Achieve 2006
Members of the Leo Beck Temple visit GHG
(LOS ANGELES) - On Wednesday, December 20, 2006
Rabbi Leah along with members of the Leo Baeck Temple and their children
took the Gramercy Family Center by storm! They generously brought
homemade gingerbread cookies for all the children to decorate. They also
took photos of each of the children and printed them to put into the
frames they brought the children to decorate. In addition, they brought
car loads of food, books and toys for all the children to enjoy! Thanks
Leo Beck Temple!
GHG - Annual Holiday Party 2006
(LOS ANGELES) - On Tuesday, December 19, 2006 GHG celebrated their annual
holiday party for all the families living at Gramercy Court. Santa handed out
gifts to each of the children that were generously donated by the Showtime
Network. Each of our moms received gift cards to Walmart that were generously
donated by Anchor Loans. All the food, gingerbread house, paper goods, and
party favors were generously donated by the Adelson Family. Thank you to each
of our donors for helping make our holiday party a success!
Stocking stuffers compliments of Ella Fitzgerald
Foundation and Anchor Loans
Gifts courtesy of Showtime Network for each of the kids.
Gifts for moms courtesy of Anchor Loans
Treat bags and party favors courtesy of the Adelson Family
Dinner, gingerbread house, tablecloths, silverware, plates,
and napkins
courtesy of the Adelson Family.
Gramercy Family Center Celebrates Its West Adams
Home that Brings Family to Young Women and Children in
Need
New historic window treatments complement the
neighborhood....
(LOS ANGELES) – Gramercy Housing Group is celebrating
its new look of a historic neighborhood motif provided
by the West Adams Heritage Association (WAHA) with a
neighborhood thank you reception (Saturday, Nov 4, 4-6
p.m.). The new film window treatments celebrate local
architects and their designs from the 1920’s in the
historic neighborhood.
The Gramercy Housing Group, with 16 transitional housing
units, is in its 10th year of providing affordable
housing, child care, education and job skills training
to young single parents (18-24 years) at the newly
expanded Gramercy Family Center (1824 4th Avenue, corner
of Washington). Child care is also now open to the
community to serve 39 children ages 3 months to 5 years.
The new window treatments take the place of the
painted-out windows on the corner and showcase the
area’s heritage. Some are affixed to windows and others
are free hanging with the opportunity for other houses
in the neighborhood to be showcased. Gramercy’s building
began life in 1923 as the Majestic Pharmacy building.
Founded in 1992, Gramercy Housing Group recently became
a member of PATH Partners, a consortium of nonprofit
agencies under the management umbrella of People
Assisting The Homeless.
“Gramercy offers many opportunities for our residents to
learn, become nurturing parents and successful tenants,”
said Janet Ganaway, executive director of Gramercy
Housing Group.
Young women who remain at Gramercy for at least six
months receive a high school diploma or GED or attend
college, vocational training or have steady employment.
An individual development savings account, provided
through a small bonus from Gramercy Housing Group for
successfully completing the program, assists families in
saving enough money for a security deposit and first
month’s rent for their next home.
Each of the young residents has a unique story. Some
become pregnant as teens or in their early 20s, giving
them a perspective on survival.
Both Izetta Daniels and Deronda Williams had to make
their way alone after becoming pregnant and found the
way to Gramercy.
Izetta Daniels, 23, says, “ It’s been a life saving
situation. I grew up here and became a mother. I
appreciate everything Gramercy offers. You can change
your life.” Daniels, who had been a foster child, has a
job and plans to become a social worker once she’s
secured permanent housing.
DeRonda Williams, 22, says Gramercy has provided a
foundation as she works on college credits. “Group
sessions have taught me a lot. My goal is to get a
nursing degree. PATH and Gramercy are really about the
person.”
Each of the residents resides with one child in large
studio apartments with full kitchen and bath and storage
facility.
They are given free internet hookup for computers and
can personalize their space.
For information about attending the reception or to
learn more about Gramercy Housing Group and its
services, please contact Joey Solomon at (323) 737-7351,
ext. 13.
Reproduced with permission.
OurWeekly - September 7, 2006
Program Helps the Young and Pregnant
Young mothers learn independence at Gramercy Housing Group
By
Shirley Hawkins
OW Staff Writer
It’s a sad fact that young women
emancipated from the foster care system who are pregnant or with young children
often find themselves without a place to live.
According to statistics
from the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services, 45
percent of the youth emancipated from the foster care system become homeless and
12 percent of the babies born in Los Angeles County are born to teenage mothers.
