Power to the people!
Vote to fund projects in 12 nabes with participatory budgeting
COURIER LIFE, JANUARY 14-20, 2022 19
BY JESSICA PARKS
It’s the people’s money!
Brooklynites from 12 of the
borough’s neighborhoods have
until Jan. 24 to vote for a project
that will be funded in their
community addressing mental
health issues stemming from
the coronavirus pandemic.
The People’s Money is one
of a few Participatory Budgeting
processes throughout
the year that allow residents
to have a say in what receives
funding in their community —
voting for one of three proposals
that were crowdsourced by
their neighbors.
The 12 Brooklyn neighborhoods
included in this round
of participatory budgeting
were all selected in 2020 as
part of the Taskforce on Racial
Inclusion and Equality
due to the disparate impact the
COVID-19 impact had on communities
of color and lower-income
neighborhoods.
Residents are eligible if
they live, work or go to school
within a zip code listed for
one of the impacted neighborhoods
which includes Bedford
Stuyvesant, Bushwick,
East New York, Starrett City,
Sunset Park, Coney Island,
Flatbush, Midwood, Brownsville,
East Flatbush, Flatlands
and Canarsie.
Check out Brooklyn Paper’s
guide to all the budget proposals
within our borough, ordered
by how they appear on
the city’s website, with each
community issued a budget of
$40,000 for their project.
Bedford-Stuyvesant
(11205, 11206, 11216,
11221, 11233, 11238)
Do Not Cross the Line:
This project would fund a visual
public service announcement
to address gun violence
in Brooklyn created by youth
from neighborhoods most impacted
by the global issue.
Build-A-Bench; Paint-ABench:
To assist with beautifi -
cation efforts in anticipation of
opening streets to commerce
and pedestrians, this funding
would go towards the building
and painting of benches in
front of businesses and within
Saratoga Park.
Wall for Seniors: Led by
Bedford-Stuyvesant artist
Vernando Reuben, 25-30 young
adults would help create and
paint a mural in the Community
Room and Library at
Quincy Senior Residences.
Brownsville (11212, 11233)
Youth Self Care Awareness
Month: A month of in-person
mental health activities tailored
to youth on the weekends
with each day covering a
different mental health topic
to reach people experiencing
different issues. The program
would feature different experts
in the mental health fi eld and
offer incentives and giveaways
to encourage participation.
Next-Gen Brownsville Watch
Group: Residents and community
members who have experienced
or been involved with
the criminal justice system
will work with minors in an effort
to prevent minor incidents
from escalating into violence
and will promote the opportunities
available to the youth.
Next S.T.E.P.S (Striving Toward
Engagement and Peaceful
Solutions) Program: The
funding would expand a local
mentorship program for
Brownsville youth aged 16-24
that strives to promote education,
employment, health services,
family engagement and
civic participation.
Bushwick (11206, 11207,
11221, 11237)
Healing through Art/Storytelling:
If chosen, this project
would fund a public installation
showcasing public fi gures
who have overcame mental illness
with the goal of demystifying
mental health. Community
members will also be
invited to share their obstacles
with mental health.
Mental health app/website:
This project would fund the
creation of a website or free
phone application providing
information access Bushwick’s
mental health resources. The
app and website will be designed
to be a one-stop guide
for all ages to mental health
help, without redirecting users
to another web page.
Building mental health capacity
in Bushwick: This multitiered
proposal would fund a
variety of mental health initiatives
in Bushwick: a resource
fair to spread mental
health awareness, workshops
for parents to understand how
to better understand their
child experiencing a mental
illness, monthly therapy sessions
that provide a space for
people to talk about the issues
they are facing and mental
self-care kits to distribute at
the events.
Coney Island (11224,
11235)
Mental Health Support
App: This phone application
would provide a downloadable
list of mental health resources
and therapists located within
Coney Island’s two zip codes
in an effort to push away the
stigma of mental health issues
for young adults.
