Center for Family Life’s Support in Schools (SIS) program is wrapping up its first successful year in Sunset Park!
SIS is a Center for Family Life school-based early support initiative in partnership with NYC’s Administration for Children’s Services. We’re honored to be one of eleven organizations across the five boroughs that provides family counseling and case management services inside schools.
Our SIS teams — counselors, advocates, and benefit specialists — partner closely with DOE staff and CFL afterschool programs to identify students facing social, emotional, or academic challenges, and work to stabilize and strengthen families.
SIS has already accomplished so much within its first year in 10 partner schools throughout Districts 15 and 20. Over 130 families have received emotional wellness and trauma-informed support from our Spanish and Mandarin-speaking counselors, and 40 families have gained access to vital economic support services through our bilingual benefit specialists.
By serving as a bridge connecting families from schools within Districts 15 and 20 to CFL’s main office, SIS has also introduced neighbors to the full range of resources available to them via CFL — including ESOL classes or fresh produce through our food pantry.
Celebrating care closets in District 20
Each of our five schools in District 20 now has a fully stocked “care closet” with clothing, hygiene items, food, school supplies, laundry detergent, and laundromat cards — available discreetly for any student or family in need.
We are deeply grateful for the trust and support of our school communities and CFL’s Support in Schools. It is a privilege to continue to build upon the relationships that CFL’s afterschool programs have established in Sunset Park schools. Together, we are building a compassionate and capable team and bringing CFL’s vision to life: partnering with schools to empower families and help them thrive in Sunset Park.
