rockaway (queens). Throughout the fiscal year, all three shelters achieved housing placement rates that were among the highest performing across the department of homeless Services (dhs) shelter portfolio. In total, Lantern shelters secured housing placements for 133 adults experiencing homelessness. Among the residents placed in housing , 105 moved into apartments, 16 moved into supportive housing, and 11 achieved housing through family reunification.food and nutritioni. Food security initiativesthroughout fy23, Lantern continued to implement food distribution programs across all 16 supportive housing sites. Programs include shelf-stable pantry Services, community-style meals, and fresh food box (distribution of fresh produce, eggs, and grains). This year in supportive housing, Lantern's food security initiatives distributed: - 6,900 boxes of free produce, grains, and eggs; - 28,700 community-style, prepared meals; and- over 950 shelf-stable pantry essentials in response to household requests.i. Program spotlight: culinary, nutrition, and food justice educationlantern's food 4 life program entered its sixth year of providing on-site culinary instruction and nutrition education. In calendar year 2022, twenty-two participants shared their experiences through surveys. Results indicate that food 4 life successfully supports participants in building skills and habits for use in daily life. For example, after the program: - 75% of participants strongly agreed they could prepare a nutritious and affordable meal.- 100% of participants made more than four recipes at home since the program ended. - 75% of participants cook and eat more.additionally, Lantern's new food 4 justice program completed its first year. Participants learned and applied lessons about food access, social justice, nutrition, and ways to support others who face food insecurity. The program culminated with a Community service project in november 2022, in which participants organized a cookout and distributed meals to 40 people who were food insecure in tremont, the bronx.health programsi. Peer-driven programs in fy 23in may 2021, Lantern received a grant from the cdc foundation to address health inequities tied to vaccine confidence and uptake for covid and influenza. Our on point intervention is grounded in a peer-based health education model. In fy23, 22 resident peer educators, or vaccine ambassadors, engaged their neighbors in supportive housing through outreach, education, and promotion of on-site vaccination clinics. Achievements from fy23 include: by the end of the year, 90% of tenants were currently "fully vaccinated" against covid-19, with an additional 30% receiving bivalent boosters. 107 vaccination clinics provided across Lantern's 19 siteslantern's second peer model, also funded by the cdc foundation, is an hiv education and self-testing initiative called knowledge=power. The program consists of outreach education, distribution of free at-home hiv test kits, and staff support in linkage to care for those who test positive. In fy23, the program distributed 218 at-home hiv self-test kits to residents across ten supportive housing sites. Ii. Overdose prevention highlightslantern is a certified opioid overdose prevention program through the nyc and nys departments of health. In fy23, Lantern staff dispensed 485 naloxone kits to residents, including distribution and instructional education. Lantern is also a pilot program for the nyc department of health and mental hygiene initiative to reduce fentanyl-related overdoses. In fy23, Lantern staff distributed 218 fentanyl test strips to residents and provided education to support proper use.education and employmenti. Children's education servicesin fy 2023, children and youth education Services focused on diversifying Lantern's resources and supportive Services for students living in supportive housing. The department strengthened partnerships with external providers, augmenting in-house expertise and programs with new resources. This integrated model creates flexible pathways for students seeking educational support and enrichment, designed to accommodate individual differences in learning styles, interests, and academic goals. Program highlights from fy 2023 include: fourteen students (k-12) and one young adult enrolled in the musical mentors collaborative program, which provides free instruments and one-on-one virtual music coaching. Ten students received college scholarships from mega contracting. Through a partnership with the st. barnabas hospital healthplex program, five students (ages 13+) participated in a five-week program of training sessions and culinary classes. Seven students engaged with Lantern's tutoring program, and three students participated in a new volunteer-led virtual journaling club.ii. Adult education and employmentin fy 2023, the adult education and employment Services department refreshed in-house programs to improve accessibility and impact. This program supports residents with skill-building and pursuing educational and vocational development. New partnerships with local organizations and businesses have allowed Lantern to bring external resources and expertise to residents. Among the partnerships cultivated in fy 2023, highlights include strive new york, job corps, hot bread kitchen, american beauty school, the suny brooklyn specialized on-site events. These partnerships have created access to comprehensive skills training and personal support designed for individuals facing barriers to educational and vocational advancement. In the area of education, Lantern supported three residents in enrolling in educational programs during fy23, including an adult who returned to college for a combined ged and associate degree program. The program also integrated new Services focused on technological literacy, including applied skills training and workshops. For example, these Services engaged 13 residents in training to support their use of ipads for education.arts and culturethroughout fy23, Lantern's arts and culture program has revitalized efforts to promote artistic expression, creativity, stress relief, and community-building. This year, arts and culture Services reintroduced and expanded ongoing classes, outings, and events to engage residents across all buildings, with examples including: weekly art therapy, dance, and movement classes outings featuring the lion king, professional sporting events (mets and knicks), bowling, and razeup smash therapy rooms each site held at least two monthly celebrations, including events for black history month, pride, mother's day, father's day, and memorial day.o some events hosted performances by the wula drummers, vogue pride dancers, and dj entertainment. Games and karaoke activities