One year and three months after Hurricane Sandy, the damage done by the storm is ostensibly barely noticeable in Red Hook, Brooklyn. But while there are no longer sandbags and destroyed possessions littering the streets, the problems in Red Hook run deeper than physical damage. Red Hood Initiative is one program that continues to actively reverse the effects of the storm today. Founded in 2002, RHI was originally geared towards helping women. Since then, however, the program has shifted its focus towards youth, particularly those living in housing projects.
RHI states, “We believe that social change to overcome systemic inequities begins with empowered youth.” The organization strives to accomplish these goals by offering a variety of after-school programs for children and young adults from middle school to college that emphasize leadership development. Examples include tutoring, college counseling, and cooking instruction.
Two Fieldston alumni, Lisa Cowan (’86) and Eden Wurmfeld (’87) currently sit on the board of Red Hook Initiative. In a recent interview, Lisa expressed hope “for the neighborhood to have the resources that it needs to help families break the cycle of poverty.” The organization’s work begins with offering educational opportunities to the community and will eventually bring better health care, jobs, and public transportation to Red Hook.
Furthermore, RHI recently launched a project that will bring free high-speed Internet access to all of Red Hook. “I think Red Hook is such a unique community in that it has what is true about a lot of New York City neighborhoods—wealth and poverty side by side—but the neighborhood is so cut off from the city it has particular circumstances that distinguish it,” explained Lisa. Thus, part of what the program is trying to do is bridge the gap between the gentrified, “artsy” Red Hook and the Red Hook containing the largest public housing project complex in Brooklyn.
Last year, Hurricane Sandy began to bring these two components of Red Hook together. Lisa said, “There was a greater demand for services as more people who hadn’t previously heard of us came in for help. It took a while to get back to focusing on the youth development work we did before the storm. After the hurricane people did work together in a different way and I hope that will be ongoing as the neighborhood begins to move forward.”
According to Eden, “Lisa has been Board President for many years and was really front and center post-sandy since our executive director was out on sick leave.” Now, in the aftermath of Sandy, there are more young people who are interested in the services RHI offers. In response, the organization has developed new initiatives such as the ‘500 Futures’ campaign, which pledges to help 500 Red Hook youth each year. Lisa explained, “We are really trying to commit ourselves to helping the neighborhood recover.”
Lisa explained: “A few years ago I went back to Fieldston for a visit. I was really struck by just how well resourced and beautiful the campus is. Since high school I have done a lot of work with public schools, so seeing this inequality makes me feel like either everyone or nobody should have this.” Thanks to programs like Red Hook Initiative, it seems we are finally moving towards bridging the gap.
