HHS awards $15 million grant to NYU Langone

Funds going to Sunset Park Family Health Center

NYU Langone is getting a $15 million grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to put toward the health care and educational services it provides at the Sunset Park Family Health Center, according to U.S. Rep. Nydia Velázquez, who worked to secure the federal funding.

NYU Langone is one of several institutions in the Brooklyn portion of Velázquez’s congressional district to be awarded HHS grants for early childhood education programs like Head Start programs, as well as health care, mental health services and substance abuse treatment.

The Sunset Park Family Health Center at NYU Langone operates out of two locations, 150 55th St. and 5610 Second Ave., and is part of a network of nearly a dozen family-oriented medical clinics NYU Langone operates to provide primary health care and dental services to underserved neighborhoods in Brooklyn.

The HHS grant will allow Sunset Park Family Health Center at NYU Langone to continue to provide a full array of outpatient services for adults and children, according to Velázquez.

“Health centers are vital to our communities,” Velázquez said in a statement. “They integrate access to pharmacy, mental health, substance use disorder and oral health services in areas where economic, geographic or cultural barriers limit access to affordable health care services. I am proud to see local health centers receive federal funding to continue the important work of delivering high quality services to New Yorkers.”

Velázquez, a Democrat, represents several neighborhoods in Brooklyn, Queens and Manhattan.

Larry McReynolds, executive director of the Family Health Centers at NYU Langone, said the grant money will come in handy.

“This funding will support the wide array of community-based, early childhood, educational and healthcare programming that we provide, and we are so grateful,” he told this newspaper in an email.

McReynolds described the array of services the centers offer to outpatients.

“We provide the people of our community with much more than just high-quality primary, dental, and behavioral healthcare. We are a lifeline to expecting moms, growing children, undocumented immigrants, people who might be homeless or struggling with addiction, working families who need a little help to get closer to their goals and many others,” he said.

Another recipient, Diaspora Community Services, at 921 East New York Ave., will receive $283,875 for its program to raise awareness of HIV/AIDS among young adults and members of the in the LGBTQ+ community.

The After Hours Project, Inc., at 1204 Broadway, was awarded $524,670 for its program aimed at reducing the spread of HIV/AIDS in low income and minority neighborhoods.

Several of the HHS grants announced by Velázquez were awarded to agencies and non-profit organizations sponsoring Head Start and Early Head Start programs in their communities.

Catholic Charities Neighborhood Services, headquartered in Brooklyn Heights, is getting $7.3 million for its Early Head Start program. It has been operating for more than 100 years and offers programs in English, Spanish and Creole.

The YM & YWHA of Williamsburg, Inc., located at 64 Division Ave., has been awarded $2.4 million for its Early Head Start program.

HHS awarded $2.4 million to Yeshiva Kehilath Yakove, a learning center at 638 Bedford Ave., for its Head Start program

“Time and time again, reports released from the Department of Health and Human Services underscore the lifetime social benefits of Head Start Programs and their impact on our youth. From testing significantly better in literature and math to showing better social-emotional, language and cognitive development, the value of Head Start programs is well documented. I am proud to see a wide range of local centers receive federal funding to continue the important work of educating our youngest New Yorkers,” Velázquez said.

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