In order to combat these statistics, the non-profit agency Gramercy
Housing Group assists young mothers emancipated from foster care by providing a
two-year transitional housing system that teaches life skills while providing
classes in self-esteem, parenting, employment, education and financial literacy.
The program, housed in the Gramercy Court building located at 4th Avenue
and Washington Boulevard, is offered to pregnant women or young mothers from 18
to 24 years of age.
“We have 16 single apartment units that are large
enough for a mother and a child,” said Janet Ganaway, executive director of
Gramercy Housing Group. “We provide case management services and a variety of
life skills training. A child care center is also located on site where the
women can leave their children while they attend work or school.”
In
order to be admitted to Gramercy, the women must undergo a criminal background
screening and a tuberculosis screening. They must also complete a rental
application. If the women are accepted for housing, they pay $175 a month in
subsidized rent. Each of the women is assigned to a case manager who helps map
out a plan for their two-year stay and makes sure they get placed in long-term,
permanent housing. Simona Gibson, 18, was referred to the program by her mother.
“My mother had a lot of other people in her house, and I needed a place to stay
with my one-month-old daughter,” said Gibson.
Gibson said that living at
Gramercy Court has been a positive experience. “I’m experiencing living alone
for the first time,” said Gibson. “I’m learning how to be independent and I love
it,” said Gibson, who is studying for her high school diploma. Izetta Daniels,
22, said that Gramercy Court has been a “godsend.” “I’ve been here since April
2004,” said Daniels, who said that she spent time in the foster care system.
“Living here has been wonderful. I’ve become self-sufficient and I’m saving
money. I’m going to school at East Los Angeles College and I plan to become a
social worker.”
Ganaway said that Gramercy assists about 85 percent of
the women with placement in affordable housing. “While at Gramercy, the women
learn how to be tenants,” said Ganaway. “They learn how to manage a household by
paying rent, managing their utilities and balancing their daily life. Gramercy
is one of a handful of agencies in Los Angeles County that provide this kind of
service.”
Ganaway said that after the women have completed their
residency at Gramercy, they receive assistance with housing, a reference letter
and a credit check.
The officials at Gramercy Housing Group said that of
the clients who stayed more than six months, 75 percent attended school or
received job training, 90 percent relocated to affordable housing with 56
percent receiving rental subsidies; 97 percent participated in childcare and
parenting programs, and 100 percent participated in case management. Currently
15 mothers and 15 children are participating in childcare, parenting, and case
management classes.
What is most gratifying for the administration at
Gramercy Housing Group is that none of the children of their clients have become
second-generation foster youth. “It’s important to us that we’re able to break
the cycle of another generation of children going into foster care,” said
Ganaway.
Gramercy Housing Group, which recently celebrated its 10th year
anniversary, can be reached by calling (323) 737-7351.
Reproduced with permission.
Gramercy Family Center Celebrates its 10th Anniversary With Opening of Newly
Expanded Child Services Program
West Adams center assists single young parents in need of
housing...
Councilmember Herb Wesson celebrates GHG's
Grand Opening with Nadine Hettle (Board President), Joey Solomon
(Assistant Director) and Janet Ganaway (Interim Exec. Director)
Ribbon Cutting at the Grand Opening
(LOS ANGELES) - Gramercy Housing Group, an
organization dedicated to providing affordable transitional housing, child care,
education and job skills training to young single parents, celebrates its 10th
anniversary with the opening of its newly expanded Gramercy Family Center (1824
4th Avenue) in Los Angeles' historic West Adams district, Thursday, June 22
(10:30 a.m.).
Founded in 1992, Gramercy Housing Group recently became a
member of PATH Partners, a consortium of nonprofit agencies under the management
umbrella of People Assisting The Homeless (PATH).
Gramercy Housing
Group, which originally opened Gramercy Court in 1996, consists of 16
transitional housing apartments for single parents ages 18-24 years with one
child under 5, a licensed childcare center, community room, and support services
for residents.
The expansion now allows the family center for the first
time to provide childcare services to community from 3 months to 5 years old,
and has a capacity for up to 35 children at a time.
The two-year
transitional housing program at Gramercy Court immerses young parents in
comprehensive services to increase their personal assets, self esteem, parenting
and employment skills, education and financial literacy. Successful parents are
able to move to long-term permanent housing.
Each parent who remains at
the center for more than six months graduates from high school or completes a
G.E.D. before moving, or attends college, vocational training or has steady
employment. An individual development saving's account, with matching funds from
Gramercy Housing Group, assists families in saving enough money for a security
deposit and first month's rent for their next home.
For information about
attending the celebration or to learn more about Gramercy Housing Group and its
services, please contact Joey Solomon at (323) 737-7351, ext. 13.
Reproduced with permission.
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