Funding grows for anti-addiction education in schools

Three people are moving up at Legal Services of the Hudson Valley. Sheeba Mathai will become the nonprofit’s first chief diversity officer; she is currently the attorney in charge of the organization’s Spring Valley office, according to a press release. Lara Kasper-Buckareff is now program director after serving as a staff attorney. A new office in Goshen will be headed up by Sarah Maida.

Vera Institute of Justice raised more than $1.3 million at an April 29 event in New York City. Former U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch was honored at the event, as was Board Chair John Savarese, partner at Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz. Who else showed up? Check out photos and video here.

A new affordable housing development has opened in Brooklyn. The $31 million project converted a former convent into 76 affordable housing units, a dozen of which are set aside for formerly homeless people, according to the Office of Governor Andrew Cuomo.

The total development consists of three buildings, including one at 21 De Sales Place that was the original rectory for Our Lady of Lourdes. RiseBoro Community Partnership will also have offices in the development to provide services such as “financial literacy, homelessness prevention, legal services, and public benefits enrollment.” Read more here.

The state is investing more money in anti-addiction education in schools. New York State Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services will award $1.6 million in funding to help teachers implement the syllabus through the PAX Good Behavior Game Program, which aims to help reduce “risk factors associated with drug use and addiction,” according to a press release.

The New York State Senate is moving a bill forward that loosens restrictions on nonprofits that provide bail to criminal defendants. The bill passed a Senate committee on Tuesday and will now be taken up by the full chamber, which has passed a litany of criminal justice reforms this year, including abolishing cash bail for many criminal defendants. The legislation, which has yet to pass an Assembly committee, would do four things:

• Reduce the certification fee required for nonprofit organizations from $1,000 to $500.
• Raise the monetary amount that such organizations may provide in bail assistance.
• Clarify when such organizations may contribute to bail.
• Remove the geographical restriction that an organization may only offer bail in one county.

A new report examines how New York City schools can promote racial equity. While black and Hispanic students are admitted to the city’s specialized high schools at a rate far lower than their share of the population, that is an issue that is beside the point, according to the report.

“If more and better educational opportunities for black and Hispanic students are the ultimate goal of the mayor’s plan, his focus on the top eight schools may be nearsighted,” reads a summary of the report. “They are not the only game in town. Program and curriculum upgrades in the city’s other high-performing high schools might be more effective.”