For 130 years, Henry Street Settlement has opened doors of opportunity to help our neighbors reach their full potential. Whether helping people find jobs, thrive in school, heal from trauma, explore their creativity, or so much more, Henry Street is here, opening doors and changing lives.
2022
Annual Report
Our Impact: 2022
44,209
individuals reached by Henry Street
1,921
youth placed in summer jobs
11,406
boxes, containing 456,240 pounds of food, delivered by the LES Mobile Market during the program's lifespan
100%
Expanded Horizons high school grads attending a college of their choice—for more than a decade
1,071
individual and corporate volunteers donated 2,052 hours of their time
TRANSITIONAL & SUPPORTIVE HOUSING
271families—including 388 children—moved to permanent housing after living in Henry Street’s safe and supportive transitional homes
HEALTH & WELLNESS
6,487individuals served through mental health support, The Parent Center, benefits consultation, and community health outreach
employment services
440adult workers successfully connected with jobs
EDUCATION
2,369participants in early childhood education, afterschool, college prep, LES Youth Opportunity Hub, and community schools
VISUAL & PERFORMING ARTS
4,049community members received free or discounted tickets to an Abrons Arts Center performance
OLDER ADULT SERVICES
27,658hours of volunteer service provided by older adults in the Senior Companion Program
Letter from the CEO and Board Co-Chairs
The beauty and the benefit of looking back in reflection is that you are able to have a clear view of your past, your present, and sometimes your future. One thing that is evident to us is that Henry Street’s trusting bond with our community has only grown in recent years, and our commitment is to continue to deepen and expand it in whatever way we can.
Over the past year, our community has been affected by many of the issues we see in the headlines—public safety, a mental health crisis, inflation. To these daunting and global concerns, our team is responding in highly personal ways, tailoring our programming to meet our participants where they are. That is what a settlement house does every day. As the stories in this report convey: we help people in times of growth and in times of pain.
Henry Street’s mission is to open doors of opportunity. But it’s not enough to open a door. We must have the skills, values, resourcefulness, agility, and compassion to make something happen on the other side. Our team—600 strong—continues to answer the knock on the door, listen, and respond, just as our founder, Lillian Wald, did 130 years ago.
Thanks to you, our supporters, our board, our community, and our extraordinary team, we have the resources and capacity to do the best we can to meet the future from a place of strength and stability.
President & CEO
Board Co-Chair
Board Co-Chair
A Year of Lifting Up Our Community
Ali Rosa-Salas to Lead Abrons Arts Center
Henry Street on December 14, 2022, named Ali Rosa-Salas as vice president of performing and visual arts for the Settlement. Rosa-Salas, an interdisciplinary curator who joined the Abrons Arts Center in 2018, had redesigned its institutional curatorial strategy to be more accessible to the local community and integrative of Henry Street Settlement programs, constituencies, and Lower East Side businesses. Rosa-Salas succeeds Craig Peterson, who is now president of the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council.
“I could not be happier that, after a broad search, we were able to identify the talent and heart needed for this important job right here at home,” said David Garza, president and CEO of Henry Street Settlement.
NYCHA Arts Initiative Makes Arts Access a Reality
Insufficient access to arts education is a chronic issue for low-income children versus those from wealthier homes. Henry Street’s Abrons Arts Center has long sought to level the playing field, with scholarships and discounts. To go a large step further, in fall 2021, Henry Street began the NYCHA Arts Initiative, offering free classes to anyone living in public housing in our nearest zip codes. A total of 132 young New York City public housing residents—about one-third of our students—signed up during late 2021 and 2022, studying dance, visual arts, music, and theater, and enrolling in summer camp, at no cost. The initiative is made possible primarily through funding from the Arts & Letters Foundation and The Louis & Harold Price Foundation.
Henry Street Is Site of Three Major City Announcements
In the early 1900s, Henry Street welcomed social reformers from Jacob Riis to Eleanor Roosevelt to work toward solutions to pressing needs. Today, the Settlement continues to engage with key players seeking policy reforms that best support nonprofit organizations and the New Yorkers we serve.
