REQUEST FOR SUPPORT

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We believe the fight for social change will end at the intersection of analyzing and subsequently enacting social change with clear collective action, this is why we have conceptualized a community solution center for the East Harlem Community. We believe that collective action through artistic expression, and community empowerment, will advance real social change to reduce poverty, end mass incarceration, and improve outcomes for low-income communities. Through our Reclaim the 2nd Floor Space project, we will create the ACYFO Center for Solutions and Performance Space. With a physical space designed for our programmatic needs, we will be able to harness the transformative power of strategic arts engagement to address and to mitigate  the impact of poverty, domestic violence, re-entry, and recidivism.

The Center for Solutions will provide accessible theater, workshop, and conference space to local artists, community advocates, and entrepreneurs in East Harlem.

The Black Box Community Theatre will function as a culturally responsive, socially concerned, liberatory artist-led performing arts venue. We see to offer rental space to promote film, media, and performance projects from change agents, innovators, and artists who seek to produce artistic content that confronts stereotypical mainstream media misrepresentations of poverty, race, culture, group identification, and social injustices by centering the voices of those people who are physically and socially impacted from the inside out. 

Our target audience for the center for solutions includes but is not limited to:

• Children & young adults
• Mothers & families
• Men, Fathers, and Young Fathers 
• Returning citizens
• Lay community members/residents/advocates
• Faith leaders/faith-based organizations
• New and existing local artists, influencers and change agents 
• Social entrepreneurs

GOALS

1. Promote public safety through community-based interventions via free training and capacity building tools to offset social inequalities. 
2. Offer free artistic literacy and capacity building training for people who are justice involved and at risk of future re-offending. 
3. Liberate the community and church by offering referral and direct opportunities and social services to young adults and families most vulnerable to the carceral system.
4. Provide reentry resources, referral services, social support services to people returning home from incarceration.
5. Galvanize and organize ACYFO to build sustainable relationships with local organization and East Harlem residents
6. Create a sustainable stream of income for ACYFO by offering theater, workshop, and conference space at an affordable rate to local artists, community advocates, and entrepreneurs in East Harlem.

OBJECTIVES

1. Community-based artists and entrepreneurs are better equipped to express themselves, advocate for the needs of their communities, and galvanize resources to address those issues. 
2. More community-based advocates and entrepreneurs are provided with the tools that they need to become socially and financially sustainable in their personal and professional lives. 
3. ACYFO will be in a position to scale it's positive impact on the East Harlem community by providing a space for culturally sensitive arts engagement and social service programming .
4. Reduce recidivism and position people returning home from incarceration to become productive members of their community 
5. Position ACYF to become a liberatory asset to residents and local advocates through referrals and strategic partnering
6. Position ACYFO to have more financial flexibility to meet the day-to-day needs of East Harlem residents, such as health and human service needs.

With your support we will be in a unique position to host services provider’s in our space in order to expand our holistic approach to personal and professional development. This would include the following services and opportunities:

Social Services [Peer Solutions]

• Therapy (Group and Individual) 
• Focus Groups 
• Parenting Workshops 
• Family Building Workshops
• Health & Wellness Workshops 
• Rape Counseling 
• Domestic Violence Counseling 
• Self-care & Empowerment 
• Spiritual Counseling

Professional Development/Trainings [Capacity Solutions]

• Financial Development
• Legal Literacy
• Technology Literacy
• Employable Skills Building (Hard & Soft)

Creative Activities/Art Therapy [Alternative Solutions]

• Arts-based programming and therapy
• Meditation
• Yoga
• Horseback Riding (Off-site)
• Journaling and Narrative Storytelling

Resources/Referrals [Sustainability Solutions]

• Housing/Shelter Support Services
• Job Placement Assistance
• Mental Health Support Services