4 THE QUEENS COURIER • JULY 29, 2021 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
Queens Council on the Arts opens its new home in LIC
BY BILL PARRY
bparry@schnepsmedia.com
@QNS
Queens Center on the Arts (QCA)
opened its new multipurpose space in
Long Island City featuring artist studios, a
performance space and staff offi ces devoted
to supporting the borough’s diverse
arts community.
At the new facility, young emerging art
students can already be found participating
in classes through QCA’s High to
School Arts School (HS2AS), a free program
for high school students to help
them gain acceptance into competitive
art colleges.
QCA’s new home, replacing cramped
offi ce space on Steinway Street in Astoria,
is located on the ground fl oor of the
Maximillian Building at 5-11 47th Ave.
Th e organization provides funding to a
wide array of individuals and art groups.
QCA also off ers professional development
and other resources for Queens’ artists,
who represent nearly 160 nationalities.
In the past year, QCA has directly served
approximately 3,200 individual artists, 60
art organizations and an audience of nearly
550,000 throughout the borough.
“Queens’ artists have a new place to call
home, a place where they will be recognized
as being at the center of our community,”
QCA Executive Director Hoong
Lee Krakauer said. “Our new location is
designed to be inclusive, fully accessible
and welcoming to the diff erent needs
of artists in our diverse borough. We are
thrilled to open our doors and welcome
HS2AS as the fi rst of many programs
and artists to join us in Long Island City.
Th anks to our partners and staff for their
hard work in supporting this initiative.”
Founded in 1966, QCA is now at the
center of a vibrant local arts scene, just
a block away from the Long Island City
waterfront and the restaurants and businesses
on Vernon Boulevard.
Th e multipurpose facility includes
expanded space to host programming
and workshops for artists to create, fund
and showcase their art.
In addition to the HS2AS, QCA is
celebrating its 2021 Queens Arts Fund
Grantees. Th e group of 163 artists and
nonprofi t organizations that have been
awarded grants to off er distinctive arts
and cultural programming that directly
serves the community members of the
borough.
“It has been a challenging year for so
many across Queens, especially our local
artists,” QCA Board of Trustees Interim
President Joe LoBello said. “Th is is an
incredible milestone for QCA, and symbolic
of New York City’s reopening. On
behalf of our board, I want to thank the
supporters and staff for their commitment
in helping create this dedicated space for
the amazing arts and culture community
across the ‘World’s Borough.’”
For more information on QCA, visit
queenscouncilarts.org.
Queens nonprofi t supports teen moms with new initiatives
BY BILL PARRY
bparry@schnepsmedia.com
@QNS
Some of the highest teen birth rates
in New York City are found in communities
in southeast Queens and on the
Rockaway Peninsula, according to the
state Department of Health (DOH).
Black and Latina teens in these areas are
more likely to give birth before their 20th
birthday than their white counterparts in
other neighborhoods, according to the
state DOH. Lack of access to reproductive
healthcare and sex education are contributors
to this inequality.
Teens who experience a rapid repeat
pregnancy (a pregnancy that occurs within
two years aft er the fi rst) are at an
increased risk for poor health and psychosocial
outcomes.
To reduce the eff ect of these disparities,
the Queens Comprehensive Perinatal
Council, Inc. (QCPC) provides services
to local pregnant and parenting teens
through its Teens Educational Enrichment
Network (T.E.E.N.) Support Project.
Th e T.E.E.N. initiative aims to empower
pregnant and parenting teens by helping
them avoid rapid repeat pregnancies
and sexually transmitted infections,
to maintain compliance with an
eff ective birth control method and to
focus on academic, workforce development
and training goals.
Since 1988, the Queens Comprehensive
Perinatal Council, Inc. (QCPC), a notfor
profi t, community-based maternal/
child health organization, has promoted
improvements in perinatal health in underserved
Queens communities through a
multitude of programs and projects.
Th e T.E.E.N. Support Project off ers TASA
(Teenage Services Act) case management, a
services intervention to increase their access
to an array of community resources. Home
visits are conducted
according to the recommended
schedules
of the
American
Academy
of Pediatrics
(AAP)
and the American College of Obstetrics and
Gynecology (ACOG).
An evidence-based curriculum, AIM
4 Teen Moms (AIM4TM) is also off ered
as part of the project. AIM4TM consists
of a series of empowerment sessions
and activities designed to enable teenage
mothers to recognize their self-effi cacy
and embrace their future as an opportunity
to achieve their reproductive, educational
and professional goals.
Th e T.E.E.N. Support
Project also develops
a variety of
enhanced services
to address the
complex needs
of pregnant
and parenting
adolescents.
These
include academic support, family support,
teen dad support, development of
enhanced parenting skills, mental health
support group meetings, mentorship and
linkages to teen community resources.
As part of the T.E.E.N. Support Project,
QCPC also off ers monthly health education
workshops to address topics that are
pertinent to pregnant and parenting adolescents
such as Reproductive Health and
Birth Spacing, Family Planning, Healthy
vs. Unhealthy Relationships, Love is Not
Abuse, Safe Sleep Practices and Teen
Parenting Best Practices.
Th e T.E.E.N. Support Project is off ered
to Black and Latino teenagers (13 to 19
years old) who are either pregnant or
parenting a child 12 months or younger
and live in one of the following ZIP
codes: Cambria Heights (11411); St.
Albans (11412); Springfi eld Gardens
(11413); Jamaica (11432, 11434); South
Jamaica (11433); South Ozone Park
(11435, 11436); Far Rockaway (11691);
Arverne (11692); and Rockaway Beach
(11693).
Th e T.E.E.N. Support Project off ers welcome
gift s for newly enrolled teen participants
and has prizes and raffl es throughout
the program. Th e dedicated staff at
QCPC are available to help the pregnant
and parenting teens in these target
communities. To contact QCPC, call
718-276-TEEN (8336) or email qcpcorg@
aol.com.
Photo courtesy of QCPC
QCPC staff helps pregnant
and parenting
teens achieve their
life goals through a
number of initiatives.
Photo courtesy of QCA
Queens Council of the Arts has opened its new home in Long Island City after working out of an offi ce building on Steinway Street in Astoria.
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