On February 14, 2022, New York City Comptroller Brad Lander and senior members of the Mayor’s Office came together at the Dale Jones Burch Neighborhood Center to release the findings of “A Better Contract for New York: A Joint Task Force to Get Nonprofits Paid On Time.” The report outlines steps to overcome longstanding hurdles in the nonprofit contracting and payment processes.
New York City Health Commissioner Ashwin Vasan came to Henry Street, joined by Deputy Mayor Anne Williams-Isom, on May 24 to discuss the city’s mental health crisis in the wake of the pandemic. The commissioner, who focused on issues facing youth, people with serious mental illness, and those with substance use disorder, used the occasion to introduce the new CONNECT community-based mental health program.
On August 9, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg held a press conference at the Settlement’s Youth Services Building at 301 Henry Street to announce grants to 10 organizations, including the Settlement, to reduce gun violence.
Youth Opportunities Grow Across the Settlement
In 2022, to respond to the need for community, connection, and healing for the youth of the Lower East Side, Henry Street expanded and deepened our youth programming for all ages and interests.
With funding from the New York City Housing Authority, we expanded summer hours and offerings at our Education Services building and Boys & Girls Republic as part of a broad, citywide anti-violence initiative, which kept our spaces open until 11 p.m. Programming, engaging some 350 youth ages 14 to 19, included open gym, cooking, movie night, boxing, DJing, chess and critical thinking, and a discussion group.
The Mentoring and Nurturing (M.A.N.) program, led by the Settlement’s credible messenger, Toddrick Brockington, and youth employment coordinator, Munir Smith, connected 70 young men from the community with mentorship and guidance regarding self-love, financial literacy, emotional intelligence, and more. Five cohorts of young men have experienced the program, developing close bonds with one another and getting involved in additional Henry Street programs.
The Settlement’s education division collaborated with District 1 to launch City Trekkers, a summer camp for first through eighth graders designed to open children’s eyes to New York City and all it has to offer. Thanks to generous support from Trinity Church Wall Street, participants took field trips to Yankees and Mets games, Rye Playland, the American Museum of Natural History, Broadway shows, city parks, and more!
Through the Settlement’s revamped athletics programming, children of all ages played in our Sol Lain Flag Football League, Big Fly Baseball program, and Soccer Saturdays initiative, in addition to Boys & Girls Republic's legendary basketball leagues.
On Ramps to Opportunity—a spinoff from our Job Essentials Training program, targeted toward job-seeking young people ages 18 to 24—got off to a great start, holding a series of two-week boot camps for young people facing challenges, both practical and psychological, to entering the job market. The program is made possible by lead funders Robin Hood and the Consortium for Worker Education.
Urban Family Center Celebrates 50th Anniversary
Henry Street’s Urban Family Center (UFC)—the nation’s first apartment-style transitional shelter with onsite social services for families—celebrated its 50th year of service in 2022. The center was founded in response to the growing homelessness crisis of the early 1970s. Henry Street implemented a new shelter model—which was replicated nationwide—to ensure that families received the respect, dignity, and support they deserved to move toward self-sufficiency. The 50th anniversary celebration brought together former and current UFC team members with other Henry Street employees and guests at the Abrons Arts Center. Speakers with deep connections to UFC included past directors Verona Middleton-Jeter and Geniria Armstrong. They spoke to the “learning by doing” approach of the early years, when they had no articles or books to draw from.
Building Automation Systems Program Places 36 Grads in Jobs
In September 2021, Henry Street and its partner organization Stacks+Joules launched the Building Automation Systems Training program—a direct response to the jobs lost during the pandemic and economic changes that we were observing. The program brings under-represented groups into the high-tech field of automated HVAC and lighting controls. Now 36 graduates are working in the high-paying building automation industry—a remarkable achievement for an intensive new program requiring strict attendance and substantial learning.
Boys & Girls Republic Elections Return
There’s a new mayor in town, and on December 8, 2022, eighth grader Aedan Richards joined Boys & Girls Republic’s newly elected City Council, who met in the wood-paneled chambers at the program’s historic headquarters on East Sixth Street. All told, 13 children were sworn into their new positions. A hallmark of the BGR afterschool program, dating back to the Depression era, self-government introduces young “citizens” to the values of leadership, accountability, and advocacy.
