Salvation Army Rehabilitation

In the late 40's, a group who had suffered from mental illness started "We Are Not Alone" dedicated to helping others who had shared their troubles. They sought to fight against the stigmatization of the mentally ill. In 1948, "We Are Not Alone" developed the idea of Fountain House, an organization that would help the mentally ill recover by giving them an opportunity to actively live, work and learn. When we visited Fountain House, we were given a tour and introduced to the organization and its workings. Having been a member for a little less than a year, the gentleman speaking with us said that he still felt green at Fountain House, but nevertheless at home. Fountain House staff carefully selects people living with mental illness to join their community. Together, they help run the organization by working in one of the eight Units (Communication, Culinary, Education, Employment, Horticulture, Reception, Membership, and Research). We walked around the two connected buildings that make up Fountain House to see each Unit in progress. About 250 to 300 members and staff work daily to contribute to the operation of Fountain House and build communities in which members develop close-knit relationships. While touring Fountain House, the attractive facilities and congeniality of the members left an impression on me. Everyone in each unit seemed to be busy performing a task – sweeping the floors, making a call, and folding the monthly newsletter. Their approach to helping people with mental illness relies entirely upon members' participation and active work. The sense of belonging and purpose fostered at Fountain House has been proven to reduce the hospitalization of patients and improve the likelihood of completing their studies and, ultimately, being able to secure a job outside of the House. The organization has dozens of sister programs worldwide and has helped hundreds of thousands of people improve their lives, breaking the cycle of stigmatization and isolation.

A Catholic organization serving immigrants by helping them to establish their lives here in the city, Saint Joseph's offers proof that grace can rise from the sin that once defined this area.

Initially serving as a resting stop for Scandinavian sailors when they disembarked in lower Manhattan, the Swedish Seaman's Church opened its doors on Water Street in 1873. The neo-Gothic building in which the Church currently resides was constructed in 1921 for "The Bible House" before being sold to the Church of Sweden in 1978. The Church's nautical past is evidenced in the model boats placed among the large collection of Swedish books. With a chapel, a library, and a coffee shop, the Church's doors are always open to Swedes. While tasting their delicious Swedish buns, I chatted with the staff who spoke enthusiastically about the function that the center plays in people's lives. For families, it provides a "wind" of Sweden whenever they miss their homeland. There are also multiple weddings conducted in the chapel each week, and people come from all over to celebrate holidays and shop at their Christmas Bazaar.

Clinton Garden is a striking testament to the power of residential communities in New York. One of the earliest examples of urban agricultural reclamation, the garden was created in 1979 in a lot that had been abandoned for twenty-eight years. Seeing potential in the space and hoping to improve the area around the neighborhood, residents (with the help of Operation Green Thumb, which leased the lot from the city) transformed the VACANT property into a garden using reclaimed and salvaged bricks, concrete, and slate. Finding the gates open on a beautiful spring Saturday, I wandered in and strolled down the paths filled with magnificent flowers and shrubs. I also met committed people tending to their small plots of land, of which there are now over one hundred. I have since been back many times, as I think this is a magnificent retreat on those days that I am in a need of a place to rest while walking the side streets of Manhattan.

Tucked between a Swiss and an Italian restaurant, Scent Elate brings Eastern spirituality to the neighborhood. With the doors swung open, the aromas were an enticing trail that led me into this tiny boutique packed with an array of incense, candles, soaps, oils and lotions. Scent Elate also has books on meditation and yoga scattered among crystals, jewelry, chimes and hanging ornaments. In fact, it might just be "the" place to go when searching for sticks of incense - not only is there a vast selection, but Mo, the owner, makes a special effort to find the perfect scent to enhance each individual customer's environment.

The Midtown West School (PS 212) and the Professional Performing Arts High School cohabitate in the same grand Beaux-Arts building, which housed PS 17 until 1989.

Named after Bible verses in Isaiah (the wolf and the lamb shall feed together), this restaurant opened in Manhattan in 1998, and expanded to Brooklyn the following year. Initially a traditional kosher deli, it later reinvented itself as a steakhouse. The extensive menu ranges from matzo ball soup to salmon burgers, veal Bolognese gnocchi and, of course, includes a variety of steaks and chops. Drawing on influences as diverse as Vietnamese, Tex-Mex, and French-country, Wolf and Lamb adapts its more customary function to a cosmopolitan venue. "Just because you're keeping kosher doesn't mean you have to sacrifice on quality, " shared a waitress. And while we were told that the majority of customers keep kosher regularly, the crowded space was testament to Wolf and Lamb's broad culinary appeal.

Hell's Kitchen has a tremendous amount to offer to young people, however, it was the 52nd Street Project, begun in 1981, that might have touched my heart the most. For children in the neighborhood - ages nine to eighteen - the Project offers them an opportunity to get on the stage and perform in their 150 seat theater, while being mentored by professionals. In addition to having the chance to act, children have a safe haven for a few hours each day where they can be themselves and feel protected, while also giving them an outlet to use their creative energy. They become involved in playwriting, directing, stage managing and of course getting up there and performing, alongside some of Broadway's best, including Frances McDormand, Billy Crudup and Edie Falco.