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"If I can help someone as I pass along; If I can cheer someone with a word or a song; If I can show somebody that they traveling wrong, then my living would not have been in vain . . . " Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
The adage says: "Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day, teach him how to fish, and you feed him for a life time." At AAPCI, we also say " . . . provided he is given access to the river." It is this principle that embodies the work of the African American Planning Commission.
The African American Planning Commission (AAPCI) Inc., is a New York City-based 501(c)(3), nonprofit organization committed to the creation of affordable housing, economic development initiatives, job placement services, youth and child care services, and a host of other interrelated services that benefit the homeless, formerly homeless, senior citizens, low- and medium-income working families, and the community-at-large.
AAPCI was founded by Matthew Okebiyi to address the critical issues of poverty, affordable housing, homelessness, domestic violence, HIV/AIDS and unemployment in New York City. AAPCI was conceived in 1995 and incorporated in 1996.
In 1998, there were only three NYC funded (Part 900) transitional domestic violence shelters serving the needs of all abused women and children in New York City. At the same time, we were being bombarded by a huge proliferation of domestic violence incidents brought to us by the media. These crimes, for the most part, were being committed by our sports heros, our politicians, our law enforcement officers, our fathers, our sons, and our brothers. They were being perpetrated against our mothers, our daughters, our sisters, and our grandparents. Determined to make a difference and in light of the shortage of domestic violence and elder abuse facilities in New York City, AAPCI sought funding to develop a transitional housing program for families fleeing domestic abuse.
In the summer of 1998, AAPCI presented an innovative development and operational proposal application to the NYS Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance (OTDA) under the Residences for Survivors of Violence Program (RSVP) initiative and to the NYC Human Resources Administration (HRA) to develop a new transitional housing program with on-site support services for survivors of domestic violence. The project was named "Serenity House Family Residence." Why
was it named Serenity House?
The proposal was approved and received a very noteworthy commendation from NYS OTDA. In the Fall of 1999, AAPCI received capital development financing from the State of New York.
A significant number of AAPCI's target population comes from some of New York City's most marginalized neighborhoods including: Oceanhill, Brownsville, East New York, Bedford Stuyvesant, Bushwick, and the Crown Heights sections of Brooklyn. These communities have been plagued by the highest rates of HIV/AIDS infections in the country (refer to the Bedford Stuyvesant HIV/AIDS Profile Fact Sheet), high rates of unemployment, drastic shortage of affordable housing, high rates of teenage pregnancies, mostly single-mother headed households and a high level of illicit drug activity. AAPCI strives to address the needs of both its target population and the community through its developing and anticipated programs.
AAPCI has created economic opportunities for residents of its target communities. Ten years after its Founding and the opening of its first funded program, AAPCI has grown exponentially -- from a dedicated staff of 1, with nothing but a vision and a zero operating budget, working out of borrowed office space in 1996, to 40 full time employees in 2006. Services include the provision of three hot meals and snacks each day, 24-hour shelter and social supportive services, job training and placement services, youth, children and family-centered programs, as well as crisis case management services.
AAPCI's transitional housing program(s) is augmented with appropriate on- and off-site supportive services that ensure that residents are able to transition from homelessness and joblessness to permanent supportive housing and economic independence.
Today, AAPCI operates and/or is planning the development of the following projects aimed at addressing a myriad of issues. In collaboration with our subsidiary organization, AAPCI/AFRICA, we are developing strategies to address the effects of HIV/AIDS in sub-Saharan African communities.
Serenity House Family Residence -- a 40 unit (Tier II) transitional residence for survivors of domestic violence with dependent children.
Edwin's Place -- a permanent supportive residence for formerly homeless elderly singles, elderly couples, and working families living with HIV/AIDS.
AAPCI/AFRICA -- an independent subsidiary of the African American Planning Commission with a special focus on HIV/AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa.
In spite of our small successes, the African American Planning Commission continues to face funding challenges.
In the United States, red-tape and drastic cutbacks in government-funded programs have taken their toll on programs, staff and clients. Many philanthropic institutions have either minimized their investments in community development programs or completely overhauled their funding priorities for one reason or another. Apathy toward the have-nots, mismanagement, corruption, and unstable governments in many Sub-Saharan nations have stalled AAPCI/AFRICA's ability to effectively provide services to those in dire need, but AAPCI and AAPCI/AFRICA's abilities to respond with creativity, patience and flexibility continues to be the key to our survival.
It is the dream of AAPCI's founder, its staff and governing Board of Directors, that a century and a day from now, when we are all long gone and forgotten, that the African American Planning Commission will continue to be a pillar in the community and strengthen the lives of all those who walk through its doors.
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On behalf of those who rely upon our services, we thank you for your generosity.
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