FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Baxter Townsend, Communications Associate
btownsend@obtjobs.org or (718) 369-0303
Opportunities for a Better Tomorrow Collaborates with Local Services Providers Organizations Host Services Fair for Mexican and Spanish-Speaking Immigrants in Bushwick
Brooklyn, NY – Opportunities for a Better Tomorrow (OBT) in collaboration with Churches United for Fair Housing (CUFFH), Brooklyn Legal Services Corporation, Cornell University Urban Semester Program, and Woodhull Medical Center is sponsoring a Community Health, Affordable Housing and Immigration Fair this Sunday, April 19th from 12-3:30pm at the All Saints Church located at 115 Throop Avenue in Brooklyn, NY. The fair will bring affordable housing workshops, free health and wellness screenings, immigration services, IDNYC applications, and “know your rights” seminars to the underserved Mexican, Mexican-American and Spanish-speaking community in Williamsburg and Bushwick, Brooklyn.
The fair is in response to a survey OBT conducted in 2012, when the organization first proposed to bring services to the Mexican and Mexican-American community in Bushwick. Survey results showed a huge lack of knowledge about the services available to the Mexican and immigrant community in Bushwick and surrounding areas. The knowledge gap spurred Bushwick community service providers to work together to reach the most vulnerable members of the community, who need services to combat rapid gentrification, reduce language barriers, and/or access immigration assistance. Community residents may be connected to one service or organization such as a church or health center but are often unaware of other services offered, which they could benefit from. Sunday’s event will connect the Mexican and Mexican-American community as well as the greater Spanish-speaking community in Bushwick and surrounding communities, to a host of wrap-around services including immigration help, health and wellness checkups and screenings, English classes for speakers of other languages, and affordable housing assistance. Council Member Antonio Reynoso, who represents the communities of Bushwick and Williamsburg said, “I encourage all Brooklyn residents to attend and take advantage of the many services being offered at this event. This event will bridge sections of our community in which their immigration status affects their ability to attain affordable housing, and consequently limits their access to good quality healthcare. I want to thank the sponsoring organizations for helping connect the community to these valuable resources.”
The fair is an extension of the Anchoring Achievement in Mexican Communities initiative (AAMC), which OBT runs in the Bushwick community in partnership with CUFFH and Academy of Urban Planning a community high school.
Through AAMC, OBT also runs several ongoing programs for Mexican and Mexican-American youth in the Bushwick community. The Growing Responsibility through Ownership and Willingness (GROW) program works with local Mexican middle and high schoolers on a weekly basis all year long to provide them with leadership skills to increase personal and professional development along with career and college exploration. In addition, the GROW program also provides recreational and educational activities such as music, art, and soccer.
For more information on the upcoming Services Fair or the GROW Program, contact Adriana Lovera at alovera@obtjobs.org or (718) 381-3222.
Opportunities for a Better Tomorrow is a 501(c)(3) organization that helps disadvantaged youth and adults recognize their own self-worth and advance towards self-sufficiency and financial security through job training, academic reinforcement, improved life skills, job placement, and support services. For more information about OBT or its youth or adult programs visit www.obtjobs.org.
