queenschamber.org THIS IS QUEENSBOROUGH Queens, Meet WellLife Network “He refers to this place as his home, so I know he’s happy here,” Peter said with a smile on his face. For the past 20 years, Peter has come to visit his brother who is a resident at one of WellLife Network’s group homes for New Yorkers with developmental disabilities. “He goes shopping, dines at restaurants and enjoys the movies… and his communication skills have improved, allowing him to live better than he ever did before.” Farah, another Queens’ resident and lead cook for her residential home for women with disabilities says, “I learned to cook for everyone in the house. I like that people really like my food. It makes me happy.” Peter’s brother and Farah are two of more than 25,000 New Yorkers who relied on WellLife Network in 2016. Today, they are living full and active lives in the community. Originally founded in Queens in 1980, WellLife Network, then known as PSCH, was a leading nonprofit offering services for individuals and families facing the challenges of caring for a person with a developmental 16 disability. Today, WellLife Network has grown exponentially, impacting thousands of residents faced with developmental and other disabilities, mental illness, homelessness and substance abuse challenges in all five boroughs and Long Island. For many health and human services agencies in New York, 2017 is already proving to be a year of changes and challenges. From the battle over the Affordable Care Act to the transition to value-based payments to the future of Medicaid, this year has the potential to profoundly change both the industry and our community. At WellLife Network, we acknowledge that fact. That is why we have spent years creating viable solutions for those we serve, because underlying each one of those challenges--we see opportunity. This year, the greatest opportunity we have as a community is to show up. Hundreds of thousands of Queens’ residents are currently faced with life’s challenges, but only ten percent of them are receiving the care they need. This isn’t just another statistic. These are real people--sons, daughters, co-workers, neighbors and teammates. With the need for WellLife Network services being greater than ever, it’s imperative that we don’t shrink back from providing essential and urgent care to our community’s most vulnerable and, often, most overlooked. That is why in 2016, WellLife Network expanded its services to more than 300 locations throughout New York City and Long Island, allowing us to directly serve more than 25,500 men, women and children each year. With a dedicated staff of more than 1,800 professionals, care-specialists, case managers, clinicians and psychiatrists, WellLife Network is determined and poised to bring healing, recovery and wellness to thousands more in 2017. As we continue to expand, we also have the opportunity to work together as a community. WellLife Network represents a broad network of Mental Health, Disabilities, Children & Families, Housing, Addiction Recovery and Care Management and Coordination Services. Behind each of our results-oriented and fiscally responsible programs you will find a network and coalition of partners, corporations and local businesses who have committed themselves to the health and wellness of those in their community. Whether you own a car dealership, run a local bank or teach 5th grade, we all have a role to play in the wellness of our community. If not us, then who? This year, we invite you to bring healing, recovery and wellness to your community. In 2017 we will be expanding our Queens-based partnerships to include more local businesses, corporations and philanthropic investors through new and relevant partnership and sponsorship opportunities, new associate and senior board positions as well as volunteer opportunities. 2017 will be a year of change, yes--but together, we can pool our talents, resources and energies to ensure that all Queens’ residents receive the specialized care and treatment they need and deserve to be well for life. To learn more about WellLife Network’s current business and corporate partnership opportunities as well as opportunities to join our WellLife Network Associate Board for young professionals and Senior Board, please contact Cody Fisher at cody.fisher@ welllifenetwork.org. If you or a loved one is Medicaid eligible, call 866.727.WELL for a free consultation today. WASTE MANAGEMENT OF NEW YORK AND NYC PARTNER FOR MORE RENEWABLE ENERGY Waste Management of New York, LLC (WMNY) is working with the New York City Department of Environmental Protection (NYCDEP) to operate an advanced recycling facility to convert food waste into renewable energy. Located at WMNY’s Varick Avenue solid waste transfer station in an industrial area of North Brooklyn, this operation processes food waste into an EBS® organic slurry using WMNY’s proprietary CORe® process. All processing of organic waste takes place within a fully enclosed facility designed to mitigate odors, noise and other environmental impacts. The EBS® is then delivered to NYCDEP’s Newtown Creek waste water treatment plant, where it is added to the plant’s anaerobic digestion system to increase the production of biogas. The NYCDEP will transfer the biogas to the natural gas grid for delivery to customers for residential and commercial heating, vehicle fueling and other everyday uses. The North Brooklyn facility on Varick Avenue marks a significant step forward toward NYC’s One NYC longterm sustainability goals of recycling organic waste and increasing the use of renewable energy. The facility can accept materials that traditional food waste compost sites may not accept including produce, meat, fish, dairy, and liquid waste as well as manufacturing and distribution packaged wastes on a case-by-case basis. WMNY accepts food waste from commercial, industrial, institutional and residential sources such as restaurants, food processing plants, grocery stores, school and universities, processes it to remove incidental contamination (e.g. plastic, utensils, packaging, bones), and blends the waste in our proprietary CORe® process into EBS® organic slurry, a consistent high btu content product ideal for renewable energy production. The WMNY North Brooklyn Varick Ave facility is located at 215 Varick Avenue in Brooklyn, NY and can be reached at 718-533-5284 for inquiries and questions.
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