Buck’s Rock Camp Welcomes Henry Street Youth
Eleven youth participants in Henry Street’s programs—including our Urban Family Center shelter and Jobs Plus—spent the summer of 2022 in the fresh air, honing their artistic skills at Buck’s Rock, a legendary arts camp in New Milford, Connecticut. Under the leadership of Lower East Sider Antonia Steinberg, the camp has broadened its mission to ensure that its experiences are affordable and accessible to a wide range of young people. These campers received full scholarships to attend.
Little Amal Meets with Lenape Elders at Abrons
Henry Street was honored on September 29 to welcome Little Amal, the 12-foot puppet of a 10-year-old Syrian refugee child, who spread a message of global human rights. Little Amal was met at Abrons Arts Center by Lenape elders and youth from the Lenape diaspora across the United States and Canada, who welcomed her to their ancestral homeland of Lenapehoking—a stretch of land along the Eastern Seaboard that includes Manhattan. John Thomas, a Lenape elder of the Delaware Tribe of Oklahoma, compared the situation of Syrian refugees to that of his and his ancestors’ own forced relocation. “We identify with [Syria’s] refugees. We are refugees here in our own homeland.”
Henry Street Announces Queer Walking Tours; National Register Listing
The Lower East Side is an international crossroads of communities—including queer communities that existed well before the dawn of a queer liberation movement and have continued into the post-Stonewall period. Henry Street is woven into this queer history through its founder Lillian Wald, whose romantic relationships with women were discovered through the love letters left behind in her personal archives. Wald’s story was the inspiration for Katie Vogel, the Settlement’s public historian, and five co-creators to develop the Queer History Walking Tour of the Lower East Side. In 2022, they led 15 tours with 250 participants, including some school groups.
Henry Street’s queer history was further enshrined with the advancement from state to national LGBT historic site recognition by the National Register of Historic Places overseen by the National Park Service.
Health & Wellness
Korey Smith Sees a Path to a Happier Life
In January 2022, Korey Smith, 44, lost his mother—whom he considered his closest friend. They had lived together for most of his life, provided each other with emotional support and plenty of laughter, and were each other’s caretakers. Besides, the two were financially interdependent. After her death, “I was low on options,” he says.
On the street, Korey, a lifelong Lower East Sider, looked up and saw a sign for the Settlement, where he had attended preschool some four decades earlier.
Korey was immediately introduced to CONNECT, a new program for people with mental health challenges that meets them where they are—both emotionally and geographically. CONNECT social workers can provide therapy in a home, office, hospital, or even walking down the street. The program offers a food pantry and activities from ceramic classes to anger-management groups to address multiple facets of wellbeing.
For Korey, CONNECT has provided a foundation to rebuild his life, mentally, physically, and socially. “This has been my first experience with a therapist who speaks to me from a place of humanity,” he says.
At the end of 2022, Korey and his therapist, Katerine Ribadeneira, put together an action plan for the coming year. It includes education, going back to work, taking care of medical needs, and continuing to attend three weekly support groups.“They are very sweet, loving, and open. I feel like I have friends again,” he says.
Education Services
Mariajose: Opening a Door to College
Mariajose Falcones—now a first-year student at Barnard College–learned about Henry Street’s Expanded Horizons college-preparation program from a staff member at her high school during 9th grade.
Though she attended a prestigious high school and hoped to go to college, she knew that the process of applying, and especially the cost, would be daunting for her family. With parents who had immigrated from Ecuador and the Dominican Republic, Mariajose would be the first person in her family to go to college.
The Expanded Horizons team provides students with free SAT and ACT preparation, helps them find colleges that are right for them, guides them through the financial aid process, and organizes activities to help smooth the transition to what is often a very big culture shift for low-income, predominantly students of color. Then, the team follows them throughout college, providing support as needed.
For Mariajose, the essay-writing assistance and financial aid guidance were invaluable. “We had never heard of forms like the FAFSA and CSS Profile,” she says. “My parents were so glad that this free resource was available.”