Frontline Mental Health
Advocacy through Barber
Shops and Salons: This initiative
would form a coalition
with 19 barber shops and 17 salons
to better distribute mental
health information and
resources to foreign language
speakers.
Coney Island Youth and
Family Movement for Mental
Health: Three days packed with
10 events focused around mental
health for ages 12-24 could
be funded to discuss topics
such as healthy cooking, yoga,
massage and other activities to
achieve better mental health.
East Flatbush (11224,
11235)
Well Family Mental Health
Conference: This proposal
would fund a two-day mental
health conference in May
for the whole family featuring
mental health professionals
of color who will teach techniques
such as stress reduction,
communicating feelings
and navigating trauma and
healing. Families who participate
will awarded scholarships
for 6 months of therapy, meditation,
yoga and fi tness training
to further their mental health
journey post-conference.
Teen Nights: This proposal
would launch bi-weekly nights
focused on improving the mental
health of teens in East Flatbush
and East New York. Teens
will be taught tangible wellness
techniques that can be used after
class and will do therapeutic
activities in class such as
coloring and group dance.
Wellness Center: If funded,
this proposal would create a
community space for quality
health and services regardless
of insurance status where
residents can both make appointments
or pop in to speak
with licensed professional on
topics such as nutrition education,
physical fi tness, massage
therapy and mental health.
East New York and
Starrett City (11207,
11208, 11239)
Senior Wellness Brunches/
Nights (Sip and Brunch): This
initiative would open up special
brunches and nights for
seniors packed with activities
to improve their wellness such
as music, storytelling and
workshops focused on mental
health.
The Community Wellness Experience:
This proposal would
fund Well Space, a place dedicated
to supporting the community
in mental, health and
fi nancial wellness. Members
will be exposed to a variety of
holistic health methods such
as aromatherapy and yoga.
Mentally Healthy Fair: This
event is dreamt up as a spin on
your average health fair to be a
space where community members
can meet fi tness instructors
and health-based organizations
who support families.
Attendees can meet the professionals
whose services they
would be using and are able
to make future appointments
and participate in workshops
created for the whole family.
Flatbush and Midwood
(11226)
Council of People’s Organization
Youth and Wellbeing
run club: If funded this proposal
would provide a run club
for youth three times a week,
where they will be taught the
mental and physical benefi
ts of exercise. Training will
eventually lead to the completion
of a 5K run.
Council of People’s Organization
After School Program:
Students would have
the opportunity to attend after
school sessions at the Council
of People’s Organization
where they will have access to
recreational activities, homework
help and healthy snacks.
Council of People’s Organization
Youth Farmers after school
program: Students in the community
will be able to tend to
a collective garden three days
a week after school where they
will learn every step of taking
care of a greenspace.
Flatlands and Canarsie
(11236)
Canarsie youth mental
health movement: This project
would build an application
to connect students at Canarsie
High School with mental
health resources and help
bridge the divide within communities
of color to equip the
youth as agents of change.
Connecting a mental health
therapist to high school students:
This initiative would work with
Canarsie’s high school principals
to provide mental health
therapists, healthy eating and
cooking and other mentally
benefi cial activities to the community’s
students.
Reaching the underserved
business community in Canarsie,
Brooklyn: This proposal
would equip Canarsie’s business
community with mental
health resources to share with
the community they serve and
work as a catalyst to mental
health awareness.
Sunset Park (11220,
11232)
Empowering Providers,
Strengthening Communities:
This project would train frontline
social services groups and
community leaders to address
mental health issues and what
contributes to them.
Mental Health and Social
Service Resource Guide: Academy
of Mental and Public
Health Services would create
a multilingual directory
of organizations and private
practitioners offering mental
health services detailing the
languages spoken and how
much services cost. The guide
will also be offered online.
Sunset Park Wellness
Month: Academy of Mental
and Public Health Services
will partner with community
organizations to provide an
entire month of mental health,
wellness and educational programming
at locations across
the neighborhood.
If you live in any of these zip
codes, don’t forget to vote before
Jan. 24 at participate.nyc.gov.
/participate.nyc.gov
