Over the past year, the economic fallout of the pandemic has disproportionately impacted underserved populations and has increased the number of newly vulnerable New Yorkers. Unemployment threatens to push families into poverty, with many low-income New Yorkers worrying about running out of money or getting food on the table. We have worked for decades to…
Rachel Oddman was getting a ride home from a friend in early 2020 when she noticed a large cloud in the sky. She recalled there was “a grayness in the air.” She had a feeling that she should start stocking up on groceries and essentials, although she could not explain exactly why. Soon after, reports…
I am saddened to see the rise of Anti-Asian violence and rhetoric, both in our communities and nationwide. Xenophobia and hate should have no place in New York City, yet over the past year, we’ve seen a dramatic rise in reported hate crimes against Asian Americans. While disturbing, it is also unsurprising, a year into…
A long week of waiting for every vote to be counted in the presidential election has finally concluded, and Vice President Joe Biden and Senator Kamala Harris have been elected as President and Vice President of the United States. This is a victory for public health in New York City and across the country. It…
This story was first published by Nurse-Family Partnership on October 15, 2020. TENACIOUS SUPPORT DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC Say what you will about New Yorkers, they understand COVID-19. Nobody dares try to convince them it’s a hoax. Memories from March and April, when the outbreak across the city was raging and refrigerated trucks were parked…
Free and reduced-priced school meals are critical for students’ health, especially low-income students, and that consideration has influenced the debate over reopening schools during the pandemic. But what about babies, toddlers, and children too young for school? Where do they get food if they face food insecurity at home?
Being a single mother at eighteen years old, Rosa felt nervous and unsure about caring for a young child, but her troubles were compounded when immediately postpartum, her appendix ruptured, leaving her in pain for weeks. This was when a social worker at Woodhull Hospital referred Rosa to PHS’ Healthy Families Program, one of our free family support and home visitation programs.
Research has shown that father engagement in a child’s life is particularly important in the health and development of the infant and growing child. Recognizing the important role that fathers play in the overall development of families, PHS recently implemented a Fatherhood Initiative and will be working to expand the program throughout New York City.
Because PHS provides services for low-income families across the five boroughs, we know firsthand the impact of COVID-19 on the lives of New Yorkers, and the rapidly increasing need for the services we provide.
On June 17, 2020, NYSHealth hosted a webinar on connecting New Yorkers with critical social safety-net programs during the pandemic, including the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), SNAP (food stamps), and options for accessing health insurance. The COVID-19 pandemic has laid bare the deep inequities that affect health outcomes of…