PILOT PROGRAM OFFERS HOUSING AND COLLEGE DEGREES TO
HOMELESS PARTICIPANTS


More than 40 homeless and formerly homeless individuals receive the opportunity
to attend college

June 11, 2009 - Department of Homeless Services (DHS) Commissioner Robert V. Hess joined St. John's University Executive Vice President and COO Dr. James P. Pellow, today, to announce a key partnership between DHS and St. John's University to offer homeless individuals the opportunity to receive college degrees. The Advantage Academy will provide more than 40 homeless and formerly homeless individuals the chance to obtain an associate degree in the fields of Information Technology and Business. While enrolled students will receive free housing and support services from DHS. The program strives to prepare participants for independent lives and career paths and ultimately, to break the cycles of poverty and homelessness by way of higher education.

"Thousands of families have moved into homes of their own through New York City's Advantage rental assistance program," said Commissioner Hess. "Now they can further solidify their successes and ensure that they will be able to care for their families in stable jobs with a degree that will take them far. I am so proud of the students for overcoming obstacles and setting out to achieve ambitious goals. We will see great things of them."

"Commissioner Hess invited us to help shape a vision, in collaboration with the Department of Homeless Services, to create an Academy for homeless mothers and fathers because they were convinced education was the way out of poverty," said James P. Pellow, Ed.D., Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer at St. John's University. "This initiative supports our own mission to help the underserved in our surrounding communities and we gladly partnered in this effort which we feel is a winning formula for success."

Advantage Academy builds on Advantage New York, the nation's most generous municipal rental assistance program, which goes above and beyond federal subsidies. Since its inception two years ago, Advantage New York has helped more than 11,000 households sign leases and successfully exit shelter.

"Telling my son to go to school is one thing, but leading by example is something totally different," said Advantage Academy student, Tamekka Major. "That's what this program is all about. I want him to know that if I can go to school and get my degree, he can do it, too."

Advantage Academy classes began June 1, at the Manhattan campus of St. John's University. In New York City, the average income for a household with an associate degree is $44,000?30 percent more than the average incomes of households without such degrees. In addition, households with associate degrees are more likely to be employed in stable jobs with livable wages.  Upon graduation, clients will have the knowledge and stability needed to meet their professional goals and be financially sound.

In its first year of existence, Advantage Academy has more than 40 homeless and formerly homeless individuals enrolled, striving to complete two-year programs from St. John's University. This endeavor exemplifies a positive collaboration between DHS and the University, in tandem with its Vincentian Institute for Service (VISA).  St. John's has a longstanding reputation of serving the New York community and encouraging students to take an active stand in the world around them.

Many students who comprise the first group of Advantage Academy participants are mothers and fathers, who hope to set a positive example for their children about the importance of education.