In spring 2022, Mariajose received the email she had hoped for: acceptance to Barnard and a full scholarship, including room and board. With additional scholarship funds from Henry Street Settlement to fill the gaps, she was completely ready to go to college, where she is now on the pre-law track.
Transitional & Supportive Housing
Celeste Looks to the Future with Hope
Each day, Celeste and her children leave their home in Staten Island at 6:40 a.m. not to return again until 9 p.m. Their three-borough life requires trains, buses, a ferry, and a lot of walking. But it’s a small price to pay, she says, for having a home of her own, after becoming homeless during the pandemic.
An immigrant from Guyana, Celeste lost her job as a nanny in March 2020, and soon she had no money for rent or groceries. “It was terrifying,” she says, “because of the kids. If I was by myself, it would have been different.”
The family moved in with a relative, but eventually she made the difficult decision to go to a shelter with her children. She was placed in Henry Street’s Urban Family Center.
“At UFC, they were very welcoming,” says Celeste. “Everyone was wonderful, especially my caseworker, Julia. I never felt disrespected or unwanted. It wasn’t what I expected. It ended up being something amazing.”
Because her son, Cayden, 12—an outstanding student—was attached to his Brooklyn Charter school, he remained enrolled there despite his long commute. Now, after school, he meets Celeste in Manhattan
Because her son, Cayden, 12—an outstanding student—was attached to his Brooklyn Charter school, he remained enrolled there despite his long commute. Now, after school, he meets Celeste in Manhattan where she has a new nannying job, and they return to Brooklyn to pick up her younger child before catching the Staten Island Ferry and a bus home.
where she has a new nannying job, and they return to Brooklyn to pick up her younger child before catching the Staten Island Ferry and a bus home.
Julia did all she could to help Celeste get back on her feet, Celeste says, from helping her family find their new home to helping to enter Cayden into a competition to receive VIP tickets to a Knicks game—which he won! Though life in the United States has been more challenging than Celeste expected, she looks to the future with hope. “If you come with an open mind and a good work ethic, you’ll be okay,” she says.
Abrons Arts Center
Carmelo Juggles Acting With Long Division
Carmelo Rios skipped a baseball game to try out for Dick Rivington & the Cat! at Abrons Arts Center in fall 2022.
“I felt like acting would be a good idea,” Carmelo says, “but during the audition where I had to sing, I was nervous. But then I took a deep breath, and eventually I got cast and I was like, oh my goodness, no way!”
Director Julie Atlas Muz knew she had a budding star on her hands when in the audition she asked him to sing “Happy Birthday,” and Carmelo said he’d like to sing “Sir Duke” by Stevie Wonder.
One of seven neighborhood children in the British-style Panto, written by Mat Fraser, Carmelo played a rat as well as a mer-child and an immigrant trying to convince an ICE agent to grant him entry into New York City. “Part of our mission at Abrons is not only to welcome community members to our classes and be in the audience but also to feel that our stages and galleries belong to them,” says Ali Rosa-Salas, vice president for visual and performing arts.
Now that the show is over, Carmelo is back to focusing on long division and collecting information for a paper on volcanoes. “It was the best show to be in, and if it continues next year I would want to recast myself. What would be better than just reliving your favorite moment every year?” Carmelo asks. “I’ll remember this for the rest of my life.”
Older Adult Services
Meals on Wheels Keeps the Huangs Nourished
For many years, Bai He and Li He Huang walked the streets of Lower Manhattan to their beloved senior center, where they ate many of their meals. When they didn’t make that journey, they dined in the cafeteria of their apartment building, where they’ve lived for 18 years.
When the pandemic struck, both of their dining options closed, leaving the Huangs without a regular source of food. Though Mr. Huang, 93,
When the pandemic struck, both of their dining options closed, leaving the Huangs without a regular source of food. Though Mr. Huang, 93, can go outside with a walker, his wife, 90, is no longer able to leave the apartment. They contacted Henry Street’s Meals on Wheels program in 2021.
can go outside with a walker, his wife, 90, is no longer able to leave the apartment. They contacted Henry Street’s Meals on Wheels program in 2021.
