SelfHelp Austin StreetPerseveres Through Budget Cuts

Though it will see its own cuts in funding from the city, the Selfhelp Austin Street Senior Center will keep chugging along, even expanding its offerings.
Selfhelp, which is located at the Forest Hills Jewish Center at 106-06 Queens Boulevard, is open by membership to seniors, ages 60 and over.
In 1995, the center moved from its previous home on Austin Street to Queens Boulevard, choosing to retain its name, though it is now one block north of Austin Street.
Each day, 150 kosher lunches are prepared for members who are asked to make a "suggested donation" to receive a meal.
For six years, the amount of this donation was $1.50, but on January 1 a cut in funding to the center made by the Department for the Aging caused Selfhelp to raise the price to $1.75. Still, it is only a requested payment. Seniors are not pressured to pay; they give only what they can.
"We would not want people not to come, because they could not afford it," said Rachel Epstein, Selfhelp program director.
Lunches, which cost about $4 each to make, are partially paid for by the center, which kicks in about $1.16 for each. The Department for the Aging pays the rest.
Money put in by Selfhelp comes mostly from donations and fund-raisers like thrift sales, where clothes, jewelry and household appliances are sold.
In the future, Ms.Epstein who became director of the center a year ago, hopes to take "Simchah" (or "occasion for rejoicing") donations from individuals wishing to commemorate special family events. Taking donations for member birthday parties is another possibility. Selfhelp pays about $300 for each party, she said, and would welcome any outside financial assistance.
Along with operating costs, money is needed to pay instructors who teach courses at the center. Some are members who teach for free, while other instructors are professionals who require remuneration.
To generate revenue, Ms.Epstein has considered reviving a newspaper her organization published in the mid-1990s. The publication, which was written mostly by members, generated considerable revenue from advertising sales. In time the center stopped publishing the paper, as it took two people to manage production and sell ads.
The Department for the Aging, which pays Selfhelps rent at the center, requires that the center stay open 250 days a year. As it closes for Jewish holidays, it sometimes has to open on Sundays to meet this minimum.
Selfhelp is also required by its lease to use the synagogues caterer, which prepares the 150 daily lunches. Coffee and danish are offered to members every morning at reduced cost.
Sick and homebound members can, for a limited time, have lunches delivered to their homes.
Selfhelp offers numerous classes to members including oil painting, creative writing, Jewish history and knitting.
The center provides a wide range of recreational activities such as: exercise classes, tai chi, bridge, bingo and sing-alongs.
Each month, there is a schedule of special events. January offerings include seminars on elder abuse and dealing with holiday depression.
A $4,000 grant from Councilwoman Melinda Katz (D-Forest Hills) has made a twice-monthly music appreciation class possible.
Another grant from Councilwoman Katz for $5,000 has allowed for an English as a Second Language course. The class, which meets Mondays and Wednesdays, has attracted such a large Asian membership that teriyaki and lo mein dishes have been added to the lunch menu. The monthly course offerings calendar has even been translated into Chinese.
The center will have a Chinese New Year party on Tuesday, February 4, at 11 a.m.
"We are trying to enrich the center with ethnic diversity," said Ms.Epstein.