LOWER EAST SIDE FAMILY UNION
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Mission Statement
The Lower East Side Family Union (LESFU) is a leader and innovator in providing community-based services and family support, dedicated to preserving, strengthening, and empowering families. As one of the first organizations established to prevent foster care placement in New York City, LESFU was among the first to address the connection between poverty, culture, and language barriers. For nearly 50 years and contracted by the NYC Administration for Children’s Services (ACS), NYS Department of Health (DOH) and the NYS Office for People with Developmental Disabilities (OPWDD), LESFU has provided a continuum of specialized services to families in the boroughs of Manhattan and Queens, aimed at equipping them to break cycles of intergenerational poverty and foster care placement. Today, informed by rigorous research and highly qualified staff, LESFU programs promote the safety and well being of approximately 1,000 children annually.
About This Cause
The mission of the Lower East Side Family Union (LESFU) is to preserve, strengthen and empower families, and to enhance their quality of life through the delivery of culturally sensitive services. Our objective is to promote education, safety and mental health to prevent child abuse, neglect and foster care placement. Our programs support child safety and well-being by offering families: In-home/Office support and guidance in evaluating child's intellectual, behavioral and physical development; Parenting education & support; Individual family or group mental health, substance use and domestic violence counseling; Assistance with material and/or economic need; Community based referrals to social, emotional, recreational, vocational and civic resources. LESFU was created in 1974 in response to shockingly high rates of foster care placement and family breakup among the Lower East Side’s immigrant, minority, and low-income families. Recognizing the threat to the wellbeing of Lower East Side children and families, local settlement houses came together and established LESFU. From the beginning, we saw that there was a better way to serve high-risk families than immediate foster care placement. In collaboration with the Columbia University School of Social Work, LESFU created the integration of services model, which focuses on strengthening families through the provision of culturally and linguistically sensitive and well-coordinated neighborhood-based services. We empower families to build the skills to successfully raise children in safe, nurturing homes. We also help families grow to be more independent and capable of advocating for their own needs. Now operating from our office in the heart of the Lower East Side we are proud to serve over 1500 individuals and families. Our original family preservation program is augmented by parent education, mental health, domestic violence and a walk-in information and resource referral services. Through Solution-Based Casework (SBC), an evidence-informed internationally recognized child welfare practice model, LESFU empowers families to grow stronger and remain together. We help families manage a crisis .Our staff represents the communities in which we work, and all services are available in English, Spanish, Cantonese and mandarin. We believe that families are the experts on their own needs. Our services build upon each family’s unique strengths and help families set goals and take action to address areas of concern. Who do we help? LESFU can help families who need extra support to manage a crisis or the normal stresses of raising children; families involved with the child welfare system or at risk of future involvement; expectant parents; families caring for an individual with a developmental/intellectual delay or disability; community members who need help accessing neighborhood resources. Family Preservation LESFU helps keep families together and avert unnecessary foster care placement. Our supportive counseling and case management services respect each family’s cultural background and are provided in their own language. We help families to access social, educational and health services in the community to help overcome obstacles and prevent future challenges. Parent Education Service Our parenting education workshops use a nationally recognized curriculums the Parenting Journey and the Circle of Security respectively to empower parents to gain new parenting skills. LESFU’s parent education groups are appropriate for expectant parents, parents of newborn and toddlers, or those with older children. Community members can drop in for information or help locating resources such as health or mental health care, substance abuse treatment, educational or employment services, child care and much more. We also offer translation and advocacy services for speakers of Spanish and Chinese.