Henry Street delivers meals to 1,500 clients daily. The Huangs’ apartment is one of 14 within their older-adult residence that deliverer Mei Juan Zhao visits five days a week. Mr. Huang gives a big thumbs up to the food Mei brings and says, with her translating from Cantonese, the best part is that the meals are hot and ready to eat.
For 20 years Mr. Huang volunteered at his senior center, watching out for the older people there to see if they needed any help. Now, he’s grateful that Mei is watching over him and his wife.
Says Cindy Singh, Henry Street’s director of Older Adult Services, “The hard work and great care of our food deliverers like Mei makes a great deal of difference in the lives of people like Bai He and Li He Huang. It means they can continue to age safely and with dignity in their own homes.”
Employment Services
Sarai Williams & the Power of Compost
Sarai Williams likes the way composting helps the earth and the community at the same time—by transforming what could have been trash into nourishment for plants.
“I’ve always been a gardening kind of person,” says the 16-year-old, the youngest and only female member of the summer 2022 crew at Brooklyn’s Compost Power. Sarai was assigned to the nonprofit by Henry Street as a Summer Youth Employment Program participant, working on a small strip of land in Williamsburg, bounded by a New York City sanitation depot and the East River.
Sarai grew up under the spell of her grandparents’ Canarsie vegetable garden—where peas, tomatoes, and cabbage combined to make classic Jamaican dishes. Under the blazing summer sky at Compost Power, she and her coworkers constantly mixed and rotated adult-height mounds of mulch and food scraps–donated by the local community–as they broke down into carbon-rich compost.
“Making compost is cool,” says Sarai. “This job made me realize how wasteful people are with their food. It’s made me want to make sure that if I have food, I either eat it or find a place where I can compost it.”
Compost Power was founded by Domingo Morales, who was a Henry Street SYEP worker himself, a decade ago. For Sarai, the SYEP job was not just a chance to learn, but also to earn her first paycheck, “It felt pretty good to work for my own money,” she says, “after I did all the hard work myself.”
Employment Services
Esther Martinez: The Road to a New Career
For the six months that Esther Soledad-Martinez was enrolled in a certified medical assistant training program, she says, “My kids didn’t see me. I juggled; it was intense.”
The 30-year-old worked from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. each day and then began a four-hour class while her two- and four-year-olds stayed with their father or her mother. Though it was difficult, she was proud to be a role model for her children, prioritizing her education over easier options.
Esther had learned of the training from Damon White, her employment coordinator at Jobs Plus, Henry Street’s workforce program for people who live in and around the Jacob Riis and Lillian Wald Houses. She was intrigued by the idea of learning patient care and finding a path to higher wages.
The medical assistant training program, based at LaGuardia Community College, is one of a handful of certificate programs to which Henry Street refers jobseekers to give them a leg up on professional growth and earnings. Often people are unaware that such programs—many of them free to Henry Street participants—are available.
Esther learned medical terminology, basic lifesaving first aid, and EKG before moving into phlebotomy—the blood draw. She is an expert at helping people avoid fainting, she says.
With her certificate in hand, Esther was promoted to medical assistant in the doctor’s office where she worked and soon landed a job as a care manager for a social services agency.
“Most important,” Esther says, “I’m spending more time with my children and have weekends available.”
In 2023, Henry Street will begin two additional certificate programs: cybersecurity (in collaboration with CUNY’s Guttman College) and Applied Behavioral Analysis training to work with people with disabilities.
Volunteer Services
Tarik French Bridges Personal and Corporate Giving
Three years ago, Tarik French was on his way to the new Target store on the Lower East Side when he came across Henry Street’s Abrons Art Center. A Target employee who serves as the assets protection outreach coordinator for the New York metro area, Tarik decided to stop in to learn more about Henry Street and our community. Today, he’s a familiar face around the Settlement, regularly bringing members of his own team and other colleagues to volunteer at events. Since May 2020, Tarik and other Target employees have volunteered at 15 Henry Street events, donated beauty products and holiday gifts for families, and connected Henry Street to larger opportunities so we can continue serving the needs of our shared community together.
