Губернатор Кэти Хоукул сегодня выделила $25 миллионов долларов из финансирования штата Нью-Йорк на улучшение условий и возможностей реагирования для агентств, состоящих из пожарных-добровольцев. Это финансирование, […]

Губернатор Кэти Хоукул сегодня объявила, что штат Нью-Йорк выделил около $100 миллионов грантов на поддержку бесплатных и недорогих программ послешкольного обучения, обслуживающих почти 40 000 […]

The Arthur Ashe Institute for Urban Health celebrated its 30th annual SportsBall Gala, the Black Tie & Sneakers event, on Oct. 17, gathering community leaders, honorees and supporters at Manhattan’s Pierre Hotel to spotlight the East Flatbush organization’s mission for health equity.

Emmy Award-winning journalist and philanthropist Cathleen Trigg-Jones hosted the event, joined on stage by Dr. Marilyn Fraser, the Institute’s chief executive officer, and Brett Wright, the chairman of the Board. Together, they shared the organization’s strides toward advancing community health and discussed its future vision.

The evening honored three health leaders with the Arthur Ashe Institute Leadership Award: Thomas Halloran, CEO of Fidelis Care; Amir Bassiri, Medicaid director of New York State’s Health Insurance Programs; and Dr. Jason Lazar, Vice Dean for Education and Chair of Medical Education at SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University. Each awardee shared personal insights into their partnership with the Institute and the importance of collaboration between healthcare, government, and educational institutions to address systemic health disparities.

The spotlight also turned to the Institute’s impact at the grassroots level, with Trigg-Jones introducing Jerome Archer of Platinum Cuts Inc. and Elaine Richards of Royal Ambiance Salon. Both were lauded as instrumental partners in the Institute’s community outreach programs, promoting health awareness to Brooklyn residents through their trusted roles.

Two alumni of the Institute’s Health Science Academy (HSA), Roudjessie Charles and Dr. Joshua McHugh, joined the stage to discuss the program’s influence on their lives. Charles, a 2017 HSA graduate, is now a manager at the Health Science Academy, while Dr. McHugh, a 2002 alumnus, has become a physician. Trigg-Jones highlighted their successes as proof of the Institute’s lasting impact on young community members and future health professionals.

New York Giants legend Ottis Anderson led the evening’s auction, followed by the United States Tennis Association’s presentation of a scholarship — honoring the year Arthur Ashe won the U.S. Open — to two recent HSA graduates. Megan Vanzie, who studies Health Science at Howard University, and Kareem Bhaim, a Pre-Engineering student at Providence College, each received the $1,968 scholarship.

Guests received complimentary Reebok sneakers along with products from Clinique, Miss Jessie’s Natural Hair Products, LoMar Farms and FitBiomics.

On Nov. 11, A Safe Space Studio will open its doors in Sunset Park, offering a new refuge for Brooklyn residents. A sister organization to a nonprofit focused on mental health equity, the studio will provide wellness classes at affordable prices.

Founded by duo Teya Knapp and Jasmine Dayze, A Safe Space Studio is open to everyone, but specifically aims to assist those struggling to find community. The founders noted that people of color and low-income residents often face barriers to prioritizing wellness. To address this issue, several classes at the studio are free, with paid options starting at $20. An unlimited monthly membership will cost $100.

“If you’re in survival mode, you’re not thinking about, ‘Oh, I need to breathe, or I need to relax or I need to take a yoga class,’” Dayze said. “So we’re in the business of educating people on balancing the two and intertwining the two.” 

“And it’s very well known that people of color, marginalized communities, have always been historically disadvantaged when it comes to having resources for mental health because things are so expensive,” Knapp added.

In addition to the Reiki classes and guided workouts, the studio will host paid, hour-long therapy sessions for couples and individuals. The sessions will be led by certified BIPOC counselors and social workers, and classes may also be bilingual — providing representation for Sunset Park’s large Hispanic population. The studio will also offer membership scholarships for those who qualify, compensating a month’s worth of unlimited studio classes and a guest pass per month. 

“The wellness world has become very saturated, being mostly white-led spaces,” Knapp said. “I think that it’s very important that we have culturally relevant wellness experiences, so that people can relate to the people that are providing these offerings. And a lot of these practices come from indigenous communities, so bringing it back to the people also feels really good.”

The studio also plans to hold “Safe Space Saturdays,” weekly happy hours with a unique DJ that emulate the energy of nightlife without the alcohol. Events like these will allow people to integrate wellness and community, Knapp said.

Knapp was inspired to work in wellness during the COVID-19 pandemic and the Black Lives Matter movement, when she realized people needed support for their mental health journeys. She created A Safe Space Mentor — the sister nonprofit — in 2021, offering wellness retreats, hiking groups and free therapy. She soon met Dayze, who had been a massage therapist for nearly a decade, and they hit it off instantly. Dayze helped work on the wellness retreats and played a large role in the nonprofit, eventually becoming a co-founder of the physical studio space.

“I notice that a lot of the time, people just want to feel less lonely,” Dayze said. “New York City is full of thousands and millions of people, but we just somehow still feel alone. Or that what we’re going through, no one else is going through. So this community is super important to us for that reason — just to help people feel less lonely.”

Those interested in joining the studio can take advantage of an early bird membership rate of $80 per month for the first 50 members.

In the beginning, the World Series matchup of the Dodgers against the Yankees was a kind of charming intra-city showdown of two New York City boroughs, blue collar Brooklyn, equipped with a neighborhood called Gravesend, against the pretentious Bronx, with the fancy Grand Concourse. It was an intriguing matchup that carried bragging rights in the […]

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