The Bronx-based health and social services nonprofit VIP Community Services celebrated 51 years serving the community with its annual gala on Wednesday, Oct. 8, at Marina del Rey.
Several of the nonprofit’s accomplishments during the 2023-2024 fiscal year were highlighted at the event, including supporting 10,730 people through housing and shelter services, engaging over 2,690 people through its peer-led overdose prevention program and providing over 34,000 appointments through its mental and physical health clinics, regardless of one’s ability to pay.
Other notable achievements made during this fiscal year by the nonprofit included opening a 135-bed men’s shelter in Harlem and a 65-unit supportive housing facility in the Bronx.
The nonprofit assisted nearly 300 residents from its housing and shelters portfolio in securing permanent housing, which resulted in a recidivism rate of 1%.
They partnered with the Department of Social Services and Better Haven to acquire and open two affordable housing developments totaling 125 units in the Bronx, generating 571 mental health encounters in the school-based mental health clinic at CS44 and KIPP Freedom Middle School, providing vocational services, including job placements, to 1,326 clients, including 746 community members and 11 staff members.
VIP Community Services also partnered with SBH Health System to provide mammograms to 41 women through an on-site mobile mammography unit and securing approval from the New York State Department of Health to operate a Second-Tier Syringe Exchange Program (STSEP).
“Our event theme, ‘Engaging the Community,’ honors the incredible power we have when we come together to care for one another,” VIP Community Services President and CEO Debbian Fletcher-Blake said.
“This is an opportunity to celebrate the partnerships that support us in providing critical services to the people of NYC.”
During the celebration, VIP Community Services also offered tours of its Mobile Medication Unit (MMU), an expansion of its Opioid Treatment Program that increases its geographic reach and reduces the barriers to access Medications for Opioid Use Disorder (MOUD) treatment across New York City.
During the 2023-2024 fiscal year, VIP Community Services delivered over 3,100 medication dispensing services through the MMU to patients with opioid use disorder.
Some of the event’s notable attendees included New York State Senator Luis R. Sepúlveda, New York City Council Member Rafael Salamanca Jr., VIP Community Services board members, leadership, staff and other community members.
Multiple individuals were recognized at the gala for the contributions they have made to healthcare in the community. These included the Institute for Family Health president, CEO Emeritus and Co-Founder Dr. Neil Calman, who was named an honoree, New York State Office of Mental Health Commissioner Dr. Ann Marie T. Sullivan, who received the Public Health Champion Award, and EmblemHealth Vice President and Special Advisor to the CEO George Hulse, who was given the Community Builder Award.
Music at the event was performed by the La Jara Band, which is composed of NYPD officers who use music to mentor and connect with youths, and by the NYPD Options program, a leadership and personal development initiative that empowers young New York City residents.
Clients and staff members of VIP Community Services who died over the last year were also honored at the event. This included former VIP Community Services Peer Coordinator Anthony Kohl, who earlier this year earned the Peer Specialist of the Year Award from the National Council for Mental Wellbeing.
