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Nonprofit launches #PositiveHomes campaign to raise $5,000 to assemble 50 home improvement kits for the formerly homeless or incarcerated; Board Member Allen Zwickler and Ellen Pikitch step up to match first $2,500
Donate at crowdrise.com/o/en/campaign/positive-homes/thealliancenyc –
(New York, N.Y.)— Remember your first apartment, the first time you were out on your own? That feeling of accomplishment and self-worth, that you were embarking on a new, exciting chapter in your life?
The Alliance for Positive Change recognizes the value of independence and the ability to start anew. That’s why the 27-year-old nonprofit has launched a new campaign—#PositiveHomes for the Holidays – to help the New Yorkers it serves start fresh and turn a house into a home this holiday season. The campaign aims to raise $5,000 by January.
#PositiveHomes equips New Yorkers who have just escaped homelessness with some of the most basic tools they need as they move into supportive housing. Items such as bed linens, kitchen utensils, toiletries such as soap and shampoo, and even scarves and gloves for the approaching winter season.
“At the Alliance, we believe that everyone should have a second chance to feel better, live better, and do better, particularly during the holiday season,” says Sharen I. Duke, Founding Executive Director and CEO of The Alliance for Positive Change. “We make sure that people who are confronted with HIV/AIDS, chronic health conditions, and substance use addiction can take positive steps, and often that begins with finding a stable, permanent place to live.”
“But,” she adds, “we recognize that a roof over one’s head is simply not enough, that building a future requires more assistance. And that is where #PositiveHomes comes in.”
Throughout the years, the Alliance has routinely assisted many of its program participants – who have faced homelessness or housing insecurity, or are reentering society after serving sentences – by providing blankets, kitchen items, and other necessities to help them start anew.
The Alliance is asking for support to raise $5,000 to fund #PositiveHomes kits, and has launched a fundraising site on Crowdrise: https://www.crowdrise.com/o/en/team/positive-homes. Already, Alliance Board Member Allen Zwickler and his wife Ellen Pikitch have promised to match the first $2,500 donated.
Teresa, who faced addiction issues and a stint in prison, credits the Alliance with helping her start a new life – in a new home.
“Getting my own apartment in the Alliance’s Pelham Grand Supportive Housing Program is the first sense of normalcy I’ve ever had – a dramatic change after living on the street for years. The Alliance believed in me, cared about me, and helped me get my life on track,” she says. “I continue to be in recovery and stay clean. I am very serious about change. Thanks to the Alliance’s amazing support system and my own hard work, for the first time in my life, I am experiencing success.”
About The Alliance for Positive Change
The Alliance for Positive Change transforms lives of New Yorkers living with HIV/AIDS and other chronic illnesses. We help people access medical care, manage and overcome addiction, escape homelessness, get back to work, and find community. By addressing the underlying issues that contribute to poor health, the Alliance’s individualized, full-service approach and harm reduction philosophy help New Yorkers lead healthier, more self-sufficient lives. At the Alliance, we believe everyone deserves the chance to feel better, live better, and do better. Learn more at www.alliance.nyc.