At Target, Tarik is responsible for ensuring a safe environment for guests and managing any crises, which can include connecting community members to social services like Henry Street’s. Whether providing a safe space for those in need, serving at community events, or getting a customer connected to housing, food, or other critical services, he embodies the Lillian Wald-inspired spirit that drives Henry Street today: a commitment to keeping our “hands and feet on the ground.” His passion has been infectious, inspiring a visit from Target’s Corporate Social Responsibility office, which resulted in a $150,000 grant from Target to support our youth employment programs.
Volunteers and partners like Tarik are at the heart of Henry Street’s mission; we thank them for their passion and commitment!
Henry Street Addresses Social Determinants of Health with NewYork-Presbyterian
For the past five years, Henry Street Settlement has worked closely with NewYork-Presbyterian’s Office of Community and Population Health, a collaboration begun when Henry Street Board Member Pilar Crespi Robert introduced the two organizations with the goal of finding more ways to help patients in the community remain healthy after a hospital stay.
Several projects are under way, with more to come. Through the Adult Community Health Worker (CHW) program, two bilingual English-Spanish Henry Street workers, funded by the Office of Community and Population Health, identify patients with chronic conditions at NewYork-Presbyterian Lower Manhattan Hospital, and help them manage their illnesses so they can remain stable at home. For more
Several projects are under way, with more to come. Through the Adult Community Health Worker (CHW) program, two bilingual English-Spanish Henry Street workers, funded by the Office of Community and Population Health, identify patients with chronic conditions at NewYork-Presbyterian Lower Manhattan Hospital, and help them manage their illnesses so they can remain stable at home.
For more than two years, Henry Street and NewYork-Presbyterian operated the LES Mobile Market, a mobile pantry providing food for people living in public housing. A forthcoming journal article notes that household food security significantly improved, with increases in vegetable and fruit consumption.
than two years, Henry Street and NewYork-Presbyterian operated the LES Mobile Market, a mobile pantry providing food for people living in public housing. A forthcoming journal article notes that household food security significantly improved, with increases in vegetable and fruit consumption.
The health care system, too, hired 20 patient greeters through Henry Street’s Workforce Development Center. “It’s hard to overstate the value and importance of our collaboration, says David Garza, Henry Street president and CEO. Looking ahead to 2023, Henry Street and NewYork-Presbyterian are working to launch an intensive case management program for people who have had repeat ER visits and two programs to improve health care for mothers, babies, and entire families living in or moving on from Henry Street’s transitional housing residences.
Financials
*Sources of income as listed above do not include the Loan Forgiveness income from the PPP loan recognized in FY2022.
Ways To Give: Open Doors. Change Lives.
1
Buy a brick in our historic firehouse
—the Dale Jones Burch Neighborhood Center—for yourself or a loved one.
2
Engage your employer
through matching gifts, special campaigns, and volunteerism.
3
Launch an online campaign
to direct your birthday, wedding, or other special occasion gifts to Henry Street.
4
Leave your legacy
and include Henry Street in your will or trust, impacting future generations.
5
Attend The Art Show,
a celebrated art fair opening with a glamorous benefit preview on November 2, 2023.
6
Give through your Donor Advised Fund
using our legal name Henry Street Settlement and Federal Tax ID Number 13-1562242.
Our Donors
Henry Street Settlement’s work would not be possible without thousands of individuals, foundations, and corporations, including those who have given for generations and those supporters who are new to the Henry Street family. We are deeply grateful for their generosity.
Board of Directors & Leadership
Meet Henry Street’s dedicated Board of Directors and Leadership Team.
Events of 2022
Henry Street community events were in full swing in 2022, with Summer Fun Saturdays and roller disco bringing thousands of neighbors together, The Art Show, our Abrons Arts Center musical Dick Rivington & the Cat!, and the 7th annual Lillian Wald Symposium.
Our Services
Henry Street operates more than 60 programs in the area of Health & Wellness, Transitional & Supportive Housing, Older Adult Services, Education, Employment, Arts & Humanities, and Community Engagement & Advocacy.