The Mott Haven Family Enrichment Center at 109 Bruckner Blvd., known as Bronx H.Y.P.E. (Helping Your People Evolve), received the Emerging Nonprofit award from the Mayor’s Office of Nonprofit Services after its second year serving the South Bronx community.
The center opened in spring 2023 and provides a wide range of free services, including community dinners, produce distributions, family game nights, parent support groups and a popular “thrift store” that offers high-quality free clothing for adults and kids. Last year, the H.Y.P.E. Center welcomed nearly 2,000 visitors.
The center celebrated its success on Aug. 22 with a visit from Administration for Children’s Services Commissioner Jess Dannhauser; Suzanne Miles-Gustave, Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services; and Michael Sedillo, MONS executive director.
The city leaders presented H.Y.P.E. Director Amanda Perez and Executive Director Krystal Astwood, founder of the nonprofit REM Center Inc., which operates the center, with a proclamation from the city as part of Nonprofit Week.
“It’s really wonderful to highlight you all as you grow and make an impact in the community and beyond,” said Dannhauser.
Miles-Gustave said she visited the center two years ago, when it was operating in a space one-third the current size, and praised its “amazing” evolution since then.
She said the city’s 29 family enrichment centers are vital to providing “upstream, primary prevention” that keeps families from having to interact with ACS.
“We all love the model,” Miles-Gustave told the Bronx Times. “It’s everything to a community.”
Perez led a tour of the center, which she said is meant to provide “a warm, welcoming, home-like space.”
“Here, there has been laughter, there’s been cries, there’s been breakthroughs,” said Perez.
The “co-living space” on the second floor of 109 Bruckner serves as a community hub, and every aspect of the room, from the furniture to the faux-plant decor, was chosen with their input, Perez said.
Downstairs, members of the Parent Advisory Committee greeted the group in the cozy kitchen space, where the center hosts cooking classes and other events.
Downstairs from the kitchen, the Second Story thrift shop has become one of the center’s most popular offerings, and PAC members help keep it running each week.
Some companies, including Patagonia, Nordstrom and American Eagle, donate new items, and the center accepts donations mostly from known community members to ensure quality, said Perez. “We want people to shop with dignity.”
The space that houses the shop was originally planned as a media room, but the need for free clothing was so great that staff shifted their priorities, she said.
Now, PAC members help run the shop and keep it stocked with items from their storage unit across the street. “We can rely on our volunteers, because they’re the leaders of this space,” said Perez.
Shatedria Robinson, 36, is PAC president and said the center has become her second home, even though she lives right next door. “I be here all afternoon ‘til it’s closed,” as well as on weekends, she told the Bronx Times.
Robinson, who has a 19-year-old son and is pregnant with her second child, said she came to H.Y.P.E. “in a dark place.” But as she started building friendships with staff and neighbors, she found a sense of belonging and the motivation to work towards her GED.
Freedom Johnson, 33, has a 12-year-old daughter and is starting a new job this fall with the Department of Education as a substitute paraprofessional for elementary-age students. Johnson said she volunteers at the H.Y.P.E. Center “to put a smile on people’s faces and help them however we can.”
“This is my safe place,” Johnson said.
Reach Emily Swanson at eswanson@schnepsmedia.com or (646) 717-0015. For more coverage, follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram @bronxtimes
