Brooklyn East Services

Where can an 80-year-old and an 18-year-old not only find a way to help each other, but also remain independent? Try Mulrooney Manor, a Catholic Charities residence in Flatbush for men and women with developmental disabilities where residents get care, but also find ways of caring for one another.

The area's early childhood programs include childcare and HeadStart. Seniors find assistance at our nursing homes and Alzheimer center. Stressed parents and others can find direction at our guidance centers.

Addiction treatment, after-school tutoring, and job skills and search assistance: all this and more is available through Catholic Charities' Brooklyn East programs and services.

Find out more by visiting the area regional center, calling Catholic Charities, or going to the Catholic Charities Web site .

Brooklyn East Family Center
1987 Flatbush Ave.
Brooklyn, NY 11234
Phone: (718) 677-9848
Fax: (718) 677-1869
Hours: 9-5 M-T-F; 9-7 W; 9-7:30 Th; 10-3 Sa
Languages spoken: English, Spanish, French, Italian, Russian
Directions: Enter on Flatlands Ave.; 2nd Floor

Brooklyn East service areas include:
Aging--6
Developmental Disabilities--5
Early Childhood--8
Family Centers--2
Mental Health--6
Prevention--3
Senior Housing--3
Youth--1
Nursing Home--1
Center for Pregnant Women--1
Citizenship--1

Feature Story

On a brisk fall evening in Williamsburg, the air is filled with the voices of young women and an occasional baby's cry. The girls are gathering for a monthly meeting. It might seem a time to build sisterhood, but it's more than that. They are part of the Project Bridge Community Services Project and their objective this evening is strategizing how to develop a new neighborhood youth council.

Project Bridge is a comprehensive network of support services for adolescents who are pregnant, parenting, or at-risk of becoming parents. Last year more than 3,000 Brooklyn kids took part in "Bridge" at centers in Bushwick, Williamsburg, East New York, and Cypress Hills.

The whole family gets involved at Project Bridge. In order to decrease the incidence of adolescent pregnancy or risk-taking behavior, such as dropping out of school or substance abuse, Bridge engages the whole family in program activities. Programs are aimed at strengthening families, increasing positive parenting skills, and improving the quality of life for families of all ages. The Community Services Project reaches out to neighborhood resource committees, develops youth councils and teen career clubs, and organizes seminars on strengthening families.

The Project Bridge approach to families is based on principles of the Community of Caring Curriculum developed by the Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. Foundation. It's built on two principles:
- Adolescents need to feel cared for if they are to be affected positively by the adults working with them.
- Care means not only responding to the multiple needs of adolescents, but also being a stable secure adult who takes clear positions on moral values.

The confidence with which the youngsters in Williamsburg approach the youth council indicates that this Catholic Charities-sponsored program is fulfilling its mandate.