Rare and Unique Partnership Will Help Human Services Sector Better Address New York City’s Most Pressing Issues, Including Homelessness, Public Safety Poverty, and Food Insecurity
New York, NY — Today, Goddard Riverside and the Stanley M. Isaacs Neighborhood Center announced a strategic partnership designed to deepen and enhance their service portfolios and impact across Upper Manhattan. This partnership takes place at a critical time of renewal and recovery for New York City, particularly as new City and State leadership take the helm. Through this newly formed alliance, Goddard Riverside and Isaacs Center now bring together areas of expertise and community programming that complement and strengthen each other; allowing them to offer a holistic and unique generational model of service.
With this partnership, Goddard Riverside and Isaacs Center aim to build better solutions to food insecurity, homelessness, and poverty. Community-based human service organizations play a vital role in addressing the root causes of critical socio-economic issues facing New York City. This strategic partnership will implement a new multi-generational model of service for community and family well-being to promote lasting positive outcomes for vulnerable New Yorkers.
“The Isaacs Center has been a rock for the Upper East Side for many decades,” said Goddard Riverside Executive Director Roderick L. Jones. “We are excited to partner with them to continue their tremendous history of working with and strengthening the community. We shared concerns about the frailty of the sector — and the frailty of the social safety net. We talked a lot about being able to move the needle on the things that matter for nonprofits.”
“We believe the coming together of the two organizations will position us as a collective strength,” said Jones. “They have phenomenal programs for economic advancement, as we have them on our side for educational success. Combined we can push forward ambitious two-generation approaches to family well-being. One of their other sweet spots is around aging services. Together, we will support the health and wellness of seniors on both sides of the park.”
“This is very new for us at a time when our organizations have been called upon to serve the communities in crisis while responding to the pandemics associated with health and safety and social-justice. We could not have chosen a more dynamic and capable partner to align and collaborate with,” said Isaacs Center Executive Director Gregory J. Morris.
“This is an educated leap of faith at a moment that requires bold action to secure the sort of future that our neighbors and neighborhoods deserve. We think this will be a model that others will follow. This partnership doesn’t come from a place of institutional crisis, but from a place of wanting to see the sector stronger, and wanting to create sustainable, multi-generational opportunities for the people we serve and pathways to financial security for the people who do the essential work required to create an equitable recovery for our City. We are delighted to join forces with Goddard Riverside to serve Uptown Manhattan and amplify the voices of low-income New Yorkers from Lincoln Square to East Harlem,” said Morris.”
The combined organization will serve more than 26,000 individuals and offer programs including early childhood education, after school, employment training, behavioral health services, Meals on Wheels, college access, youth programs, homeless outreach, transitional and supportive housing, older adult centers, benefits assistance, and legal assistance.
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About Isaacs Center: The Stanley M. Isaacs Neighborhood Center (Isaacs Center) is a non-profit, multi-service organization located on the Upper East Side of Manhattan focused on the needs of children and low-income families, out-of-school and out-of-work youth, and aging New Yorkers, including our isolated and homebound elderly neighbors. A Meals on Wheels pioneer since 1964, the Isaacs Center promotes dignity and self-reliance across generations.
About Goddard Riverside: For more than 100 years, Goddard Riverside has been committed to investing in people and strengthening community by meeting New Yorkers’ most essential needs. Goddard Riverside provides comprehensive educational, cultural and recreational programs for New Yorker of all ages.